Posted in: HBO, TV | Tagged: The Mortician

The Mortician Trailer Previews HBO's New True-Crime Docuseries

The Mortician, a new true-crime docuseries about a Southern Californian funeral home that did bad things, premieres on HBO on June 1st.

HBO released the official trailer for the HBO Original three-part documentary series The Mortician, directed and executive produced by Joshua Rofé and Steven J. Berger for Number 19 and Strong Baby's Jonah Hill and Matt Dines. The series debuts on Sunday, June 1st, at 9 pm ET / PT on HBO and will be available to stream on HBO Max (with new episodes debuting subsequent Sundays at the same time).

The Mortician chronicles a trusted family-owned funeral home that hid behind a façade of decency and propriety to take advantage of loved ones at their most vulnerable moments. In the early 1980s, David Sconce, scion of the Lamb family, took over the family business and sought to exploit the deceased in numerous ways to expand their earnings. Driven by profit, the Lamb Funeral Home in Pasadena, California, engaged in years of morally questionable and inhumane practices. And guess who went to prison, is now released, and available to be interviewed for an HBO True Crime documentary? That guy!

So the series features an exclusive interview with Sconce, newly released from prison, and examines the lucrative and ubiquitous multibillion-dollar mortuary industry, illuminating what can happen behind closed doors, away from public scrutiny. With emotional interviews with families of the victims of the Lamb Funeral Home and revelations from former employees, The Mortician unravels a dark, troubling story that involved mass cremations and stealing from the dead in a multitude of macabre ways. The scandal shook Southern California, and as members of the Lamb family stood trial, the funeral industry took heed, bringing about tighter regulations and allowing for greater transparency into the business of death. A testimony from Sconce, who tells his side of the story with animated energy and candor, anchors the series.

The Mortician Episode Guide

Episode One — Debut date: SUNDAY, JUNE 1 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT)

The Lamb Funeral Home, a respected family-owned mortuary in Pasadena, descends into grisly practices after David Sconce, scion of the Lamb family, takes over the business. Deeply ambitious, Sconce covertly pursues extreme measures to beat his competitors. In 1985, a local funeral director, who started making allegations about the crematorium's high turnover rate, succumbed to a heart attack at 24.

Episode Two — Debut date: SUNDAY, JUNE 8 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT)

When the Lamb Funeral Home's crematorium is destroyed by a fire in 1986, David is undeterred and finds ways to expand the family business. As allegations of misdeeds mount, David is eventually arrested. When police investigate, they discover shocking evidence that points to David being possibly connected to the assault and later death of a rival mortician.

Episode Three — Debut date: SUNDAY, JUNE  15 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT)

Members of the Lamb family are convicted of various crimes, including fraud. While in prison, a murder charge is brought against David for the death of his competitor, but in 1991, the charges are dropped due to a lack of hard evidence. In all, over 20,000 families were affected by the practices at the Lamb Funeral Home, and David's case brought about reforms and new regulations to the mortuary business.

The Mortician premieres Sunday, June 1st, on HBO.

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