Based On A True Story (2023)

“It’s really hard being good at something and no one knows it.”

On June 8th of this year, NBC’s streaming service, Peacock, released an original series entitled Based On A True Story. The dark, satirical comedy stars Kaley Cuoco and Chris Messina as Ava and Nathan Bartlett, a financially strapped couple that is about to welcome their first child into the world. When plumbing issues force them to call a professional, they are unable to pay him. The plumber, Matt Pierce, agrees to do the work on the side in exchange for free tennis lessons from Nathan, a former professional tennis player who had his career cut short by injuries. Matt and Nathan become fast friends. When a young woman is brutally murdered in the neighborhood, Ava, a true crime podcast fan, deduces that Matt is the infamous Westside Ripper. She tells Nathan that if they make their own podcast featuring interviews with the real Westside Ripper, they can make a ton of money and end their financial woes. The series follows the trio’s journey through the crazy world of true crime podcasts, fans of true crime, and the mentality of a serial killer.

Granted, the premise of the series is absolutely ridiculous, but it somehow works. Ava and Nathan believe that they can blackmail Matt with the constant threat of turning him in to the authorities, but Matt actually begins to manipulate them instead. He enjoys the podcast and has his own ideas about how each episode should work. Ava and Nathan love one another, but their marriage is strained. Ava fantasizes about one of her real estate clients. Nathan fantasizes about Ava’s best friend, Ruby, a socialite who is having marital issues of her own. Living with Ava and Nathan is Tory, Ava’s younger, attractive sister who seems to be nothing more than a side character at first, but there are hints in later episodes that she’ll be a much bigger player in the second season if there is one.

Other characters come in and out of episodes. Some of them, despite Ava and Nathan’s “no murder” rule, end up dead. Does Matt actually kill them? You’ll have to watch the series to find out. Some of the standouts include Simon, Ruby’s somewhat unhinged husband, and Ruby’s lover, Carlos, as well as the opportunistic Dahlia Stone, who claims to be the only woman that ever survived an attack by the Westside Ripper, and the Lipinski Sisters, a duo of true crime podcasters that co-host the wildly popular Sisters In Crime podcast.

The cast includes Cuoco and Messina, Tom Bateman as Matt Pierce, Priscilla Quintana as Ruby, and Liana Liberato as Tory. It also features Aaron Staton as Simon, Sebastian Quinn as Carlos, and June Diane Raphael and Jessica St. Clair as the Lipinski sisters. Lizze Broadway appears as Dahlia Stone and Natalia Dyer portrays Chloe. All of them do a wonderful job, especially Bateman and Quintana. Bateman portrays Matt as a very likeable guy who snaps at a pin drop when someone offends him or rubs him the wrong way. Quintana is simply hilarious. She does a great job as Ruby. The series was created and written by Craig Rosenberg and executive produced by Cuoco, Rosenberg, Jason Bateman, Michael Costigan, and Alex Buono.

All eight episodes are currently available on Peacock. The season ended with a brilliant setup for a potential second season, but Peacock has said nothing so far about a second season being produced. I really hope that we get a second season. I want to see how these characters develop. I do believe that the series shouldn’t go beyond three seasons, however, as the situations will likely get too ridiculous. It will ultimately need some type of resolution. Whether that’s Matt being turned over to police, Matt murdering the Bartletts, or something else, an endpoint will eventually have to be reached.

I definitely recommend this series. It’s darkly funny and you actually begin to cheer on Matt (at least I did) as the series progresses. Don’t get too attached to some of the characters, however, as many of them won’t live to see the end of the first season.

Thanks for checking out my post! I’ll be attending Calcasieu Serialfest this weekend and there are a couple of other events that I’ll be attending later this year. Be sure to like and share my Facebook page and my Instagram page as well!