[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Based on a True Story Season 1.]
Peacock’s new series Based on a True Story takes the true crime genre and flips it on its twisted head in this dramedy thriller starring Kaley Cuoco, Chris Messina, and Tom Bateman.
If you have yet to tune into the series, we suggest turning back now as we’re about to dive into some season-shattering spoilers.
For those who did binge the series, you’d know that married couple Ava (Cuoco) and Nathan (Messina) attempted to blackmail their plumber Matt (Bateman) into doing a podcast with them after uncovering the fact that he’s a wanted serial killer. Agreeing to the endeavor, the season sees them put together episodes, and their lives become increasingly entangled.
(Credit: Elizabeth Morris/PEACOCK)
When their secret arrangement is discovered by Ava and Nathan’s pal Ruby (Priscilla Quintana), Matt kills her and leaves her corpse in a newly-purchased home Nate and Ava secured by the coast. Forced to clean up the mess, they rush to their regular home when they think Ava’s sister Tory (Liana Liberato) may be in danger, only to learn that a surprise party for them has been arranged by friends, including Matt, who is in attendance.
Eventually, once they get away from the party, Ava and Nathan dispose of Ruby’s body at the country club’s tennis court; they think they’re in the clear. They’re not, though, as Ruby’s husband Simon (Aaron Staton) walks in on them cleaning up blood in their new beach house, leaving viewers wondering, what’s next? Also revealed in the final few seconds are Matt and Tory’s secret relationship viewers weren’t even aware of.
While we await word on a possible second season, the cast is sharing their thoughts and feelings on the twists in the show. First, with Bateman’s take on what Matt even agreed to be a part of Nathan and Ava’s podcast to begin with. “Matt’s boxed in; he’s got no move to play when they say, ‘We know it’s you, we have evidence, and if we die, an email will go off, and you’ll go straight to prison.’”
“What really interested me in the show was the loneliness of these three lead characters,” Bateman shares. “It unifies them and makes them a team and gives them a kind of identity and a bond that they’re lacking elsewhere.” And that’s something that Cuoco and Messina echo in the video interview above in which they share reactions to the finale twists and share hopes about what’s to come in the series. Also, hear more from Bateman regarding Matt’s secret with Tory.
Stay tuned for any potential news on the show’s future and let us know what you thought of the season finale below.
Based on a True Story, Season 1, Streaming now, Peacock