If you’re a fan of true crime-related content, chances are you’ve heard about Based on a True Story. The new Peacock series takes a satirical look at America’s obsession with true crime, introducing audiences to Ava (Kaley Cuoco) and Nathan (Chris Messina) Bartlett, a couple trying to save their marriage when the seemingly perfect opportunity falls in their lap. The key to solving their financial struggles could lie in their new plumber Matt (Tom Bateman).
What begins as a simple proposition turns into a wild ride as the couple ends up with more than they bargained for. As they slide down a slippery slope, they have to worry about a serial killer’s next moves, if the people around them are in danger, and if their plan will work the way they hoped.
We had the opportunity to catch up with Alex Buono (Russian Doll), the director of the first and last episodes and an executive producer of the series to hear more about the comedy and chemistry of the new Peacock series.
Based on a True Story Isn’t Your Typical True Crime Series
You may think you’ve seen it all when it comes to true crime, but you’d be wrong. Though appearing as a series solely about a serial killer on the surface, Buono wants viewers to remember that the story being told is about a couple trying to stay together, no matter the out-there circumstances they use to reenergize their relationship.
Really it’s a show about a couple, and I almost think of it like a love story… like will this couple be able to save their marriage. Instead of deciding to start a business together, I mean I guess they do start a business together, they’re trying to decide to do something together, and you’re like, “And this is what you chose to do?”
Ava and Nathan are in dire straights, with Nathan’s demotion and Ava’s housing market dry spell, and are trying to figure out how to afford their life, especially with a baby on the way. After Ava determines their new plumber could be The Westside Ripper, a serial killer terrorizing their area, she comes up with a proposition: Nathan and Matt create an anonymous podcast to give the world an inside look into the mind of a serial killer.
However, that doesn’t mean this is simply a series about a podcast or about the psyche of the killer. Buono recognizes that’s been done, and that Based on a True Story gives a different perspective into the life of a serial killer that isn’t just dissecting his motives. He explained the distinction:
[It’s] the idea that a serial killer is not always just serial killing, that he also does, he has a son, and he has a job, he’s a plumber, and he’s out there trying to make a genuine friendship with a guy that he doesn’t plan on killing.
A Leading Duo with Great Chemistry
In being a show primarily about a couple, Buono and the team were initially concerned about the chemistry between the leads. They didn’t know how the actors would interact until they were on set, and if the chemistry needed to sell the relationship between Ava and Nathan would come naturally or if it would “have to be manufactured.” Thankfully, Cuoco and Messina had great chemistry from the start.
You know the funny thing is that Kaley [Cuoco] and Chris [Messina], and you don’t know this before you cast the show, they didn’t know each other, they’d never met. You never know how much chemistry two actors are gonna have, and we were like, “What if they don’t like each other,” or, “What if it’s all going to have to be manufactured?” And they immediately had so much chemistry.
In fact, the actors had so much chemistry it presented unique challenges on set. Not only were they constantly making each other laugh, but the energy between them was such that it became a question of whether the audience would believe there were issues in their on-screen relationship.
And honestly one of the challenges was going to be, they are so adorable together, will we believe that they have any problems? Will we believe that this relationship could fail? Because they have so much chemistry. And so a lot of the energy put into building up the believability and the turmoil their relationship was sort of a result of them having so much chemistry that you needed to believe that… this great relationship could believably be on the rocks.
A Different Type of Comedy
Unlike other series, the comedy of Based on a True Story isn’t always in your face, easy zingers, or taking larger jabs at its topics. Instead, the show focuses on the more satirical aspects of America’s true crime obsession with a drier edge, which is part of what drew Buono to the project.
I read it and I was immediately sucked in. It’s got the exact kind of elements that I look for and the kind of fun types of shows that I like to do. In that, you know, it’s comedy, but it’s not like big broad comedy, and there’s not a lot of swings at big jokes. It’s drier, and I love that kind of tone.
Based on a True Story is available to stream now on Peacock.
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