Everything to Remember from ‘Based on a True Story’ Season 1
After Season 1’s abrupt cliffhanger, there was no doubt that Peacock’s “Based on a True Story” was angling for a second season, and it’s the increasingly rare show to turn one around in roughly a year once that light turned green.
The first season of Craig Rosenberg’s dark comedy introduced Ava (Kaley Cuoco) and Nathan (Chris Messina), a married couple living in Los Angeles who accidentally cross paths with active serial killer Matt (Tom Bateman) and decide to start a true crime podcast with him. As the specter of the West Side Ripper grows, so too does the podcast’s notoriety, and Matt sinks his claws into the lives of two people in way over their heads and dancing with the devil.
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Also they all did drugs and made out with each other. But that was just a dream sequence.
With Season 2 dropping on November 21, here’s everything to remember from Season 1 of “Based on a True Story.”
The Money
Ava and Nathan already feel insecure about the neighborhood where they live and the size of their home, but in Season 1, Episode 1, Nathan loses his job and raises the stakes financially as the couple prepares for their first child. They even had to send their dog, McEnroe, to live with rich friends Ruby (Priscilla Quintana) and Simon (Aaron Staten), a decision that agonizes Nathan and which Simon seems to relish holding over him.
The Murderer
Meet Matt Pierce: hot plumber, loving father, tennis enthusiast — and serial killer. Matt estimates he has killed around 20 women, both in L.A. and in his old home of Pomona, including in his old building. For Matt, killing is an irresistible urge, something that he he fantasizes about when he’s not doing it and a skill he wishes he could brag about to the world. One thing that drove him crazy in Season 1 was witnessing the only survivor of the West Side Ripper, and he confronted her later because his ego couldn’t take it (she ended up dead).
So he gets a thrill from doing the podcast and speaking freely about his escapades, but in true serial killer fashion he’s greedy and wants more. He hosts a live show at CrimeCon and brags about killing his last survivor. He rounds up other active murderers for what he calls an “affinity group” in the hopes that “Based on a True Story” will make space for BIPOC, disabled, and other minority murderers. And he wants to kill again, to give the show an extra edge, but also because he just misses it so damn much.
Deeper Issues
Knowing a confirmed serial killer and getting into bed with him gave Ava and Nathan’s marriage a major shot of adrenaline — but also exposed deeper issues that the two were ignoring. Nathan’s confidence takes a major hit when he loses his job, but he’s always regretted the end of his professional tennis career. The financial troubles further strain their relationship, and then it’s the secret of the podcast and its moral implications. If Matt gets caught, police will come for Nathan because there’s security footage of them hanging out the night of the last murder.
Also, these two cannot stop fantasizing about sex with other people — which “Based on a True Story” loves to depict only to smash cut back to reality and the present (a technique not reserved exclusively for sexual fantasies). Apparently all of Ava’s friends have affairs, including Ruby; she’s so secure in the balance between her husband and her lover that she invites said lover to a dinner party, where her husband completely snaps, bribes the man, and ends up shooting McEnroe out in the pool house.
Ava and Nathan take turns blaming each other for the podcast, the proximity to Matt, McEnroe’s fate, and pretty much everything else — but they have to put all that aside in the Season 1 finale while mopping up Ruby’s blood…
The Cliffhanger
Yeah… about that. Ava lost the burner phone she and Nathan use to contact Matt, and then Ruby found it, read their texts (no passcode!) and figured everything out. She’s furious with Ava and allegedly told her husband Simon, but Ava and Nathan were still figuring out what to do when they arrived at their new home to find her dead body. At the same time, we learn that Matt has been hooking up with Ava’s sister Tori (Liana Liberato), which significantly complicates the professional relationship and, you know, endangers her life.
Though viewers didn’t see Ruby die, Matt took responsibility — in fact, he thought he deserved thanks for taking care of multiple problems at once; silencing Ruby and ensuring their secret stays safe, as well as his own burning desire to kill again and to use his active serial killer status to boost the podcast. Ava and Nathan bury her in the tennis courts that will soon be replaced by pickleball, and they’re cleaning up the crime scene when Simon knocks at the door.
“Whose blood is that?” he asks. Uh-oh.
“Based on a True Story” Season 2 premieres November 21 on Peacock.
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