A tale as old as time? Peacock’s Based on a True Story explores America’s current obsession with true crime — and questions the danger that comes with trying to take things into your own hands.
The streaming platform announced in April 2022 that it would be developing a series focused on the interest in true crime following the success of shows such as Only Murders in the Building, Search Party, The Flight Attendant and Dead to Me.
Based on a True Story, which stars Kaley Cuoco and Chris Messina, is a comedic thriller centered around a real estate agent, a plumber and a former tennis star who attempt to profit from America’s obsession with crime.
Creator Craig Rosenberg opened up about the inspiration behind the project, saying in a May 2023 statement, “Over the last decade, a true crime phenomenon has swept over America. Podcasts, documentaries, fictional shows based on true stories — they dominate the culture. Murderers have become celebrities and celebrities have become murderers which inspired me to create this show.”
He continued: “I became fascinated with the idea of a relatable married couple whose youthful dreams hadn’t come to fruition and who saw the true crime tidal wave as an opportunity to change their lives and save their marriage. Our Los Angeles setting — the city where everybody wants to be famous – became a vivid backdrop to our story of fame, ambition, aspiration and murder.”
Ahead of the scripted show’s release, Cuoco recalled how the project was able to write in her pregnancy at the last minute. “When I signed on for Based on a True Story, I was obviously not pregnant and it was written very differently,” she told Entertainment Tonight in February 2023. “We’re getting started to shoot, we’re talking literally a month or two out, I met with the producers and I was like, ‘What do you think about writing this character pregnant?'”
The Big Bang Theory alum, who welcomed daughter Matilda with boyfriend Tom Pelphrey in March 2023, was surprised when the detail was incorporated into her character.
“It ended up being such an interesting part of this show. The show is so funny and so wacky and so strange,” she teased at the time. “The best part about it for me is I get to be pregnant, eat whatever. I get to wear the most comfortable clothes, everyone treats me like a queen. I had, like, 17 different chairs on set. If you’re working up until the end of your third trimester, which I am, this was the way to do it. Obviously, this is the first time in my life I’ve ever done this, so they’ve really taken care of me and amazingly enough, I actually think it’s a great part of the show.”
Cuoco went on to gush about the support she received from the cast and crew as she prepared for motherhood.
“I’m just super grateful to this group who wrote this in very last minute. I love that this character has been written in such a way that we didn’t change a lot because she was pregnant. I mean that in a way of she’s still wearing crop tops, she goes to the pool, there’s a lot of, like, sex and there’s all this crazy stuff,” she concluded. “We didn’t change anything because she’s pregnant. We felt like she’s still the same person and nothing should change because you’re pregnant. I actually feel good. I’ve been doing this for so long, I think it’s going to be interesting for people to see me play this new phase in life and just being very open about it.”
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