Based On A True Story returns with a sloppy second season
Peacock’s true-crime satire chooses shock value over substance.
Photo: Colleen Hayes/Peacock
The identity of one of the victims in Based On A True Story’s second season is so absurd that it cannot be spoiled here. Suffice it to say, though, that it’s emblematic of the Craig Rosenberg-created show’s larger issues. Inconsistent and utterly random, this Peacock original is worse for wear in its return. An attempt to be edgy loses the elements that made it somewhat enjoyable. BOATS wasn’t a top-tier dark comedy or a smart dismantling of true-crime addiction in season one. But it was also pretty damn fun.
Now the writing rarely even tries to walk the tightrope of being snarky and sincere. Unlike Only Murders In The Building, with which it shares superficial similarities, Based On A True Story hinges on being grittier and unapologetic with its bloody deaths. Yet it all starts to feel meaningless because the gore isn’t backed up by the type of crackling dynamics and jokes that make Hulu’s series soar. The show’s eight new episodes feel lackluster and devoid of laughs—except for in that aforementioned death that is designed to make everybody cackle.
Season two picks up three months after Ava (Kaley Cuoco) and Nathan Bartlett’s (Chris Messina) son is born. Too busy with parental duties, they’ve stayed away from their titular podcast while their co-host/former serial killer, Matt (Tom Bateman), recovers from his “issues” at a lavish wellness center in Mexico. Oh, he’s also engaged to Ava’s younger sister, Tory (Liana Liberato), and everyone’s just trying to be one big, happy family. Any ounce of reality is already washed away by now, but the silliness intensifies when Nathan and Matt bond like bros. Can someone shake some sense into these people?
Danger still lurks in their Los Angeles neighborhood when a copycat emerges. Ava steps back into her comfort zone of murder boards and conspiracies (“The killer must have some kind of vendetta against the medical field”) and makes a new pal to confide in, Melissa Fumero’s mysterious Drew. That’s not the only change. Ava now has a baby on her lap and she’s turned to TikTok as her platform. To make it extra clear that Ava’s a new mother, the hair and costume departments go overboard—but thankfully, Cuoco’s performance is far too spirited to match the “tired, weary mom” look they’re selling.