Sounds true careers8/14/2023 ![]() ![]() Bateman plays Matt, a divorced plumber who befriends the Bartletts when he fixes their leaky toilet. Think of him as Andrew Garfield‘s sexier, more sinister younger brother. If you haven’t heard of Tom Bateman, don’t worry, neither had I before watching this show. Tom Bateman shines as one of the suspects It’s that delicate tightrope walk between being appealing and having a willingness to show revolting behavior that makes both Cuoco and Messina so good in Based on a True Story, and it’s what helps make the show both plausible and entertaining. ![]() Beneath his docile, middle-class suburban husband exterior, Nathan possesses an untapped desire for violence that doesn’t make him that much different from the murderer he’s investigating. Likewise, Chris Messina’s Nathan is far from the lovably grouchy doctor he played on The Mindy Project. Audiences may always remember her as The Big Bang Theory‘s Penny, but with her starring turn as Cassie in the HBO Max series The Flight Attendant and now as Ava, she has grown into an actress who isn’t afraid to embody characters who are messy and unlikable. As Ava, Kaley Cuoco continues her impressive evolution as a comedienne who is lately drawn to roles with an edge to them. The show wouldn’t work if we don’t buy who these characters are and understand their motivations, so it’s a good thing Based on a True Story cast two of the best TV actors around in the lead roles. Both Kaley Cuoco and Chris Messina are great as the show’s protagonists Who doesn’t want to improve their lives? And to get it, what would you do to achieve it? The Bartletts answer these questions with acts that increasingly test their morality, and make the audience question their own as well. The Bartletts’ quiet desperation sets up the stakes involved - the quest for a better life - that pretty much anyone can understand. Nathan just wants to hold on to the job he has as a tennis instructor at a swanky Southern California country club, and feels it slipping through his fingers when a younger, hungrier rival takes it from him. Ava, who is about to give birth to her first child, naturally wants to do better at her job as a real estate agent to secure a future for her growing family. Yet the Bartletts are always relatable you understand their desires for a better life. ![]() To the show’s credit, it doesn’t do much to idealize them. The couple in question, Ava and Nathan Bartlett, might appear to be unlikable, as they are at times selfish, too career-driven, and desperately want to be accepted by their happier and wealthier friends. Hiding beneath its sunny California visuals and acerbic jokes is a cutting satire about the true crime industry, and how we, as consumers of entertainment fueled by real-life tales of suffering and death, might be just as guilty as the criminals behind those gruesome acts.īased On A True Story | Official Trailer | Peacock Originalīased on a True Story has a, pardon the pun, killer hook: a desperate couple recruit a serial killer, the Westside Ripper, to help them succeed in the cutthroat world of true crime podcasting. But from its first episode to its shocking finale, Based on a True Story distinguishes itself from the rest of the pack. You’re probably asking, “Do we need another true crime show?” - and if you’re not, you should be. Is Based on a True Story worth watching?Įntering into the already overcrowded genre is Based on a True Story, which, ironically, is not based on any true story, but is instead a totally fictionalized account of two desperate podcasters who find themselves knee-deep in a murder case.The satire about the true crime industry is both funny and brutal.Tom Bateman shines as one of the suspects.Both Kaley Cuoco and Chris Messina are great as the show’s protagonists.Based on a True Story has an intriguing premise. ![]()
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