Based on a True Story

Available on NOW TV and Sky Comedy

Craig Rosenberg’s concise true crime parody benefits from an intriguing premise and two capable leads in Chris Messina and Kaley Cuoco, but fails to sustain intrigue over the course of its eight-episode run. Following Messina and Cuoco’s disillusioned suburbanite couple and their attempts to create a money spinning podcast with the help of their plumber and suspected serial killer (Tom Bateman), Based on a True Story questions how far one would be willing to compromise their morals in order to make a quick buck out of murder.

Executive produced by Jason Bateman’s Aggregate Films, the series certainly has the potential to be more than what it winds up being, which might explain why it has already been renewed for a second season. However, the issues with this debut outing are manifold, with its protagonists being intensely unlikeable (and thus impossible to root for) and its events growing even more implausible, to the point where, by its finale, I was rolling my eyes more than I was laughing. Messina, Cuoco, and Bateman keep proceedings from ever growing completely lifeless, but this ought to be filed as a missed opportunity.