‘Based on a True Story’ will premiere on Thursday, June 8 on Peacock TV with eight episodes in its first season. It’s a binge-worthy new comedy series directed by ‘Ozark’ and ‘AIR’ star Jason Bateman, starring Kaley Cuoco and Chris Messina. Whether they’re on set together or off set, their chemistry is off the charts! The biggest challenge the producers of ‘Based on a True Story’ had to face was getting Cuoco and Messina to stop laughing to get their lines out!
What do the co-stars have to say about this?
Kaley claimed that they “were were the duo that we didn’t even know that we needed”. She agreed with her director who said it was so hard to get them to stop laughing between takes, adding that they “drove people crazy”. She talked about Chris in a very sweet way saying that “He’s hysterical, he’s kind, he’s fun and also just a wonderful person on set. He takes care of everyone, we both do. It’s important to us and it was a great match”. Messina mused about being on set with Cuoco, telling The Hollywood Reporter that, “Her laugh is so contagious. You feel like you’re winning when you get her laughing.”
“They’re so funny together. Honestly, the hardest thing was to get them to stop laughing so we could shoot the scene. My role to direct them was often [that I had to] be the wet blanket.”
Alexander Buono, executive producer
What is the plot of ‘Based on a True Story’?
This dark comedy thrillers follows a married couple, Ava (played by Kaley Cuoco) and Nathan (Chris Messina) who are short on cash as they expect their first child. When a serial killer pops up in their California neighborhood, they start a lucrative true crime podcast to earn that extra cash, inspired by real events. Ava, the true crime fan and her husband who’s along for the ride, get tangled in the murderous events and eventually get framed for the crimes themselves. The plot initially didn’t include Ava being pregnant, but when Kaley brought it up to the producers, they went along with it and got the writers to update her character to include the pregnancy. “It ended up being such an interesting part of this show,” Kaley notes, “The show is so funny and so wacky and so strange.”