The Peacock dark comedy thriller you are likely referring to is “Based on a True Story,” which premiered in June 2023.
Despite the show’s title and premise, it’s not based on a single, specific, well-known true crime story.
The “Crazy True Story” Inspiration
The series is inspired by real events in a more general sense, playing on the current pop culture obsession with the true-crime genre.
The “true story” it’s satirizing is the broader cultural phenomenon:
- America’s True-Crime Obsession: The show is a dark satire of our collective, almost insatiable appetite for true-crime podcasts, documentaries, and media.
- The Pursuit of “Content”: It’s inspired by the idea of people being so obsessed with the genre that they would commodify a real-life killer for financial gain and fame.
The Show’s Plot
The fictional plot of the series revolves around:
- Ava and Nathan Bartlett (played by Kaley Cuoco and Chris Messina), a financially struggling, married couple in Los Angeles.
- A Plumber (played by Tom Bateman) whom they discover is actually a local serial killer known as the “Westside Ripper.”
- The couple’s morally questionable decision to capitalize on this discovery by starting a true-crime podcast with the killer himself.
So, while the events of the series are fictional, the “crazy true story” that inspired it is the very real cultural landscape where people are eager to turn real-life tragedy into entertainment.