Based On A True Story returns with a sloppy second season

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.

And then there’s Nathan. Busy proving he can be a good tennis coach, he’s trapped in a plot that goes nowhere. (On the plus side, Messina gets to rage out in tiny shorts and a bandana from time to time.) Feeling distant from his wife, Nathan finds an unexpected kinship with Matt, allowing himself to get manipulated by a man who he was actively trying to escape in the past. With such lazy arcs in the name of lowbrow satire, it’s hard to care about the protagonists here. So even when Nathan and Ava try to reignite the flame—by attending the least sexy-looking sex party of all time—it feels bland. 

Based On A True Story does challenge itself with Matt, who was a one-note, icy murderer earlier. Now he has a fiancée, a BFF, and he’s in recovery. Can it last? Or will a psycho trying to imitate him be his downfall? Bateman levels up his performance, but, like his co-stars, he’s felled by a toothless script that doesn’t live up to the show’s fascinating ideas. 

Season two questions what makes a killer tick and, crucially, how his actions affect victims’ loved ones. But those seeds are abandoned in favor of shock value. The last few installments also want to comment on how true-crime aficionados—podcasters, listeners, or even journalists doing their jobs—are “gross” as a blanket thesis. But then, at one point, Ava argues that women should be aware of these crimes as due diligence for their safety. The messaging is all over the place because the show wants to have its cake and eat it too. 

What’s more, those final episodes have twists and turns that come off like frantic attempts to set up a potential third season. Despite the chaos and all of the reservations flagged above, Based On A True Story is at least a pretty quick and easy watch—even if so much of the fun is sucked out of it this time. 

Based On A True Story season two premieres November 21 on Peacock