Peacock’s Based On A True Story season 1 ended with a few shocking plot twists and a cliffhanger that jeopardized Nathan and Ava’s ability to separate themselves from Matt, leaving many knots to be untied by Based On A True Story season 2. With Nathan and Ava becoming increasingly wrapped up in the West Side Ripper’s wishes and requests, they lost the upper hand, barely managing to keep Matt respecting the one rule they set from the beginning. However, Based On A True Story season 1’s most eventful developments also highlighted the similarities between Matt and Nathan and Ava’s ethics when backed into a corner.
Starting from an already far-fetched initial situation, Based On A True Story season 1’s ending delivers as a parody of true-crime content, leading to a cliffhanger suggesting much of what’s to come in Based On A True Story season 2. The fast-paced finale revealed well-hidden story developments and a surprising ending, making Based On A True Story’s protagonists face the moral dilemmas that would have naturally followed after deciding to team up with a serial killer to produce a true crime podcast. Here is Based On A True Story season 1’s riveting ending explained.
Related
Based On A True Story Cast & Character Guide
The 2023 series Based on a True Story tells a zany story of a couple who decides to start a true-crime podcast with the help of the Westside Ripper.
Based On A True Story Season 1 Deaths Breakdown
Only Three Real Deaths Happen During The Season
Based On A True Story season 1 employed the trick of showing the characters’ murderous fantasies play out multiple times, however, only three deaths happen onscreen in the comedy series’ first season.
Despite Matt admitting to committing 20 murders before starting to collaborate with Nathan and Ava, two murders and one death are attributable to Matt the West Side Ripper after Ava and Nathan’s plan got Matt to stop killing people. Of those, Chloe Lake’s murder is the first that makes Ava figure out that Matt and the West Side Ripper are the same person, starting off their blackmailing of Matt and pursuit of a successful true-crime podcast.
Despite claiming to have killed Dahlia Stone publicly on the podcast to increase its popularity, Matt actually played by the rules without killing the author. Although he tried to get her to admit her shortcomings, as she capitalized on the West Side Ripper’s victims’ stories without being one, Matt didn’t kill Dahlia. Instead, Matt murdered Ava’s friend Ruby next, as she discovered their agreement, so she wanted in or she would have gone to the police, thus making Matt’s last murder a way to protect his, Ava, and Nathan’s podcast.
The last death included Nathan’s ex-dog McEnroe/Duke, but it had nothing to do with Matt, as Simon actually killed the dog.
Ava & Nathan’s True Crime Podcast Scheme Explained
They Think The Podcast Will Bring Financial Stability
In a bid to solve their money problems, Ava wanted to get two birds with one stone by getting Matt to stop killing while also jumping in on the lucrative true-crime podcasts’ wagon. However, their podcast scheme as Ava and Nathan originally envisioned it, couldn’t have panned out because of Matt’s wishes to continue killing and the inevitability that they would eventually be discovered.
This was exemplified by Ruby’s threats that eventually brought Matt to murder her and Ava and Nathan to dispose of her body, essentially bringing them one step closer to Matt and accepting the absence of turmoil when dealing with such extreme situations.
Related
Is Peacock’s Based On A True Story Actually Based On A True Story?
Peacock’s new comedy thriller appears to make a claim with its title, but is the new true crime comedy actually based on a true story?
Matt Is The West Side Ripper – Why The Serial Killer Really Helps With The Podcast
Matt Wants To Be Himself
Ava and Nathan hypothesized from Based On A True Story episode 1 that Matt could have easily refused their proposition, choosing to kill them and go on with his life. Instead, Matt decided to go on air as the West Side Ripper not only because that got him out of jail, but because it connected him to a crowd of individuals who truly wanted to hear about the killer’s exploits.
In the end, Based On A True Story proved potentially very fruitful, and it also connected Matt to people interested in his feats and motives, giving him the possibility of “truly being himself” instead of hiding his serial killer nature.
Tory & Matt’s Twist Explained (Will She Be His Next Victim?)
Tory And Matt Have Been Together A While
Matt’s relationship with Tory might just be the perfect opportunity for Matt to control Ava and Nathan if they wanted out.
Despite his promise not to continue killing people, Matt still got rid of Ruby’s threats by killing her in Based On A True Story season 1. However, the reveal of his secret relationship with Ava’s sister, Tory, which seemingly had been going on for some time, given their discussion in Based On A True Story episode 8, explained Matt’s behavior around Tory.
While that might hint at Tory possibly being his next victim, his MO never included knowing the victim personally, only stalking them before killing them. Instead, Matt’s relationship with Tory might just be the perfect opportunity for Matt to control Ava and Nathan if they wanted out.
Based On A True Story’s Ending Hints Matt Will Kill Simon In Season 2
Simon Makes The Most Sense As The Next Victim
Based On A True Story’s whole story about Ava and Nathan giving their dog McEnroe to Ruby and Simon and Nathan regretting it once he saw Simon and the renamed-Duke interact at Ruby’s party already hinted at Simon being Nathan’s antagonist. Once he killed McEnroe/Duke after his public fight with Ruby and came very close to discovering his wife Tory’s body in the car, it became clear it would have been a matter of time for Simon to catch up on Ava and Nathan’s affairs.
Simon even caught Ava and Nathan cleaning up a lot of blood in Based On A True Story season 1’s cliffhanger ending. While the ending didn’t specify whether Simon connected all the dots in Based On A True Story episode 8, Nathan’s conflict with him was already established. Simon’s discovery of Ava and Nathan quite literally red-handed singled Simon out as their next problem, as Ruby’s disappearance will eventually come to light.
Simon will have to be Matt’s next victim if Ava, Nathan, and Matt want to continue the podcast. Matt could potentially even involve Ava and Nathan more directly in Simon’s murder after Ruby’s allowed them to come to terms with what they would have to do, actions carried out to protect themselves and their podcast.
Related
Based On A True Story: Is The Sisters In Crime Podcast Real?
Sisters in Crime, hosted by the Lipinski sisters, is depicted in Based on a True Story, but can fans actually listen to the true-crime podcast?
Ava & Nathan’s Serial Killer Podcast Future Explained
Their Future Could Still Be Bright
Jessica Alba’s tweet against the podcast sparked a loud backlash against Ava, Nathan, and Matt’s work in Based On A True Story episode 6. While the backlash essentially destroyed all podcast deals for Ava and Nathan, they did decide to pursue a subscription-based model where listeners paid for the podcast and had access to the West Side Ripper before becoming entangled with cleaning up Ruby’s murder.
Adding to that is also Matt’s plan to highlight the “work of marginalized serial killers” in a spinoff podcast, Ava, Nathan, and Matt’s podcast dreams seem far from over in Based On A True Story season 2, even if the heat from Ruby’s murder could destroy them.
Will Based On A True Story Season 2 Happen?
Season 2 Is Here
The cliffhanger ending and the many storylines already set up by the Based On A True Story season 1 finale call for a season 2 to tie up its loose ends. Though the series initially became available to stream in June 2023, Peacock waited until October 2023 to announce it had been renewed for a second season, likely weighing its streaming options for the next year.
Season 2, surprisingly, features a new investigation as Matt is supposedly cleaning up his act in order to settle down with Tory. When new killings happen, the group has to investigate to see if Matt is really trying to change, or simply keeping them out of the killing loop this time around. There is also a bit of a time jump – Ava and Nathan will have their baby in season 2.
Season 2 of Based On A True Story premieres on Peacock on November 21, 2024.
The Real Meaning Of Based On A True Story’s Season 1 Ending
The Series Satirizes The Danger Of True Crime Obsessions
It manages to both homage and satirize the genre.
True Crime is a very lucrative genre in both television and podcasting in the modern age. True crime podcasts see interested parties explore psychological analysis of criminals, hope to solve cold cases, and more. The same is true of docuseries that seek to get stories of missing people out to the wider public. While those can be noble causes, Based On A True Story is an extreme and humorous look at the danger of becoming too invested in true crime. It manages to both homage and satirize the genre.
The argument has been made, especially as the number of true crime podcasts has grown exponentially, that the genre glorifies the killers more so than it gives a voice to victims and survivors. That can be true in some situations, and Based On A True Story takes that idea and runs with it. An actual serial killer is involved in a podcast and two regular people getting involved with him leads them down a dark path.
The show might be satire, but it makes its point.
How The Based On A True Story Season 1 Ending Was Received
The Ending Made People Interested In More
Though Based On A True Story might be a cautionary tale for true crime enthusiasts, it’s also been very well-received – once people watched to the end of the season. Initial reviews of the series called it “shaky” (Variety) and “frustrating but promising” (RogerEbert.Com). Once the audience had the chance to binge the series beyond the first episode, however, interest increased. It currently holds a 78% Popcornmeter (formerly Audience Score) on Rotten Tomatoes and a 76% Average Tomatometer from critics.
Making the show a comedy works in its favor and has led to plenty of critics and audience members clamoring for another season of the show. The cliffhanger ending certainly helped with that. Audiences have learned that even if a streaming service ends a show on a cliffhanger, it does not mean the show is safe. They have also learned not to take everything they see in a show like this at face value. Theories already persist that the Based On A True Story serial killer might not be who the audience thinks.
Based On A True Story has clearly found the sweet spot between homage and parody that makes it work.
Based on a True Story is a Peacock original crime thriller starring Kaley Cuoco and Chris Messina as a married couple who starts their own True Crime podcast. Ava and Nathan Bartlett are expecting their first child despite marital troubles as their finances continue to plummet, and their decision to hire a charming plumber to install a new toilet leaves them stuck in a true crime story of their own.
- Release Date
- June 8, 2023
- Showrunner
- Craig Rosenberg