Rosenberg also indulges an annoying tic of sex- or murder-drenched fantasy sequences whenever the plot is lagging. The biggest problem is that at a certain point - specifically after a fitfully clever trip to Las Vegas for a true crime convention - Based on a True Story falls into a boring rut of threatened violence and threatened blackmail, obliterating whatever loose credulity the show had previously built up. Mad Man veteran Aaron Staton gets some loopy business in the home stretch, which definitely doesn’t come close to resolving what should have been a limited series. The supporting cast is either underdeveloped (Bateman engages enthusiastically with a character who’s more based on other fictional characters than on anything recognizably true) or shoehorned in (as a friend defined only by yoga pants and alleged blow job aptitude, Priscilla Quintana pops up frequently with limited logic, but is often funny). The actress lets her real-life pregnancy shape Ava’s physicality in amusing ways it adds a touch of poignancy to the strained relationship between Ava and Nathan, played with trademark masculinity-gone-to-seed urgency by Messina. As she has proven time and again on the generally superior The Flight Attendant, Cuoco makes for an exceptional everywoman caught up in heightened circumstances, able to generate frazzled laughs and grounded stakes with whiplash alacrity. When she begins to suspect that someone she knows just might be the still-at-large Westside Ripper, instead of calling the cops, Ava senses an opportunity: Could a podcast interviewing a serial killer be a pathway to a better life or might it just be a way to put their underwhelming lives in jeopardy?Ĭreator Craig Rosenberg ( The Boys) has crafted roles that steer into his stars’ strengths, albeit in fairly familiar ways. One of Ava’s main social outlets is a group of true crime podcast devotees. Oh, and they have rusty pipes, so they have to hire hunky plumber Matt (Tom Bateman). She’s a realtor stuck with one-bedroom apartment listings instead of the Palisades McMansions that bring in the big commissions. He’s a former tennis pro struggling to find purpose teaching bored kids and housewives at a club. Nathan (Messina) and Ava (Cuoco) have a decent life. But by halfway through the show’s eight-episode first season, its attempts at shocks become repetitive and its few original ideas run out of energy. Kaley Cuoco and Chris Messina make for a likable central pairing and the West Los Angeles setting marks a subtle detour from standard Hollywood noir. Cast: Kaley Cuoco, Chris Messina, Tom Bateman, Priscilla Quintana, Liana Liberato

The act is based on a true story