Peacock's 'Based on a True Story' Season Two's Pointless Ending, Explained

When a struggling streaming platform takes months to renew a series — especially one starring Kaley Cuoco — it’s a clear sign the decision was borderline, and the show isn’t a guaranteed hit. (Contrast this with Peacock’s Poker Face, which was renewed for a second season while the first was still airing.) Given this, the creative team’s mindset should be: Let’s deliver the best possible season and provide the audience with closure because a third season is probably a long shot.

Or you could do what creator Craig Rosenberg does here: spin wheels for eight more episodes and set up a third season.

For those who may have forgotten, the premise of Based on a True Story is this: Married couple Ava (Kaley Cuoco) and Nathan (Chris Messina), struggling to make ends meet, discover that their plumber is a Los Angeles serial killer, the Westside Ripper. Instead of turning him in, Ava — a true-crime aficionado — convinces the Ripper, Matt (Tom Bateman), to record a podcast with them. Season one ends with Matt killing their friend Ruby, who had threatened to expose their secret, leaving Ava and Nathan to cover it up.

Here’s season two, the short version (Spoilers): It turns out Ruby was actually killed by her husband, although Matt intended to kill her. That detail is mostly meaningless in the second season. What does matter is Ava’s sister Tory (Liana Liberato) starts dating Matt. She knows he’s the Westside Ripper but believes he has reformed and abandoned his murderous ways for her.

Meanwhile, a copycat killer continues the Westside Ripper’s spree. Matt grows jealous of the attention the copycat is receiving, and Nathan and Ava eventually begin investigating the culprit. Melissa Fumero plays Drew, a seemingly cool mom with whom Ava initially bonds. However, Ava soon suspects Drew is a detective investigating the Westside Ripper. Then comes another twist: they suspect Drew is the copycat killer. And yet another twist reveals Drew is actually Matt’s ex-wife, determined to kill him herself.

Tory ultimately kills Drew. Matt, however, hasn’t given up on his serial killing ways. He becomes fixated on taking down the copycat killer, who turns out to be Chloe’s sister (Sara Paxton), seeking revenge for Chloe’s murder. Chloe’s sister is furious that the Westside Ripper garners more attention than his victims, whose stories are exploited by true-crime podcasts. In the end, Chloe’s sister is killed, and Nathan is arrested. The final twist? Matt has been framing Nathan as the Westside Ripper all along.

And that’s where it ends: Matt is on the loose, and Nathan is in jail for Matt’s crimes. Meanwhile, the true-crime podcast that was central to the premise is practically an afterthought. A third season is pending, but enduring this thoroughly mediocre second season hardly seems worth the gamble that Peacock might bless viewers with another middling eight episodes.