Based on a True Story ends its very satisfying and fun first season with lots of unanswered questions. I need answers. The Peacock TV show follows Ava (Kaley Cuoco) and Nathan (Chris Messina) as they create a podcast with their plumber/handyman who also happens to be a famous serial killer, Matt (Tom Bateman). This leads to very dangerous (and often comical) situations. By the end of Based on a True Story Season 1, Mat has committed another murder, but that’s not his only crime.
Like many shows inspired by great true crime shows, our leads find themselves in a lot of trouble by the end of the season. You can’t just form a business partnership with a serial killer and not expect blood to spill. The series is currently in limbo, as it's not officially a canceled TV series yet, and it’ll likely stay that way for a while. However, I am hoping this one gets renewed, because I have so many questions that need to be answered after the Based on a True Story Season 1 finale.
Let’s discuss them.
Warning: Based on a True Story Season 1 spoilers ahead. Proceed with caution.
Will Simon Discover What Happened To Ruby?
The biggest cliffhanger from the Season 1 finale is that Simon (Aaron Staton) walks in on Ava and Nathan cleaning up Ruby’s (Priscilla Quintana) blood. He may not immediately figure it out, but his head is bound to start spinning when Ruby’s disappearance becomes known.
Based on a True Story is good at delivering shocks, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Matt pops up out of nowhere and kills Simon. This would give Ava and Nathan two bodies to dispose of in less than 24 hours. If Simon manages to live past a potential Season 2 premiere, I think he may become the one to work actively to expose what happened to Ruby, and Ava, Matt, and Nathan’s involvement in it.
Simon seems the most likely to start to question what’s going on, especially if it involves his wife. Additionally, Simon could easily become the fall guy for her disappearance. As we know, the husband is usually the first suspect in these types of cases, and with Ruby and Simon’s volatile relationship and Duke/McEnroe’s death, Matt could easily frame Simon for her murder.
Will Nathan And Ava Tell Tory About Matt Now That They’re Dating?
The fact that Tory (Liana Liberato) and Matt are secretly dating isn’t that surprising, because he has been hanging around Ava and Nathan’s house a lot. The minute Tory declared how much she hated the Based on a True Story podcast, Matt clearly saw a new target.
I don’t see Tory being okay with her boyfriend being a serial killer, so I think Ava and Nathan will do everything possible to hide the truth from her and break up this unholy romance. However, if she does discover the truth, I don’t think it will end well for anyone involved. Since Matt is a psychopath, I definitely think Tory should be very afraid, and Ava and Nathan should be afraid for her.
Is Matt Going To Kill More People?
Naively, Nathan and Ava thought they could control Matt, but now that they helped him cover up Ruby’s murder, I think he will murder a lot more. He may spare more of their friends and family, but the West Side Ripper will definitely come out of temporary retirement. The number may even end up rivaling John Wick’s kill total by the end of Based on a True Story Season 2.
The mystery will come in who he kills, because I think that some of the characters that we meet in Season 1 won’t make it beyond Season 2.
Are New Serial Killers Going To Be Added To Based On A True Story?
Season 1 ended with Matt contacting marginalized serial killers to possibly franchise the podcast by creating spin-off series with them. He’s trying to make his own horror movie franchise, but as a podcast based on real killers. I hope that the show plays with this idea and adds new serial killers into the mix.
They could even take a page out of the American Horror Story playbook and do fictional versions of real serial killers. The show could even also do some fun cameos or perfect casting by getting Michael C. Hall, Penn Badgley or Evan Peters to play a serial killer.
Will We Learn More About Matt’s Ex-Wife?
Matt mentions that his marriage ended in divorce. We see his son throughout the first season, but we never see his ex-wife. We also see Matt purposely doing the opposite of what she wants by supplying their son with lots of sugar. They clearly had a messy breakup. I would love to learn more about her, and find out whether she knows that Matt’s a serial killer or if he managed to hide it from her all these years.
We don’t really hear much of the Based on a True Story podcast, so it would be interesting to get more of Matt’s backstory, especially when it comes to his time being married. Did he stop killing during that time? Why did he get married? How much did his wife know or suspect about his crimes? I definitely think she needs to be added to any future seasons.
Will All The Crimes Be Exposed?
Matt, and now Ava and Nathan, have committed so many crimes, but so far, no one really suspects any of them. However, Nathan, Matt, and Ava have all been kind of sloppy with covering up their crimes. If Ava could so easily figure out that Matt is the serial killer, then the police need to work a little harder.
Obviously, if Based on a True Story wants to last for multiple seasons, it can’t have the crimes exposed yet. However, it could be interesting if some of Matt’s crimes at least start to get exposed and maybe he gets arrested, or even better, Nathan is falsely identified as the serial killer and Ava has to figure out how to prove his innocence while also not exposing Matt. It could be an interesting Season 2 storyline.
Will Ava And Nathan Finally Seek Marriage Counseling?
In some ways, Ava and Nathan’s devotion to each other is commendable. He’s really ride or die for her. However, their marriage has a lot of issues, especially if they’re only ten years in and collaborating on helping protect a serial killer. Besides that, they both think about cheating a lot. It’s not healthy.
Even some of the most prolific TV serial killers knew they needed therapy. It’s time that Nathan and Ava explore that route.
Based on a True Story is one of the best original shows on Peacock. It’s also just one of the best TV shows on Peacock, so I really hope that it gets another season, especially after it left us with so many unanswered questions.
