Based on a True Story

Enjoyed it. Was better than I expected. However...

There was no finale. It just... ends. There are ten different plot threads all left wide open. I thought there were two episodes left to wrap up the season, instead it was over.

This wasn't a split season. It's not even renewed yet. Don't get me wrong, I'm fine with a show ending on a cliffhanger. I expect it. But every episode ends with one, and every previous episode had a better one than the "finale".

A season needs to finish with a sense of completion somewhere, not just roll straight into the next one. Severance did this as well. After the last episode I thought, "man, the season finale is going to be fierce!"

Instead, it's just... show over. Hope you still remember the characters and storylines a year and a half from now, because there won't be any resolution until then. That is, assuming the show survives the writers strike.

Overall, enjoyed the show. I'm not much of a binger, but my wife and I finished it in a couple of days. If my entire review is complaining it ended too soon, I suppose I'd recommend it.

After reading all the negative reviews here, I threw my own negative review away and started over. I'm going to call this a campy murder romp instead.

I was expecting more from Exec Prod Jason Bateman after Ozark. And while this COULD've been done more darkly like Ozark, I see now that they were playing the social media fame obsession AND murder story only for laughs and gags. Does it work? Kinda. Maybe. The jokes and dialogue could be smarter. The use of dream sequences gets a little overworked.

Cuoco and Messina play two desperate and bumbling fame-seekers who do some completely implausible things in an effort to chase notoriety but only get deeper into trouble. It's kind of a send-up of the whole social media true crime phenomenon, but it's not an obvious satire. It works if you go into it with the idea that you, the viewer, are smarter than all of the characters on the screen. They're going to prove you right in every scene.

Yes, it's obviously implausible that anyone would do any of the things that happen here. Or is it? Social media has shown that not everyone is as smart as us.

I like Cuoco and Messina but not their characters. I just want them to call the cops and end the shenanigans. And the Matt character is a bit over the top, but if you look at it like a send-up, it helps.

Don't be taken by surprise when S-1 just kind of ends without resolution. That's how it goes.

Jason Bateman is great and we checked out this series based on his touch and the premise. Following in the wake of Only Murders in The Building, this series is also a satire about Americans' current obsession with true crime.

A down, out...and pregnant LA couple figure out who the local serial killer (aka The Westside Ripper) is and instead of going to the police, in order to get fame and make money, decide to do a podcast with the killer instead. This leads to lots of dark comedy when they do things like attend a true crime convention!

Lots of moral questions are brought up but everything is pretty tongue in cheek. I am not a big fan of Kaley Cuoco, who plays the wife Ava Bartlett...but the best thing I can say is she didn't ruin the series for me, although her hair in her face during every scene was driving me crazy. Give that girl a barrette or ponytail holder, please. The male lead was a bit whiny as a has been tennis pro who is now a has been instructor being put out to kids classes...and then fired. The rest of the cast was pretty fantastic. I appreciated the fun that was poked at the rich "LA" couples who are their friends.

If you are a fan of true crime, comedy, satire...and some decent writing, I think you will enjoy this series (at least the first season).

...I have been waiting for this show for a long time! I was so excited and of course binged the whole thing. Easy to watch but it does drag just a bit in places. Not enough that I turned it off or lost interest! It has soooo many amazing people too. I've loved many of the things the leads are in. I do hope it's renewed for a second season because I want them to amp it up and tell more of the murderers story and give us more murders haha. It's such a great concept too. In this world of true crime and podcasts and making millions it just make sense that someone would eventually team up with a murderer to be able to tell the stories first. Bateman is great! They all are were great truthfully, not a bad actor in the bunch. I'll be here for the next installment for sure.

I wanted to uprate it to a 9 or 10, but the subject was so kind of horrible, I felt like because of everything that is so excellent about it, I had to compromise. It is a classic guilty pleasure for sure! I am not one who thinks murder and especially psychopathic serial killers should be, in any way, celebrated. This show is very well done. The cast is beyond fantastic. It made me laugh more than I like to admit. It is a thrill ride from the second episode until the final episode, which was a major cliffhanger, making us want more. But in today's violent society? I have to admit, be aware that to a certain extent, Based on a True Story has a very psychopathic edge to it.

I suppose there are different ways to look at this show. It is so edgy and humorous and off the wall, it is hard to take it seriously. I am not a prude or a judgy person, but in retrospect, I am a little embarrassed to recommend this to my friends. Obviously, I have very mixed feelings about this show because of the subject matter. That being said, I watched it to the end like eating potato chips. I will leave it as a guilty pleasure and feel guilty that I really, really want to see another season. Just be aware, this show is not for the faint of heart! And I want a second season because I am hoping there will be some sort of closure of the subject matter to those who have experienced severe losses of innocents murdered, and will see real justice win! It is a great thrill ride, includes a lot of humor, but with some very nasty people and issues involved! JMHO.