Annie Weisman, the creator of Physical on AppleTV+, is the latest to join the Based on a True Story team. Listed as an executive producer on the Peacock series’ second season, Weisman told DECIDER she’s “attracted to Southern California stories that get underneath the sunny surface” and “into the shadows.” And what better way to describe a show about a wholesome married couple who becomes entangled in a web of scandal after they strike a business deal with a wanted serial killer?
Warning: this article contains spoilers for Based on a True Story Season 2. Read at your own risk.
When the show returns for Season 2, Ava (Kaley Cuoco) and Nathan (Chris Messina) have welcomed their baby boy and paid Matt (Tom Bateman) to disappear to Mexico. However, they aren’t completely rid of the Westside Ripper because he returns to California engaged to Ava’s younger sister Tory (Liana Liberato). While this naturally upsets the couple, Matt promises he’s sober from killing — and a large part of this season follows the character as he suppresses his desire to murder.
“We sort of pitched him this idea of like, ‘Hey, what if murdering is an addiction? And we try to take you on a path of recovery?’ And he was really intrigued by that,” Weisman said of Bateman’s reaction to Matt’s Season 2 arch, before adding, “And then we play with the idea of whether or not that’s even possible.”
According to Weisman, the season starts with a “relatable pull — what if killing is just a kind of a bad habit that can be broken?” But as things start to progress, she said they tried to “take murder a little more seriously” as they wanted to portray both the “escapist appeal” of true crime as well as the “truth about the consequences of taking a life.”
DECIDER recently spoke to Weisman over a Zoom interview, where she also opened up about casting Melissa Fumero in Season 2, why they fictionally killed Jared Leto, and whether Season 3 is in the works. Check out the full interview below.
DECIDER: Annie, you’re coming off a successful run with Physical on Apple TV+. What made you want to step into the world of Based on a True Story as Showrunner for Season 2?
ANNIE WEISMAN: Well, I was a fan of the show, Season 1. I loved the real genre mixing and boundary pushing tone of the show. Also, I’m really attracted to Southern California stories that kind of get underneath the sunny surface and get into the shadows. So it really appealed to me in that way. And then, you know, I’m also a big fan of true crime and mystery storytelling. So it was the chance to kind of marry some different interests of mine. And then just getting a chance to work with really great actors like Chris Messina and Kaley Cuoco. [It was] too great an opportunity to pass up.
For most of the season, Matt is sober from murdering, which is an interesting wrinkle. What was Tom Bateman’s reaction when you approached him with this change? Was he eager to play a different side of Matt?
Yeah, we had really interesting creative conversations starting out. We sort of pitched him this idea of like, “Hey, what if murdering is an addiction? And we try to take you on a path of recovery?” And he was really intrigued by that. Of course, you know, we have a lot of twists and tricks up our sleeve within that. That’s really the premise that we begin with. And then we play with the idea of whether or not that’s even possible.
On the same-ish page, Tory makes her first kill this season. Was it a conscious decision to show the way a normal person would react to this vs. the way someone like Matt reacts to this?
Well, without giving away too much, because it’s one of our big spoilers of the season, I would say, yeah, the season begins with a kind of relatable pull. What if killing is just a kind of a bad habit that can be broken? But then as the season progresses and things ramp up, we try to kind of take murder a little more seriously by the end. And so we want to have it both ways. We want to have that escapist appeal that reflects how we’re all drawn to these kinds of stories and then also really kind of land the plane and tell the truth about the consequences of taking a life.
Out of all the celebrities who have profited from true crime, why did you choose to fictionally kill Jared Leto? Does he know he’s a victim in the show?
I don’t know the answer to that. I don’t know if I want to give away too much of that because it is one of our spoilers in the season. I want people to have the pleasure of the surprise of that piece of story. We’re really just playing around in the meta world of people who’ve been involved in true crime storytelling. And luckily, it’s touched almost every actor in all of show business. So I think you’d be hard pressed to find someone who hasn’t been a part of a murder influence story. I’ll just say that.
You cast two dynamic actresses–Melissa Fumero and Sara Paxton–to play two very complicated, twisty characters. Why were they the perfect choices?
I have to say, I’m just a huge fan of Melissa Fumero’s, and everyone in my family is a huge fan of Melissa Fumero’s from Brooklyn Nine-Nine. So we really saw her out as the perfect person to play this role. She has a comedic energy. And it’s really about her being this fun and relatable best new pal for Kaley Cuoco. And the two of them just go toe to toe in such a great way. They had really easy comic chemistry just [from] day one. And then I think what’s fun about her character is that we also get to see, which I love getting to do with someone who’s so familiar to us in a certain role, we turn over some really interesting leads with her that fans of hers will not expect or see coming. So I’m really excited about that. And that’s a lot of fun.
I think it goes without saying that we NEED a third season. Is that something that’s already in the works? And if so, where would you like to see these characters go moving forward?
We have a really satisfying mystery story this season, and we definitely won’t leave any fans feeling that they’ve been shortchanged with where we go. But yeah, we definitely couldn’t resist teeing up a possible Season 3 and just opening that door because there really are still so many great stories to tell with these characters. So, you know, from your mouth to God’s ears. Let’s hope we get to do more.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Based on a True Story Season 2 is currently streaming on Peacock.