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CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION | ||
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Positive:
13
Mixed:
12
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews
TV Guide MagazineJun 9, 2023
Season 1 Review:
A grisly good time had by all. [12 Jun - 2 Jul 2023, p.6]
Jun 8, 2023
Season 1 Review:
Sharp writing and keen comedic timing by the show’s main players make “Based on a True Story” an amusingly disturbing journey into the world of true-crime fandom and the queasy worship around homicidal maniacs like Dennis Rader, better known as “BTK,” and John Wayne Gacy.
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Jun 8, 2023
Season 1 Review:
The high concept, darkly comedic “Based on a True Story” takes two overly long episodes to set up its premise, but once it does the right-sized 30-minute episodes that follow have a blast satirizing true crime stories and those who love them. It’s an entertaining yarn that taps into the American bloodlust for true crime tales.
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Jun 6, 2023
Season 1 Review:
Ava and Nathan's coterie of friends feel like a distraction, there to stretch out the plot rather than provide worthwhile color. It's far more compelling to watch two semi-hapless people realign their world now that there's a serial murderer in it. Fortunately, most episodes don't run longer than 25 minutes. It never takes much time to get to the good stuff. And there's a lot of good stuff.
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Jun 8, 2023
Season 1 Review:
Kaley Cuoco continues to burnish her post-“Big Bang Theory” credentials as a streaming queen with “Based on a True Story,” a twisty, darkly comic series with strong echoes of two Netflix shows, “You” and “Dead to Me.” The series likely won’t rival either on Peacock – a service that tends to fly under the radar – but those who find it won’t be disappointed.
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ColliderNov 19, 2024
Season 2 Review:
Putting characters in a rut as a spark for change is a tried and true dramatic convention, but the trick is to avoid the audience feeling like the plot itself is in a rut, and that's a challenge that Season 2 doesn't quite ace. It ends on a strong set of episodes but makes for an uneven watch overall.
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Jun 8, 2023
Season 1 Review:
“Based on a True Story” is much more bleak than “Only Murders.” (Creator Craig Rosenberg had a hand in the pitch-black humor of “The Boys.”) Some of that darkness adds to the show’s appeal; more often, much like its characters, “Based on a True Story” spins out of control.
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The GuardianJun 8, 2023
Season 1 Review:
With credulity crumbling by the end of eight mostly enjoyable, if increasingly ludicrous, episodes, Based on a True Story might not have enough blood to pump through another season (even if a cliffhanger ending suggests that it will happen anyway), but murder fans should find enough here to chew on.
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Jun 6, 2023
Season 1 Review:
The target is broad and easy to hit (others already have) except "Based on a True Story's'" aim is unsteady. The show would much rather be a comedy (also unsteady) or thriller (unsteadiest of all). At its best, this series features three seasoned and particularly appealing actors who know how to sell the premise — outlandish and as full of plot holes as this one is. But at its worst — far worse — is a recurrent pattern of violence against women.
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Jun 8, 2023
Season 1 Review:
If you’re looking for a breezy summer binge, it makes a passable substitute for any of the aforementioned shows [Dead to Me, Good Girls, and You]. But the writing is blander, the characters thinner, the plot too reliant on viewers’ willingness to suspend disbelief. And the true-crime satire is disappointingly timid.
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Jun 6, 2023
Season 1 Review:
if you take something true and either to protect the not-so-innocent or to beef up the drama you layer in so many tropes and clichés it becomes a sitcom, what was the point? I’ll bet the true story actually is nuts, but Only Murders in Mar Vista is closer to a footnote than a trend.
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The PlaylistJun 6, 2023
Season 1 Review:
Stars Kaley Cuoco and Chris Messina are talented enough to sell a good line every now and then, but the plotting here falls apart under even the slightest scrutiny, and the whole thing just isn’t funny enough to pull its target audience away from their favorite podcasts.
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