In new trailer for Peacock’s Based on a True Story, murder’s just podcast content

Peacock’s new comedy thriller series from Craig Rosenberg and Jason Bateman turns a couple of true crime podcast listeners into would-be murder detectives.

Most true crime podcasters try to stress that, while their shows are for entertainment purposes, they come from a place of respect and aren’t just exercises in fantasizing about what it would be like to live as a crime scene investigator. But in the first trailer for Peacock’s new series Based on a True Story, a couple’s homemade show about their neighbor’s untimely death is just the first step toward them living their murder-solving dreams and maybe making a bit of cash along the way.

From executive producers Craig Rosenberg and Jason Bateman, Based on a True Story tells the tale of husband and wife duo Ava (Kaley Cuoco) and Nathan Bartlett (Chris Messina) — a happy couple who finds themselves strapped for cash just as they’re expecting a new baby. As a former real estate agent and tennis star, Ava and Nathan seem somewhat used to the finer things in life and uncertain of how they’re going to make ends meet in Based on a True Story’s first trailer.

With both of them out of work and trying to find new jobs, life’s already stressful enough for the couple without them worrying about the West Side Ripper, a local serial killer who’s on the loose. But as the Ripper’s body count continues to rise, Ava — a true crime junkie — sees an opportunity to use their proximity to one of the killings to launch a podcast of their own about it and use the show to figure out which one of their friends might be the new “it” murderer.

Based on a True Story’s trailer makes it seem like it’ll have more than a bit in common with HBO’s The Flight Attendant, both because of its focus on amateurs getting in over their heads with crime and because of the Kaley Cuoco of it all. But what really stands out about the show from this early look is how much side-eye Based on a True Story might have for the true crime genre when its entire seasonhits Peacock on June 8th.