It’s hard to think of a subculture as aggressively influential as true crime. Threatening to become mainstream, there’s been a serious uptick in the number of books, shows, and television programs dedicated to covering real-life murders and bizarre events, ranging all the way from Jessica Knoll’s brilliant novel Bright Young Women all the way down to Ryan Murphy’s depiction of Evan Peters as a far more affable Jeffrey Dahmer. True crime fandom has undeniably changed the look of entertainment for years to come, which is why when Ava (Kaley Cuoco) and Nathan Bartlett (Chris Messina) connect the recent string of murders in their area to their friendly neighborhood plumber, Matt Pierce (Tom Bateman), they forgo law enforcement in favor of launching a podcast anonymously detailing their monster’s crimes. This is Based on a True Story, and it’s one of the best shows currently airing on television.
“I mean, I was definitely the person that would be doing the dishes and doing chores listening to true crime podcasts,” says Liana Liberato, who stars as Ava’s younger live-in sister Tory Thompson. “I love ‘Serial,’ I love ‘Root of Evil,’ ‘To Live and Die in L.A.’ Like, there’s so many good ones. I totally related, and I also felt a little called out.”
The show was recently renewed for a second season, and Liberato shares what she hopes to see her character explore going forward. “I think that something that I was really interested in in the first season with Tory was this moral compass that she is, and I’d like to see that get shattered a little bit.” So far in the series the audience has been witness to the ups and downs of realtor Ava and her former tennis star husband Nathan’s lives while they attempted to save their marriage through co-hosting a podcast with a serial killer.
Liberato reveals she’s pumped to spend more time on set with Cuoco in the upcoming season, which will show more of the dynamic shared between the two sisters. “I don’t want to give too much away, but we primarily talked about the history between Ava and Tory, and what their relationship is like, why their dynamic is the way it is, and what makes Tory the person that she is, and a lot of that is sort of derivative of her past,” explains Liberato. “There’s definitely a lot that Ava and Tory have gone through with their family, whether that be separate or together, and I think that we’re going to be able to dive into that a lot in season two.”
There were sparks early on between Liana’s Tory and Tom Bateman’s Matt, all building up to a confirmation of their relationship in the final episode of the first season. When contemplating why Tory might be drawn to a questionable figure like Matt, Liberato credits her character’s colorful past for her current preferences. “Tory definitely spent a lot of her life in turbulence, and I think whether she likes it or not, she’s attracted to that,” notes the actor. “I will say one thing though—I do think that this season is going to be rooted a little bit more in reality. There’s definitely going to be moments where audiences are like, ‘That’s a fake-out,’ and you’re going to realize it’s not. I think that you’re going to see a side of Tory that nobody was expecting, and I’m really excited to unleash that in myself as well, and see how far I can take it.”
image via peacock
