The cast of Peacock's Based on a True Story gives stellar performances, particularly the two leads playing characters involved in a true-crime podcast. The comedy thriller tells the story of a couple who decide to directly profit from a serial killer in their area by starting a podcast about him. To make the show unique, the podcasters choose to interview the murderer with the agreement that he does not kill anyone else while doing the podcast. The series forces viewers to examine where the line is between entertainment and exploitation.

Despite its heavy central question, Based on a True Story maintains a lighthearted tone throughout the show. The actors help achieve this balance between serious thriller and dark comedy approaches to the story. One of the Kaley Cuoco, performs well in her role due to her own ion for true-crime content (via Glamour). Along with Cuoco, the cast of Based on a True Story includes famous Hollywood stars that viewers will recognize from other movies and shows.

Kaley Cuoco As Ava Bartlett

Date Of Birth: November 30, 1985

• Active Since: 1992

Actor: Kaley Cuoco got her big break on television, first starring in 8 Simple Rules alongside the late John Ritter and then on the final season of Charmed as Billie Jenkins. However, she is best known for playing Penny on The Big Bang Theory from 2007 to 2019. Her work in the sitcom likely helped her comedic timing in Based on a True Story. Additionally, she's performed roles in many Max Originals, including Cassie Bowden in The Flight Attendant and the voice of the title character in the animated series Harley Quinn.

Character: As one of the leads of the Based on a True Story cast, Kaley Cuoco plays Ava Bartlett, a true-crime-obsessed woman who decides to profit off the Westside Rippers' murders by featuring him on the podcast. In the second season, she is back and just as tenacious as ever. She is also protective and wants to do the right thing, even if she often makes decisions that are a little out of her control.

Chris Messina As Nathan Bartlett

Date Of Birth: August 11, 1974

• Active Since: 1995

Actor: Chris Messina found his greatest success when he played the series regular Danny Castellano on The Mindy Project. That role earned him two Critics' Choice Awards nominations. His other TV projects include Richard Willis in Sharp Objects and Nick Haas in The Sinner. In film productions, Messina played Malinov in the Oscar-winning Argo, Detective Bowden in Devil, Harry in Ruby Sparks, and Victor Zsasz in the DCEU movie Birds of Prey.

Character: Chris Messina is the second co-lead of the Based on a True Story cast. He portrays Ava's husband, Nathan Barlett, who struggles to make ends meet until he decides to her in making the podcast. Heading into a mid-life crisis when the first season begins, he finds himself swept away by the dark world of his wife's true crime obsession along with Matt Pierce. It is interesting to see him morph into more of a sidekick, and his fears often lead Ava to take the lead more often than not.

Tom Bateman As Matt Pierce

Date Of Birth: March 15, 1989

• Active Since: 2011

Actor: Tom Bateman famously acted as Robert Jekyll and Edward Hyde in the 2015 TV series Jekyll and Hyde. His part there matches up well with his role in Based on a True Story. Like all other characters in the series, his morals are questionable and change rapidly. Bateman also performed as James in Snatched, Trevor Calcote in Cold Pursuit, and Bouc in the Hercule Poirot movie series. On TV, he also played Giuliano de' Medici in Da Vinci's Demons​​​​​​.

Character: Tom Bateman plays Matt Pierce, a Los Angeles plumber who becomes friends with the Bartletts in the Based on a True Story cast. However, as Ava and Nathan learn as the first season wears on, he is much more than a plumber. He s forces with them to help them create the true-crime podcast to cash in on the recent West Side Ripper murders, but the twist is that Matt is the serial killer, and Ava feels she can have a successful podcast by interviewing him for it.

Priscilla Quintana As Ruby Gate

Date Of Birth: August 11, 1992

• Active Since: 2014

Actor: Priscilla Quintana is a relatively new actor whose breakout role was Mina in the 2019 movie Polaroid. Before that, she had some small roles in movies like Furious 7 and Traffik and TV shows like Training Day, Masters of Sex, and Lethal Weapon. After her success in Polaroid, she moved exclusively to television, where she played Jacqueline "Jax" Zhou in Pandora and Isabella Tavez in Good Trouble.

Character: In the Based on a True Story cast, Priscilla Quintana plays Ruby, the best friend of the Bartletts who is opportunistic and secretive. However, she ends up in a minor antagonist role as the series rolls on, and she learns that Matt Pierce is the West Side Ripper. She begins blackmailing him to allow her to have a bigger role in the podcast. However, she was also planning to turn in Ava and Nathan and ended up as one of the Ripper's victims in season 1, leading to problems for the couple in season 2.

Liana Liberato As Tory Thompson

Date Of Birth: August 20, 1995

• Active Since: 2005

Actor: Lina Liberato got her start as a child actor, making her debut on Cold Case when she was only 10 and then appearing in Sons of Anarchy and CSI: Miami. She also appeared in the fourth season of House before she enjoyed her eventual breakout role in the 2010 film Trust. She later played the lead role of McKenna Brady in the Hulu Original TV show Light as a Feather. In movies, she famously played Kim in If I Stay and Quinn Bailey as part of the cast of Scream VI.

Character: Liana Liberato portrays Tory Thompson, Ava's sister, as the voice of reason in Based on a True Story. However, one of the biggest shocks in the first season was revealed when Ava and Nathan were finding a way to get rid of Ruby's body after Matt killed her. While they are gone, Matt and Ruby are shown to have a romantic relationship with each other, something that Ava has no idea about when it comes to her sister.

Melissa Fumero as Drew

Date Of Birth: August 19, 1982

• Active Since: 2004

Actor: Melissa Fumero got her start playing the role of Adrianna Cramer on the soap One Life to Life. However, she is best known for her role as Amy Santiago in Brooklyn Nine-Nine, one of the main cops on the show and a leading cast member from the start to the end. She has also worked in voice roles in animated shows, as she voiced Melissa Tarleton, the wife of the villain in the Marvel series M.O.D.O.K. Since then, she has also starred in Blockbuster and voiced characters in Digman! and Velma.

Character: Melissa Fumero stars as Drew, a new addition for Based on a True Story season 2. She is listed as a new mommy friend who is able to help Ava get her mind off the podcast and true crime cases. How far she gets into Ava's secret life will remain to be seen as season 2 rolls on.

Based On A True Story ing Cast & Characters

Miles Mussenden as Detective Quincy Burrell - Detective Burrell is someone who is investigating the West Side Ripper case and might be closing in on Ava and Nathan when it comes to what they are hiding. Miles Mussenden is best known for playing Otis Johnson in Cloak & Dagger.

Li Jun Li as Michelle - Michelle is a colleague of Nathan at the country club on Based on a True Story. Li Jun Li previously played Lady Fay Zhu in the movie Babylon.

Annabelle Dexter-Jones as Serena - Serena is one of Ava's closest friends in the first season of Based on a True Story. She is also married to Brandon Keener's Paul. Annabelle Dexter-Jones previously played Harper in the 2019 thriller Ravage.

Aisha Alfa as Carolyn - Carolyn is another one of Ava's close friends, although she also has no idea what she has gotten herself into. Before being cast in Based on a True Story, Aisha Alfa played Ms. Grell in Degrassi: Next Class.

Brandon Keener as Paul - Paul is Serena's husband, making him a friend of Ava by marriage. Before being cast in Based on a True Story, Brandon Keener played Warren Grass in the movie The Purge: Anarchy.

Yvonne Senat Jones as Detective Jessie Peterson - In the Based On A True Story cast, Yvonne Senat Jones fills the role of a detective named Jessie Peterson. Jones is most well known for her role as Tally in Ruthless.

Sebastian Quinn as Carlos - Sebastian Quinn started out in the series as Ruby's romantic interest, but as the first season showed, she had moved on from him by the end. Quinn portrayed the famous criminal Ernesto Miranda in the biopic Miranda's Victim.

Natalia Dyer as Chloe Lake - Natalia Dyer stars in Based on a True Story as Chloe Lake, a bartender who catches Matt and Nathan's eye at the bar one night. It was her murder at the hands of Matt that clued Ava in on the fact that he might be the West Side Ripper. Dyer rose to fame thanks to her role as Nancy Wheeler in Stranger Things.