It quickly became apparent that Kaley Cuoco and Chris Messina were friends in real life during a joint interview with the pair to discuss their new crime thriller Based On A True Story.

They jokingly jabbed one another, finished each other’s sentences, and laughed throughout the conversation. It would be fair to assume they were longtime friends, but as it turns out, they’d never worked together or met before making the Peacock dramedy.

They had, of course, seen one another’s work over the years, but the eight-episode series was their first time acting together, and the result was simply splendid. They have that magical onscreen chemistry.

In this case, the viewer reaps the rewards with perfectly timed and delivered laugh-out-loud one-liners in the tale of a realtor, a former tennis star, and a plumber as they devise a plan to join the lucrative world of true-crime podcasts.

Regarding the sharp writing, both confirm it was often hard to keep a straight face. “We’d go off the rails, and we got in trouble a lot!” admits Cuoco.

“They told us to shut up a lot,” Messina adds, as both laugh at some inside joke between them.

In the story, beautiful and sunny Los Angeles is terrorized by the West Side Ripper, a serial killer leaving a bloody trail of victims around the city. As a true-crime fanatic, Cuoco’s Ava Bartlett knows there’s money in murder, with top podcasts garnering $25 million deals.

Cuoco, well-known for her role in The Flight Attendant, stars as a pregnant wife and realtor who hasn’t had much luck selling a home in a while. She’s married to Nathan, played by Chris Messina (Air), a former tennis pro who suffered an injury that ended his career. She ropes Nathan in and even convinces him to work with the killer.

The down-on-their-luck couple faces a mounting pile of unpaid bills when they befriend the charming Matt, portrayed by Tom Bateman (Thirteen Lives), a plumber who comes to fix their toilet.

As despicable as their plan is, you root for them. They’re chasing the American dream of fame and success but soon find themselves in way over their heads. Though it may not seem like a comedy, it is a laugh-out-loud romp on the dark side.

When asked about their initial reactions upon receiving the script for the pilot episode, each said they couldn’t stop laughing. Cuoco got the script before Messina.

“I’d known about this script before anything came to me,” recalls Cuoco. “I thought the idea was so brilliant, and then when I got lucky enough to be asked to be a part of it, I was thrilled. I thought it was hilarious. And I wanted to work with this guy,” she adds, with a friendly jab to her co-star.

“I thought it was very smart. I love true crime. I love comedy. I love dark comedy. And then I got pregnant and made them change the entire storyline,” she laughs aloud.

Messina feels Cuoco’s pregnancy made the storyline even better. “It was one of the best things for the show.” He then reflects on getting the pilot script and learning he’d be starring alongside Cuoco. “I was a huge fan and jumped at the opportunity to act with her. I love the idea of this couple that’s falling apart and falling away from each other, and they choose the most ridiculous, dangerous, darkest plan to come back together.”

Ava and Nathan turn a dark corner by the end of season one. You cannot make a deal with the devil and keep blood off your hands. When asked to describe their characters, Cuoco and Messina look at one another and, again, laugh.

“That’s the thing about it. If you watch as much true crime as many of us do, especially me, you see good people doing really bad things. Or, they get stuck in a situation they feel like they can’t get out of. And these two are at their desperate wits’ end. Their marriage is falling apart, they’re losing money, they’re about to lose their house, and they have a baby on the way. So, I think this falls in their lap, and it obviously spins so far out of control, and they’re pretty much screwed now. I mean, they’re as bad as the killer at this point. I was laughing that season two would just be us in prison. I mean, they really are in a bad place. I think they’re also getting off on the fact that this is so exciting, and it’s something new in their life, and they’re doing it together. Now they’re committed, and there’s no way out.”

“They’re lost,” says Messina. “They thought they were going to be something else, and I think everyone can relate to that. What you thought your life was going to be or supposed to be, and now it looks quite different. But the idea that they would feel either successful or powerful in the road they take in the show is hysterical, ridiculous, and super dark.”

Despite the dark material, everyone had fun on the set. “We definitely played a lot. He’s not joking when he says we were told multiple times to shut up,” Cuoco says. “We’d go on these tangents and just go completely out of control. I’d be like, ‘How are they going to edit this?’ But it was too much fun. Immediately, the first scene we did together was electric, and we just kept going with it, and I think that was part of the magic of the show.”

Messina explains there’s no way of knowing how you’ll get along with your co-stars when you take on an acting role, especially if you’ve never met. “We just became the best of friends.”

“Yeah,” agrees Cuoco.

The season ends with quite the cliffhanger, so here’s hoping for a second dose of Ava and Nathan. We saw them get into this mess and need to see them get out of it if they can.

The series comes from Craig Rosenberg, Jason Bateman, and Michael Costigan. Rosenberg, known for hits including The Boys and Gen V, serves as showrunner, executive producer, and writer. Bateman and Costigan executive produce.

Source: Forbes