This 2-Season Dark Comedy Thriller With a 'Stranger Things' Star Was Cancelled Too Soon

After almost a decade, Stranger Things has officially concluded. The ending saw Natalia Dyer's Nancy Wheeler bravely make herself bait for the Mind Flayer, risking her life so that the shadow entity could finally be defeated. Dyer has always played Nancy well, but she also took on quite a few other roles between the start and end of the series.

One of these included a guest appearance in Based on a True Story, Peacock's dark comedy series that feels like an edgier and more over-the-top cousin of Only Murders in the Building. Dyer was only in the first two episodes, but her character made a huge mark on the show, leaving lasting consequences that impacted the characters and carried over all the way into the show's finale.

Natalia Dyer Is the Latest Murder Victim of the Westside Ripper in 'Based on a True Story'

In the very first scene of Based on a True Story, Natalia Dyer's character is introduced as Chloe Lake, a young woman who gets murdered by the infamous Los Angeles-based killer, the Westside Ripper, one night while she's alone doing a workout routine in her apartment. On a seemingly unrelated note, the show moves back in time a little bit, where married couple Ava (Kaley Cuoco) and Nathan Bartlett (Chris Messina) are dissatisfied with their lives. Nathan misses the old days when he was a star tennis player, while Ava distracts herself from her loss of interest in her real estate job and her daily life with an interest in true-crime podcasts. The two have a baby on the way, but they are struggling financially, especially after Nathan gets demoted at his job as a tennis instructor at a country club.

When the Bartletts' toilet breaks, they have to call a plumber, which is how they meet Matt (Tom Bateman). They can't afford to pay him for the full repairs, so Nathan agrees to give Matt tennis lessons twice a week, and it changes Nathan's life. Matt is funny, charming, and exactly the sort of friend that Nathan could use right now — or so it seems. Nathan and Matt go out to a bar one night, where Chloe serves them as their bartender. Matt tells Nathan that he thinks Chloe is interested in Nathan, but nothing happens, and the night ends with Matt taking a drunk Nathan home. They go back the following night, but Chloe doesn't even remember Nathan. Later that night, she is killed.

Rather than turn Matt in when they figure out he's the killer, Ava and Nathan decide to blackmail him into anonymously doing a murder podcast with them where he exposes all of his secrets as the Westside Ripper. Over the course of the series, Ava and Nathan get in over their heads as they struggle with the ethical dilemma of what it means to cover for Matt, keep up a working relationship with him, and profit off of him – even though one of their conditions is that he isn't allowed to kill anyone else.

'Based on a True Story' Was a Sharply Funny and Bold Show That Was Cancelled Way Too Soon

Based on a True Story is a dark, hilarious show that uses Ava and Nathan to critique the genre of true-crime. They start out as two ordinary people who wish to have more exciting lives and to not have to worry about money. The podcast is initially a way for the two of them to take care of their finances, but they have to cross a number of moral and ethical lines in order to keep it going. This takes Ava and Nathan on a difficult path where they start to wonder if they might just be as bad as Matt, and where this major secret starts to take a toll on their lives and their other relationships.

Even though Natalia Dyer's Chloe is killed off quickly, she still appears through a flashback and her death hangs over both of the show's seasons. Dyer is very funny and compelling as Chloe, but she is also a sympathetic character even after just a few brief scenes. This is important, because Chloe's death is what starts off the series, and it forces viewers to remember that Matt is a ruthless serial killer — no matter how funny or even likable he can be at times. Chloe's murder has lasting consequences on the show, and Dyer is able to make that impact in just two episodes. Based on a True Story had so much potential with its unique premise and tone, and it explored the topic of true-crime in a darker, more honest, and more satirical way than other shows have done. Unfortunately, Based on a True Story was sadly cancelled after just two seasons and on a major cliffhanger, but it still makes for the perfect binge-watch.