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Like Peacock’s Based on a True Story? Then watch these 5 TV shows just like it

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Did you watch Based on a True Story and love it? With just a short eight episodes in the first season, it’s a quick binge you probably got through in a single weekend. Now what can you do? Thankfully, there’s a nice selection of series that are similar to Based on a True Story and are equally as entertaining.

Each of these shows is either about true crime, podcasts, whodunits, crime, and serial killers or, in many cases, a mixed bag of all these topics. But each one will keep you at the edge of your seat, anxious to binge through all episodes in a season to get to the revealing end.

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Only Murders in the Building

Charles, Oliver, and Mabel peeking through a doorway in a scene from Only Murders in the Building on Hulu.
Hulu

Only Murders in the Building is eerily similar to Based on a True Story in a number of ways. In both shows, true crime enthusiasts (in the case of Only Murders in the Building, three of them, played by Selena Gomez, Martin Short, and Steve Martin) learn of a murder nearby and are fascinated with it. However, Ava (Kaley Cuoco) in Based on a True Story doesn’t have to do much work before she figures out who the killer is.

Nonetheless, a true crime podcast is at the center of both stories, including the lead characters starting one themselves. With Only Murders in the Building, the podcast is designed as a vehicle to help solve the case while in Based on a True Story, it’s about secretly interviewing the killer who has already been identified. Nonetheless, both shows are parodies of our obsession with true crime, handling the subject matter in a unique way.

Stream Only Murders in the Building on Hulu.

Poker Face

Charlie on the phone, looking shocked in a scene from Poker Face on Peacock.
Phillip Caruso / Peacock

Hailing from the same streaming service, Poker Face is yet another show for the true crime obsessed. It follows Charlie (Natasha Lyonne), a young woman with the gift of being able to sense when someone is lying. This sixth sense gets her into hot water and she goes on the run, where she meets different people along the way. Ironically (and unbelievably), in every city she stops, she encounters a murder. So, she uses her sleuthing skills and intuition to help solve it.

Interestingly, one episode does involve a podcast and a murder. Both these shows offer up the same mix of drama and intrigue along with heavy laughs. They are silly and absurd at their core, but both are thoroughly entertaining.

Stream Poker Face on Peacock.

The Afterparty

Two young man stand looking confused in a scene from The Afterparty on Apple TV+.
Apple TV+

A fun whodunit mystery, The Afterparty begins with a murder, then spends each episode looking back at the events that led up to it. As Detective Danner (Tiffany Haddish) interrogates each person present at a high school reunion afterparty where the murder took place, she gets the same story told from a different perspective, each time with new clues.

The show delivers every episode in a different genre style, from horror to action movie, rom-com to even an animated episode. Fans of Based on a True Story will love the aspect of a killer, analyzing clues, and dealing with a mix of personalities.

Stream The Afterparty on Apple TV+.

Truth Be Told

Kate Hudson and Octavia Spencer talking to someone at a table in a scene from season 2 of Truth Be Told.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

While Truth Be Told is far grittier than Based on a True Story, it shares some striking similarities. It, too, is about a true crime podcast. However, the story follows Poppy Parnell (Octavia Spencer), the creator of the podcast who became famous in the podcasting world after her content leads to the arrest and imprisonment of a young man named Warren (Aaron Paul) for murder. However, when she starts to believe that she helped put the wrong man away, the guilt consumes her.

Unable to shake the feeling that she wrongfully helped send an innocent man to prison, Poppy begins to dig deeper into the case in hopes of learning more and correcting her mistake. Both shows wrestle with the moral ambiguity and influence that something as seemingly simple as a podcast can have on the lives of others.

Stream Truth Be Told on Apple TV+.

Good Girls

Three main female characters on Good Girls on Hulu sitting down with coffee mugs, looking terrified.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Also combining comedy, drama, and crime, Good Girls is about three suburban moms who decide to rob a supermarket to make money while going through tough financial times. But they choose the wrong supermarket. Not only does the manager recognize one of them, but it turns out the supermarket is actually being used as a front for a mob gang.

Like Ava and Nathan (Chris Messina), the ladies, Beth (Christina Hendricks), Ruby (Retta), ad Annie (Mae Whitman) quickly realize they bit off more than they can chew. What was supposed to be a single robbery to pay the bills turns into a sordid tale of crime, debt, secrets, and crisis. It’s easy to see the parallels between these two shows.

Stream Good Girls on Netflix.

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Christine Persaud
Christine Persaud
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Christine has decades of experience in trade and consumer journalism. While she started her career writing exclusively about…
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