Spoiler alert: This post contains details about Season 2 of Based on a true story.
Wedding bells are in store at Liana Liberato this season Based on a true storyAnd let's just hope someone knows how to remove blood stains from white.
After Season 1 saw Tori unwittingly spark a romance with a serial killer, the actress told Deadline about “justifying her choices” while engaged to “Westside Ripper” Matt (Tom Bateman) and “holding up a mirror” to her true crime obsession. In the second season of Peacock's dark, sexy comedy, now streaming on the platform.
“I definitely thought at first that Tori might be in the dark in Season 2 and that she was going to date Matt and had no idea that she was in bed with a serial killer,” Liberato admitted. “But it was an interesting challenge to be thrown that curve ball and have to justify her decisions and choices.”
Although Matt claims to be “sober” from killing, an impersonator in their Los Angeles neighborhood raises suspicions in the Tori family.
While building character in Season 2, Liberato was also able to build the role dynamic with her sister Ava (Kaley Cuoco), who eventually introduced Tori to her future husband in Season 1 when she and her husband Nathan (Chris Messina) were together. He discovered his murderous activities and convinced him to tell his story anonymously on their podcast.
Chris Messina, Tom Bateman, and Liana Liberato Based on a true story. (Casey Durkin/Peacock)
“Callie is an amazing person and brings such an infectious energy to the set and he really resonated with me.” “She has definitely taken on the role of big sister for me in my life as well.”
Tori experiences a life-changing moment when she kills someone on her wedding day in order to protect her family. “I think at the time we were filming, I was like, 'This is fight or flight,' and now she's in a place of trauma. I'm just curious how she'll respond to it in the end,” she explained.
“I don't know, and it's a very delicate position,” Liberato added. “But she invited it into her life, too. You can't sleep with a serial killer and not expect to see a death or two. So, she brought it on herself a little bit, too.”
Read on to find out what's in store for Liana Liberato's Conservative Party in Peacock's Season 2 Based on a true story.
Delivery time: I love Tori and I think she's fully aware of what's going on this season and has become part of their Scooby gang. What was it like adding more layers to the character this year and exploring it more?
Liana Liberato: It was great. Obviously I was very curious after the first season that they were going to take Tori, and take it in a completely different direction than I thought. I should have expected that because that's the way this show is, we always go off the rails. I definitely thought at first that Tori might be in the dark in season 2 and that she would be dating Matt and had no idea she was in bed with a serial killer. But it was an interesting challenge to be thrown that curve ball and have to justify her decisions and choices. There were a couple of things I came up with as I was preparing and working on all of this. At the end of the day, people do crazy things when they're in love, and sometimes they make excuses for not the best things in order to be with the person they want to be with, and she was clearly supportive of Matt and his healing journey. And then also, Ava and Tori, they were cut from the same cloth. And there were definitely memories and experiences that I tried to dream up, as to how they grew up and why they are the way they are. Ava is clearly very obsessed with true crime, and Tori kind of turned a blind eye to it. But ultimately, I think she's very fascinated and drawn to this world as well. It manifests itself in a somewhat different way, and that's how she finds herself in the situation.
Liana Liberato in Based on a true story. (Colin Hayes/Peacock)
Delivery time: And I feel like maybe she'll end up being their greatest asset, being a law student and potentially getting them out of prison in season three, hopefully.
Liberato: Again, it's very funny with this show. And then my mind goes, “Oh, we can benefit the Conservative Party this way.” Who knows? But that's what's so exciting about being part of the show and being with such amazing writers and our showrunner, you have no idea where they're going to take it, and you're just along for the ride.
Delivery time: Tell me about the evolution of that sisterly dynamic with Callie this season.
Liberato: This was something I was told we would explore in Season 2, and I love what they did. I think Ava wants more for Tori than she got for herself, and I think that she and Nathan sacrifice a lot to move Tori forward in her life, and then watching her kind of sabotage all of that is painful for Ava. But if it pushes too hard, the Tories will double down. So, I'm excited for the audience to see this push and pull between the two. And also just on a personal level, Callie is an amazing person and brings such an infectious energy to the set and she really captured my attention. We bonded over being child actors, and she seems like a good mentor to me, my friend, and my sister. . She has definitely taken on the role of big sister for me in my life as well.
Delivery time: This season is getting very heavy for the Tories. She eventually killed someone, which I can say really weighs on her mind. Can you tell me about exploring this kind of emotion?
Liberato: I think since Tory kills Melissa at the end, it's kind of a final moment, you don't really get to see the rest of that happen. You'll likely see that more in season three. I think at the time we were filming, I was like, 'This is fight or flight,' and now she's in a place of shock. And I'm curious how you'll respond to it in the end. Will she lean toward her humanity or will she become harsher and less sensitive to this world she has been immersed in? Will she rely on Matt to get through this or will she excommunicate him? I don't know, it's a very delicate situation. But she invited it into her life, too. You can't sleep with a serial killer and not expect to see a death or two. So, she brought it on herself a little bit as well.
Kaley Cuoco, Liana Liberato, Tom Bateman and Chris Messina Based on a true story. (Colin Hayes/Peacock)
Delivery time: And I love that the show is both funny and exciting, but also a satirical critique of the true crime genre and how it exploits victims and survivors. How do you feel about this genre?
Liberato: I was drawn towards the show originally because I felt so connected to Ava. I love true crime, I find it really interesting. Maybe it's because I'm an actor and I think the psychology behind how people think and why they end up that way is really interesting to me. But I've noticed, and I've talked about this before as well, that we've become a very cutthroat society, and I think we always, in entertainment, have to up the ante in terms of gore and horror and shock for it to penetrate us. And I'm definitely guilty of that. It's interesting to explore that in art, and I think this show does a really good job of holding a mirror up to people and showing how far some people can go when they're immersed in that world.
