‘It was very nostalgic’: Melissa Fumero channeled her inner Amy Santiago for ‘Based on a True Story’
NBC’s comedy thriller Based on a True Story is officially back for a second season. This time, Melissa Fumero joins the cast as Drew, a single mother who’s not quite as innocent as she may seem. To prepare for her role, Fumero had to tap into her detective side—à la Brooklyn Nine-Nine, of course.
After that cliffhanger of a season 1 finale, Based on a True Story has finally returned to Peacock for its sophomore run. This time, it’s spearheaded by Desperate Housewives and Physical alum Annie Weisman. Kaley Cuoco and Chris Messina once again star as True Crime sleuths Ava and Nathan, who, as explained in the episode 1 time-jump, are navigating the ups and downs of parenthood after welcoming their son, Jack.
Now, a mysterious serial killer is running rampant, leading Nathan and Ava down an entirely new TikTok rabbit hole, where they cross the path of Drew—who’s a bit of a dark horse, to say the least. And for newcomer Fumero, delving back into the True Crime/comedy arena was certainly familiar territory.
Melissa Fumero tapped into her Brooklyn Nine-Nine roots for Based on a True Story—with a twist
Tonally, Based on a True Story takes itself a bit more seriously than Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Still, there are undeniable similarities between the two shows—including the Amy Santiago of it all. Speaking with The Mary Sue, Fumero revealed that even though Drew is a “very different character” than Detective Santiago, who plays more like “straight Real Detective,” her Based on a True Story character is a “sort of meta” nod to Brooklyn Nine-Nine:
“Annie Weisman sort of told me from the beginning that, you know, me specifically playing a detective is a little bit on purpose and sort of this meta moment they were trying to have fun with and knowing that, you know, people just, like, buy you right away, that you’re a detective because you played one for so long and, you know, they’ll think it’s like a wink, wink to the audience and it is, but it’s also, you know, obviously a false lead.”
Given that A) Amy Santiago is an absolute TV icon and B) Annie Weisman has admitted to being a big Brooklyn Nine-Nine fan, it makes perfect sense that Fumero’s Based on a True Story character shares some connective tissue with the 99th precinct’s No. 1 detective. For Fumero, the experience felt like walking down memory lane.
“It was also very nostalgic, like, weirdly putting, putting the badge on and the jacket and, like the holster on. I was like, oh, I was like, ‘oh my god,’ it was crazy to me how, like, quickly I did everything because it was still second nature to me.”
Without spoiling too much, it’s safe to say that Drew and Amy have slightly different intentions, as Drew has some pretty sinister secrets—not exactly the beacon of goodness and justice that is Detective Santiago. Nonetheless, it’s certainly a return to form for Fumero to be back in the True Crime genre—and believe me when I say you won’t be able to see this twist coming in this latest season of Based on a True Story.
All episodes of Based on a True Story season 2 are now available to stream on Peacock.
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