Kaley Cuoco says her pregnancy and first child weren’t a goal until fellow actor Tom Pelphrey came into her life, prompting a quick decision to start a family that resulted in an unexpected storyline shift for Based on a true story.
Speak against Emmy magazine, Cuoco and showrunner Craig Rosenberg explained the ways the series’ story was reshaped by her pregnancy. Executive produced by Aggregate Films’ Jason Bateman and Michael Costigan, the eight-episode series follows a real estate agent, former tennis star and plumber as they try to capitalize on America’s obsession with true crime through a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Cuoco was between her fifth and ninth months during production, but before filming began in LA, the actress said she sat down with the producers to reveal her pregnancy and then pitch it as part of her identity. character.
“I’m like, ‘What if this character was pregnant?’ And they’re like, ‘Umm…’ And I’m like, ‘Think about it, because maybe it’s a really good idea — and it might be the only option,'” she recalled. “They looked at me, and I smiled, and they all said, “Oh my God, are you pregnant?” I’m like, ‘Uh-huh.’”
Based on a true story‘s executive producer and creator Rosenberg told the magazine that after hearing the news, he thought the only two options for the upcoming Peacock show were to try to hide it or add it to Cuoco’s character’s storyline. He went for the latter, as it offered a chance to set her performance apart from the one in her latest comedy thriller Max’s. The stewardess.
“Kaley as a pregnant woman — we haven’t seen that before,” he said. “We would still get the Kaley we wanted, but we would have a new Kaley, so to speak, going through all the different story elements and the challenges that come with being pregnant.”
It also added “another interesting complication” to her character’s arc, with Rosenberg noting that “once you have a kid on the way, you’re not just making decisions for yourself.”
Cuoco said she loved how Based on a true story — which premieres June 8 — stayed “super tense” even with her pregnancy, dressing her in belly shirts, showing her in her bra, and making a baby bump for her photo double, helping the show keep planned sex scenes .
But in the end, her pregnancy — and daughter, whom she welcomed with former Ozark star Pelphrey in late March — just weren’t “on my radar,” she said, adding that “this wasn’t a goal of mine.”
“As a young girl I dreamed about it, but I got involved in my career. When we met, it was like, ‘Oh my God, I want to have a child with you.’ We both wanted it so badly, and it wasn’t what I thought my life would be,” she said. “I love my career and just wanted to keep living my life. But Tom came along and something changed. We’re not 20 so we felt like we probably couldn’t wait too long. Then we got so blessed – it happened instantly.
