In the new Peacock series “ Based on a True Story,” debuting Thursday, Kaley Cuoco plays Ava, a woman obsessed with true crime.

Do we have to wake up to murder every morning?” her husband Nathan, played by Chris Messina, asks in a scene.

The series highlights an explosion of coverage of true crime in recent years. It is the subject of podcasts, documentary series, books, and social media posts where amateur sleuths breathlessly weigh in on the latest crime du jour.

She’s not the only one. On the morning of the cast’s interviews, Priscilla Quintana, who plays Ava’s friend Ruby on the show, woke extra early and tuned into, what else but true crime.

Messina said who doesn’t seek out the genre but can get caught up by an episode of say.like the rest of us. He likes to use it as his own mental exercise to be prepared if things go south.