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Oftentimes, the best stories aren’t always completely fictional. Shows and films that are loosely based on true stories and people pack a real punch because they have real-world connections that make the stories more believable.
Shows such as The Crown and Narcos may be a little more obviously based on true stories. But did you know that Stranger Things is loosely based on a conspiracy theory? Or did you know that the fictional Roy family in Succession is based on some very real and influential families?
These shows are fictionalized, and even though characters like Cousin Greg and Eleven aren’t real, the inspiration behind these characters and stories may very well be. Here are five TV shows you may not have known are based upon true stories:
'Stranger Things'
Although the demogorgon and the Upside Down are fictional (thank goodness), did you know that Stranger Things has roots in an American military conspiracy theory? Originally pitched to Netflix as “Montauk”, the Duffer brothers loosely based the beloved show on the story of a conspiracy theory involving a secret military operation in Montauk, NY. The Montauk Project is a theory that originated in the 1980s that accuses the U.S. government of conducting experiments involving psychological warfare, and even time travel. According to Preston Nichols, the person who started the theory, the U.S. government would kidnap children to conduct these experiments on during the Cold War. There are many elements of this theory sprinkled throughout the show such as the secret Hawkins lab, Eleven and the other ‘gifted’ children, and the whole Russian plotline throughout several seasons. The theory has since been proven to be fictional, but the show we all know and love would probably be very different if the theory did not exist.
'Succession'
Succession is a show about rich people and their rich problems, but did you know that the Roy family centered in the show is loosely based on multiple powerful American families? Creator Jesse Armstrong was initially inspired by the Murdochs, a family of media tycoons, in the first script for the show. When that script wasn’t picked up, he broadened the scope of the show and focused on Wall Street as a whole. Armstrong’s new script had characters that were inspired by the Murdochs, the Redstones (a family with ties to ViacomCBS), and the Sulzbergers (a family with ties to The New York Times). Armstrong was able to pull elements from multiple powerful media families and blend them together to create the Roys we all know and love (and sometimes hate).
'GLOW'
The creators of GLOW, Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch, were searching for a female-centered story to develop into a TV show when they stumbled across the 2012 documentary GLOW: The Story of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling. The documentary followed the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, founded in 1986 by David McClane, and Flahive and Mensch decided to put their fictional spin on it. The creators wanted to explore the Women’s Liberation Movement of the 1970s and figure out if the league was exploiting or empowering the women it employed. The owner of the GLOW company, Ursula Hayden was brought on as a consultant on the show to make sure the story was being done right. Although “Zoya the Destroya” and “Liberty Belle” are fictional ladies, they are based on a very real and inspiring group of women in the 1980s.
'Friday Night Lights'
The successor to the 2004 film of the same name and the 1990 book Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream, Friday Night Lights is based on the success of the Permian High School Panthers football team in Odessa, Texas. The book where it all started was written about the Panthers’ 1988 season and their journey to the Texas State Football Championship. Although that season was not the most successful (they barely made it to state playoffs and lost in the semi-final round), thanks to the book, the Panthers became famous in the world of Texas high school football. Friday Night Lights may be based on one football team, but it is a story that is seen in small towns all across Texas where high school football is king, and the creators of the show took that into account. The show was set in the fictional town of Dillon, Texas but the Panthers name was carried on into the show. While the pilot was heavily influenced by the book and 2004 film, as the show went on, the story became more fictionalized.
'The Goldbergs'
Based on the family and childhood of showrunner Adam F. Goldberg, The Goldbergs is a love letter to 1980s suburban American life. The town of Jenkintown, Pennsylvania which is where the show is set is actually the hometown of Goldberg. The show explores the daily lives and antics of the Goldberg family. Using experiences and even videos from his childhood, Goldberg recreated much of his childhood in the show and put a fictional spin on it. The real-life roots are a huge reason why the characters in the show are so loved and the story feels so real.
