Kevin Hart and Wesley Snipes have teamed up for Netflix’s latest miniseries True Story, which follows a world-famous stand-up comedian as he fights to pull himself back from a potentially career-ending crisis.
The Kid (Hart) is on a tour of the United States which stops off in his hometown of Philadelphia, where he meets up with his older brother Carlton (Snipes) and goes on a heavy night out.
Later that night, Kid is horrified to learn that the woman he went home with has overdosed in the bed next to him, taking the decision to try to cover up what would be a highly explosive scandal.
While the title suggests that this series is based on real events, True Story is largely a work of fiction, although there are elements of the story that are applicable to Hart’s life.
Of course, both he and his character are internationally successful stand-up comedians hailing from Philadelphia, with showrunner Eric Newman (Narcos) telling New York Times that Hart wanted to play someone similar to himself.
Needless to say, Hart has never replicated any of the dark deeds that The Kid gets up to in this seven-episode series, but he has said that a person in his position is constantly faced with the temptation to misbehave.
“It’s so easy to do dumb s**t,” he told New York Times. “It’s available whenever you want it. Doing the right thing, living life correctly, there’s a conscious effort behind it. And it’s work.
“Not to say it’s work in a bad way, but you’re working constantly to make sure that you’re doing things correctly, appropriately. You need a good team around you that’s OK with saying no.”
Meanwhile, the busy schedule that The Kid juggles in True Story is also inspired by the life experience of Hart, who claims that a natural ability to multi-task allows him to get a “mind-blowing” number of things done.
In real-life, Hart also has an older brother (named Robert, not Carlton), who was emancipated by their mother in his youth as detailed in the comedian’s Netflix documentary Don’t F**k This Up.
That said, the strained relationship between Carlton and The Kid is not based on the real-life relationship between Kevin and Robert, who continue to share a close bond to this day.
True Story is available to stream exclusively on Netflix. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.