Warning: This article contains major spoilers to Netflix’s True Story.
Netflix’s new drama series True Story is one of its last major television shows to be released in 2021—and it’s certainly taking us out with a bang.
Days after its release, the show shot straight into the platform’s top 10 most-watched. With a gripping whodunnit storyline, it wasn’t hard to see why.
The plot centres on a famous comedian named Kid (played by Kevin Hart) who wakes up next to what he presumes is the dead body of a woman called Daphne.
With no memory of what happened to her, Kid is desperate to cover his tracks in order to salvage his career. But in a series of twists and turns, each episode delivers more pieces to the puzzle—and what Kid comes to discover at the end is anything but predictable.
Of course, we wouldn’t blame you if you got a tad caught up in the drama and needed a minute to process the eventual ending of the seven-part series—we certainly did.
Thus, we decided to unpack it all here. Keep scrolling for a full rundown on the ending of Netflix’s True Story.
Netflix’s True Story ending explained
As Kid is forced to make some drastic decisions in order to maintain his innocence throughout the series, a major twist comes when the supposed dead woman Daphne (played by Ash Santos) turns out to be alive—and her real name Simone.
It’s revealed that Simone is in an on-again-off-again romance with Kid’s older brother Carlton (played by Wesley Snipes), and the pair had been scamming the comedian all along in the hopes of extorting money from him.
They did this by bargaining with a gangster named Ari (played by Billy Zane), who demands $6 million from Kid in exchange for him covering up Simone’s fake death (which Kid originally believed to be real).
But things don’t go to plan. Kid ends up strangling Ari to death. Carlton is then forced to help his younger sibling get rid of the body—no tricks here.
After they dispose of the body in a dumpster (did they really think that was going to work?), it’s quickly found by police who launch an investigation. To add, an obsessed fan of the comedians’ named Gene (played by Theo Rossi) had spotted and video taped the guys when they were at the dumpster.
Kid goes into damage control and invites Gene into his inner circle to keep him quiet. Starstruck, he seems happy to do so—but Carlton isn’t convinced and orders Ari’s two brothers to frame Gene by giving him a watch that once belonged to the dead man.
Meanwhile, Kid discovers texts from Simone on Carlton’s phone revealing his brother’s original con-job against him. Deeply disturbed, Kid tells Carlton he’s cut off for good.
That’s when things really take a turn. As Kid goes to walk way from his brother, they run into Ari’s two brothers who had realised they’ve been played by the very men who killed their sibling.
They try to attack both Kid and Carlton, and in the ensuing struggle, Kid pulls out a gun and shoots both of them dead.
For good (and very dramatic) measure, Kid also shoots his brother Carlton dead. Kid then arranges the bloody scene to look as though Ari’s brothers had killed Carlton.
What happens to Kid at the end of True Story?
It appears Kid got away with the murders—Ari’s death is pinned on Carlton and the comedian feigns ignorance to his brother’s misdealings. Instead, he insists that he wants to move forward in his life and career as his best self.
Chillingly, the final moment of the series sees Kid delivering a television interview where he talks about the extreme lengths people go to in order to protect themselves.
Is True Story based on a real-life true story?
Given the title of the show, many have wondered if the shocking narrative links up to real-life events. But the short answer is no.
While Kevin Hart’s comedian background certainly informed his character to an extent, you can rest assured he’s no real-life murderer.
The show’s creator Eric Newman confirmed to the New York Times that Kid was inspired by Hart, but he placed the fictional comedian in a circumstance beyond anything the real life actor has experienced.
“I might perhaps be driven to do something horrible if my children were in jeopardy,” he told the publication.
“In the case of a celebrity, a famous person, if you take their career away, that is a fate worse than death.”
You can watch True Story on Netflix here.
