Fact-Checking Summer TV and Movies: What's True, What's False?

Some of the best movies and shows coming up have real-life backstories. But some are truer to life than others. Can you guess which of the following are on the level, or made up, or somewhere in between?

Flamin’ Hot, movie in theaters June 9

In Desperate Housewives actress Eva Longoria’s directing debut at age 48, Richard Montañez (Jesse Garcia), a former teen gang member with poor reading skills, manages to land a janitor’s job at Frito-Lay, where he invents a new kind of Cheetos that taste like his Mexican immigrant dad’s fiery home cooking, and it’s a smash hit.

Truth verdict: Partly true.

Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, which “burn so good,” are indeed wildly popular, inspiring rap videos that went viral, and causing some school officials to ban the chili-flavored treats. Its success heated up Montañez’s career, propelling him to a marketing executive’s job, and his memoir Flamin’ Hot: The Incredible True Story of One Man’s Rise from Janitor to Top Executive was a bestseller that made him a public speaker commanding $50,000 for a lecture. But a Los Angeles Times investigation revealed that there was a Flamin’ Hot snack test-marketed in the Midwest before Montañez was involved. Frito-Lay said, “We value Richard’s many contributions to our company, especially his insights into Hispanic consumers, but we do not credit the creation of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos or any Flamin’ Hot products to him.” The movie is billed as “inspired by a true story.”

AARP Membership— $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal

Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine.

Join Now

Mary J. Blige’s Real Love and Strength of a Woman, serial movies on Lifetime June 10 and 17

An ambitious teenage student striving to be the top student at her college falls hard for her photo-class partner. Fifteen years later, she’s a successful photographer with a failing marriage — and her old beau resurfaces in her life, forcing a romantic crisis she’s got to courageously solve.

Truth verdict: Not quite totally false. Though the characters are fictional, Blige, 52 — who’s not just a singer but an important producer who created Lifetime’s No. 1 2020 hit The Clark Sisters: The First Ladies of Gospel with Queen Latifah and Missy Elliott — wrote her two 2023 movies based on her hit songs. And those tunes were inspired by her own life. “I wrote 'Real Love' based on my real-life experiences and my fans connected to it in a deeply personal way,” Blige said. “It’s exciting to now use this song and my music to create a new story by way of film.”

Based on a True Story, series on Peacock June 8

A true-crime obsessed real estate agent (Kaley Cuoco) and a washed-up tennis star (Chris Messina) trying to save their marriage and make ends meet with a baby on the way realize they know the killer connected to the murders in their neighborhood. So they try to cash in by launching a podcast about the murders — and luring the murderer himself on as a guest.

Truth verdict: We don't know yet. Though it was initially billed as being inspired by a bizarre true event, the studio now says, “Based on a True Story is not based on a true story. It is a satire of the true-crime genre. It is a fictionalized retelling inspired by real events." But they don’t say what those events are.