The Best Movies And TV Shows Based On A True Story From 2024

What It's About: The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare focuses on a single operation carried out by the United Kingdom during World War II. The film centers around a black-ops sabotage operation dubbed Postmaster, led by Gus March-Philips (Henry Cavill). He enlists the aid of several disreputable but capable men, and they head out to destroy and disrupt Nazi submarine resupply operations at a Spanish island called Fernando Po. They must assemble the team, make it through U-boat-infested waters, infiltrate the compound, and disrupt Nazi operations in the Atlantic.

The True Story It's Based On: The mission Operation Postmaster, which was an off-the-books affair in 1941, was real, and so were some of the people in the film. The movie is more of a broad overview of what happened, with a great deal added to the narrative to make the movie more compelling. Much of what plays out during the film is fictionalized for this purpose, but not everything - the operation did occur, and the UK was successful in disrupting Nazi U-boat resupply operations because of it.

What It's About: Hit Man is a romantic comedy about Gary Johnson (Glen Powell), a professor at the University of New Orleans who moonlights as a civilian contractor for the New Orleans Police Department. Johnson provides tech support during sting operations, but when the officer who usually plays a contract killer to get suspects to pay for a hit on tape isn’t able to perform, Johnson steps in. He finds that he enjoys the con and is also naturally good at it. Conning would-be killers becomes his passion, but he soon finds himself wrapped up in trouble when he refuses to move forward in arresting a woman he takes a liking to, and it won’t be long before Johnson makes a choice that puts him on the other side of the law.

The True Story It's Based On: Hit Man is loosely based on the real-life story of a professor who helped the Houston police department in the 1980s and ‘90s. His story was detailed in a 2001 Texas Monthly article written by Skip Hollandsworth. The film was more inspired by the article than the actual events of Gary Johnson’s life and work as a fake contract killer. Many allowances are taken with the story and the characters to make them more palatable to a movie audience. Still, at the end of the day, Gary Johnson worked with the police to bring in over 60 people intent on hiring a contract killer.

What It's About: Lee is a drama about World War II journalist Lee Miller's (Kate Winslet) career, first as a model but later as a photographer who works for Vogue magazine during the war. The film is told via a 1977 interview about her work during the conflict.

The True Story It's Based On: Lee is based on Antony Penrose’s 1985 biography The Lives of Lee Miller. The film gets much of the real story correct but adds and removes elements to tell an entertaining story. The film was a passion project for Winslet, who not only produced it but also paid the entire crew’s salaries for two weeks when funding ran dry.

What It's About: Woman of the Hour follows Sheryl Bradshaw (Anna Kendrick, in her directorial debut) as she struggles to make it in Hollywood as an actress. She lands a spot on The Dating Game and appears alongside two forgettable fellows and one psychopathic killer, Rodney (Daniel Zovatto). Through nonlinear storytelling, the film breaks down some of Rodney’s murders while focusing much of the story on Bradshaw’s situation before, during, and after filming the popular game show.

The True Story It's Based On: The film is based on the true story of Rodney Alcala, a serial killer who worked his way onto one of the most popular TV shows of the era. The film shows a few of his killings, but the closing captions indicate Alcala was responsible for killing as many as 130 women, though authorities don’t truly know the extent of his crimes.

What It's About: Arthur the King centers around Michael Light (Mark Wahlberg), the captain of an adventure racing team, who takes in a wounded dog named Arthur. After adopting the pup, Light takes Arthur with him everywhere, including a 435-mile endurance race in the Dominican Republic. The trip isn’t easy on either of them, and parasites nearly kill Arthur, but in the end, he’s saved after moving to the United States.

The True Story It's Based On: The film is based on Mikael Lindnord’s novel Arthur — The Dog Who Crossed the Jungle to Find a Home. The book is based on Lindnord and Val Hudson’s life as adventure racers but focuses much of the story on Arthur and an adventure race in Ecuador. The film took some liberties with the source material by changing locations and some facts, but for the most part, it’s accurate to the source and tells the story as it happened, with some added elements for entertainment value.

What It's About: Ordinary Angels tells the story of Sharon Steves (Hilary Swank), a hairdresser in Kentucky who finds a new purpose in her life after meeting Ed Schmitt (Alan Ritchson). Schmitt is a widower struggling to care for his two daughters, one of whom needs a liver transplant. Inspired by their story, Steves works hard to earn donations to pay off Ed’s rising medical costs. Her early efforts bear fruit, but not enough, so she doubles down and gets the community involved in helping to save Schmitt's daughter while saving the family from financial ruin.

The True Story It's Based On: The film is centered around a massive 1994 snowstorm that rocked Kentucky. During the storm, Sharon Steves-Evans did what she does in the movie: she helped the family by getting money and transportation to save Michelle with a liver transplant. Michelle was dubbed Louisville’s “Snow Baby,” and she received a new liver, which kept her alive for 26 years.