The Thing About Pam

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The Thing About Pam
The Thing About Pam.jpg
Title card
GenreCrime drama
Based on"The Thing About Pam" Podcast and Dateline TV Episodes Concerning the Story of Pam Hupp
Starring
Narrated byKeith Morrison
Composers
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes2
Production
Executive producers
Producers
  • Matt K. Turner
  • Blaine Williams
  • Alissa M. Kantrow
CinematographyJohn Brawley
Editors
Running time43 minutes
Production companies
  • Weird Egg Productions
  • Big Picture Co.
  • NBC News Studios
  • Blumhouse Television
Release
Original networkNBC
Original releaseMarch 8, 2022 (2022-03-08) –
present (present)
External links
Website

The Thing About Pam is an American crime drama limited television series detailing the involvement of Pam Hupp in the 2011 murder of Betsy Faria. It stars Renée Zellweger, Josh Duhamel, Judy Greer, Gideon Adlon, Sean Bridgers, Suanne Spoke, Mac Brandt, Katy Mixon, and Glenn Fleshler. Jenny Klein serves as showrunner for the series.

After Peacock Productions was shut down, NBC News Studios was launched with the intention of creating documentary-style content. The series was announced in May 2020 when the company revealed a partnership with Blumhouse Television. It is based on coverage from Dateline NBC and is titled after a Dateline podcast of the same name. In February 2021, the series was given a six-episode order with Zellweger joining the cast and the production as an executive producer. Filming took place in New Orleans.

The Thing About Pam premiered on NBC on March 8, 2022. It received mixed reviews from critics. Though some praised Zellweger's performance as Hupp in her network television debut, others criticized the comedic tone used to convey the story of a real murder.

Premise[]

The scripted series is a detailing of the 2011 murder of Betsy Faria, which resulted in her husband Russ' conviction. When his conviction was overturned, the crime set off a chain of events that would expose a diabolical scheme deeply involving Pam Hupp.

Cast[]

Main[]

  • Renée Zellweger as Pam Hupp, a self-appointed businesswoman arrested for the murder of Betsy Faria
  • Josh Duhamel as Joel Schwartz, the defense attorney for Russ Faria
  • Judy Greer as Leah Askey, the Lincoln County prosecutor who tried Russ Faria twice for his wife's murder
  • Gideon Adlon as Mariah Day, Betsy and Russ' 17-year-old daughter
  • Sean Bridgers as Mark Hupp, Pam Hupp's husband
  • Suanne Spoke as Janet, Betsy's mother and Mariah's grandmother
  • Mac Brandt as Detective McCarrick, a detective assigned to Betsy's murder case
  • Katy Mixon as Betsy Faria, Russ' wife, Mariah Day's mother, and the murder victim
  • Glenn Fleshler as Russ Faria, Betsy's husband and Mariah's father

Guest[]

  • Ben Chase as Nate Swanson, a defense attorney working with Joel

Furthermore, Dateline journalist Keith Morrison provides the show's narration.[1]

Episodes[]

No.Title [2]Directed byTeleplay byOriginal air date [2]U.S. viewers
(millions)
1"She's a Good Friend"Scott WinantJessika Borsiczky and Jenny KleinMarch 8, 2022 (2022-03-08)2.86[3]
On December 27, 2011, in Troy, Missouri, cancer patient Betsy Faria was found murdered in her home. The police immediately suspected her husband, Russ. Self-appointed businesswoman Pam Hupp was the last person to see Betsy that night after insisting on driving her home. She made several alibis by strategically calling her husband, Mark, and Betsy's mother, Janet, a few hours before Betsy was discovered. While Russ tells the police that Pam was good friends with Betsy, Pam awkwardly tries to make them suspicious of Russ. Pam's account of dropping off Betsy at her home includes several contradictions. Pam tells Janet that the police are holding Russ at the station.
2"She's a Helper"Scott WinantJenny KleinMarch 15, 2022 (2022-03-15)2.42[4]
Russ is interrogated and released from the station after 24 hours. Pam and Mark talk to detectives. Pam mentions that Betsy had planned to reveal something Russ did to her. Lincoln County prosecutor Leah Askey deems this probable cause; the police arrest Russ, who hires Joel Schwartz and Nate Swanson as his lawyers. An investigation ensues. Joel and Nate deduce that Betsy was strangled and then stabbed postmortem. Leah and Joel discover that days before she died, Betsy changed the sole beneficiary of her $150,000 life insurance policy from Russ to Pam; Leah perceives this as Russ' motive to kill while Joel sees it as Pam's. Pam agrees to testify in court. Joel learns that the trial judge, Chris Mennemeyer, went to high school with Leah. Detective McCarrick encourages Pam to put the insurance money in a trust for Faria's daughters.
3"She's a Star Witness"[5]TBATBAMarch 22, 2022 (2022-03-22)TBD
4"She's a Loving Daughter"[6]TBATBAMarch 29, 2022 (2022-03-29)TBD

Production[]

Development[]

On January 10, 2020, NBC announced its plans to shut down the unscripted production unit Peacock Productions. Variety reported that the decision was sparked by the rise of streaming services and a necessity for "higher-quality productions". In a statement, NBC said the company was "shifting its documentary strategy to an entirely new model" that would be "consistent with industry trends".[7] Two weeks later, on January 23, NBC News Studios was launched. Liz Cole, executive producer of Dateline NBC and the then-president of Peacock Productions, announced she would also serve as president of the new company. The studio's intent is to produce documentaries, docu-series, select scripted programming, and content for emerging platforms. At the time of its announcement, NBC News Studios had already struck partnerships with Focus Features and Blumhouse Television, with the latter revealing they were in negotiations to develop and produce scripted programs based on stories told on Dateline. In a statement, Cole said "the documentary business is certainly more robust than it ever has been. More and more people are seeking out that content".[8]

On May 19, 2020, it was reported that NBC News Studios and Blumhouse Television were developing an untitled scripted television series based on coverage from Dateline about the involvement of Pam Hupp in the murder of Betsy Faria as well as the sentencing and release of her husband Russ Faria. Since 2014, Dateline had devoted several episodes to the story and created a podcast centered around the case in 2019 titled "The Thing About Pam". In a statement, Cole said that "having been at the forefront of the true-crime genre for so long, we know better than anyone that truth is often stranger than fiction, and with the twists and turns in this case, we saw a real opportunity to present it in a scripted format". In addition to the series announcement, it was revealed Cole would executive produce alongside Jason Blum, Marci Wiseman, and Jeremy Gold.[9]

Casting[]

Renée Zellwege at the 2016 premiere of "Bridget Jones's Baby" in Paris, France.
Renée Zellweger (pictured in 2016) plays Pam Hupp in her network television debut.

The limited series was given a six-episode order and titled The Thing About Pam on February 4, 2021, with Renée Zellweger joining the cast to portray Hupp in her network television debut and attaching herself as an executive producer through her production company Big Picture Co. It was also reported NBCUniversal Chairman of Entertainment Content Susan Rovner would oversee the series and that Jessika Borsiczky would write and serve as showrunner. In a statement, Borsiczky said the murder case she was adapting could be interpreted as both a whodunit and a character study. Additional executive producers include Carmella Casinelli, Borsiczky, Noah Oppenheim, and Chris McCumber.[10] In May 2021, Jenny Klein signed a one-year first-look deal with Blumhouse Television and joined The Thing About Pam as a writer and executive producer.[11]

Marci Wiseman, following her resignation as Co-President of Blumhouse Television in October 2020, was later removed as an executive producer for the series.[12] In June 2021, Josh Duhamel was added to the cast with Mary Margaret Kunze joining as an executive producer.[13] By August 2021, The Thing About Pam was in the final stages of pre-production with casting still underway in New Orleans. On August 24, it was announced Borsiczky had exited the series as writer and showrunner due to creative differences but that she would remain an executive producer for the time being; Klein was appointed as the new showrunner.[14] On August 27, it was reported that pre-production would be suspended for some time due to Hurricane Ida with a filming start date set for early September.[15] On August 30, Judy Greer and Katy Mixon joined the cast.[16] On September 24, Gideon Adlon, Sean Bridgers, Glenn Fleshler, Suanne Spoke, and Mac Brandt were added to the cast.[17]

Filming[]

On September 28, 2021, Scott Winant was announced to be directing the first two episodes as well as executive producing. Filming was postponed until October 1, 2021.[18] At the second annual BlumFest in October, Zellweger spoke with Dateline correspondent Keith Morrison about portraying Hupp, "Truth is stranger than fiction. She's notorious, not famous. It won't be the same as coming to understanding a person's life experiences within context. [I am] going to be researching and trying to understand just based on the limited information that's available. I'm going to play the person that you sort of illuminated in your podcast and try to understand what makes a person like that tick".[19] Throughout October, Zellweger was photographed wearing face and body prosthetics to portray Hupp.[20][21] Filming took place in New Orleans and Hammond, Louisiana.[22]

Makeup artist Arjen Tuiten said it took eighty minutes to apply prosthetics on Zellweger. "It was Arjen who did all of the work. Arjen and Benadryl. I'm allergic to adhesives, and so there was a lot of comedy in the preparation," the actress remarked.[23] Hair department head Lawrence Davis and makeup department head Carla Brenholtz said they added light touches to prosecutor Leah Askey (played by Greer), based on a look anchored in Troy, Missouri.[24] In an interview with Vanity Fair, Zellweger revealed Morrison's role as the show's narrator and said her physical transformation was "pretty much head to toe".[1] When asked why they did not cast an actress with a closer resemblance of Hupp's physical appearance, McCumber replied, "When a two-time Oscar winner calls and says, 'I'm obsessed with this story and I want to play Pam and I want to produce, you say, 'Yes, yes, yes, yes.' And our job at that point is to provide Renee and the rest of the cast with all the tools they need to embody these characters."[25]

Release[]

In November 2021, the series was given a premiere date for March 8, 2022.[26] First-look images and a trailer were released in early February.[27] Upon the release of the trailer, Zellweger's use of prosthetics and a padded suit were criticized online; Libby Hall from IndieWire called it an example of fatphobia.[28]

The series held a premiere in Los Angeles on February 28, 2022.[29][30]

Reception[]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 50% of 22 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.3/10. The website's consensus reads, "Renée Zellweger is visibly having fun, but The Thing About Pam's glossy take on a true crime is neither as entertaining or insightful as it aims to be."[31] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 58 out of 100 based on 16 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[32]

Zellweger's performance divided critics. Kimberly Potts of TheWrap said it appeared Zellweger was "thoroughly enjoying her time" as Hupp.[33] John Doyle of The Globe and Mail said the actress "brings an equal amount of vinegary exuberance to the work."[34] IndieWire's Ben Travers, on the other hand, called her performance "exaggerated".[35] From Vulture, Roxana Hadadi said "Zellweger is simultaneously broadly cartoonish and blandly nonspecific. She squints so much that her eyes lose whatever interiority they might have reflected; there is no real difference between her smile or her frown."[36] Variety's Daniel D'Addario criticized the "uncanny" prosthetics and the appearance of a Dateline producer as a character, writing, "It'd be a shame if Zellweger's first acting gig after her Oscar-boosted return to Hollywood were, ultimately, little more than NBC cross-promotion."[37]

The show's comedic tone was criticized. Brian Lowry at CNN called it a failed attempt to be "the next Fargo".[38] Liam Mathews at TVGuide said the "deliciously satisfying" tone was similar to that of the Coen brothers, but that its use to convey the story of a real murder would make "you feel [a] little queasy."[39] Ciara Wardlow, writing for RogerEbert.com, categorized it as "a watchable if often underwhelming true crime docudrama that wants to both be weird and play it safe, ending up in a strange middle ground between the two."[40] In a more positive review, The A.V. Club's Gwen Ihnat said "The Thing About Pam does an impressive job of translating an addictive tale to the small screen."[41]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Breznican, Anthony (February 2, 2022). "Renée Zellweger Is Unrecognizable as a Midwestern Murdering Mom". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on February 2, 2022. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Shows A-Z – The Thing About Pam on NBC". The Futon Critic. Archived from the original on March 9, 2022. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
  3. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (March 9, 2022). "ShowbuzzDaily's Tuesday 3.8.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". ShowbuzzDaily. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  4. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (March 16, 2022). "ShowBuzzDaily's Tuesday 3.15.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  5. ^ "(#103) 'She's a Star Witness'". The Futon Critic. Archived from the original on March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  6. ^ "(#104) 'She's a Loving Daughter'". The Futon Critic. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  7. ^ Steinberg, Brian (January 10, 2020). "NBC News Will Shut Down Peacock Productions (Exclusive)". Variety. Archived from the original on September 28, 2021. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
  8. ^ Steinberg, Brian (January 23, 2020). "NBC News Launches Documentary Studio for Streaming-Video Era (Exclusive)". Variety. Archived from the original on September 28, 2021. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
  9. ^ Steinberg, Brian (May 19, 2020). "NBC News, Blumhouse Set Scripted Series Based on Dateline Story (Exclusive)". Variety. Archived from the original on September 28, 2021. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
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  11. ^ White, Peter (May 4, 2021). "The Witcher Writer Jenny Klein Strikes First-Look Deal With Blumhouse TV, Boards The Thing About Pam". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 29, 2021. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
  12. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (October 2, 2020). "Marci Wiseman Exits As Co-President Of Blumhouse Television". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 29, 2021. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
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  17. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (September 24, 2021). "The Thing About Pam: Gideon Adlon, Sean Bridgers & Glenn Fleshler Among 5 Cast Additions To NBC Series". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 29, 2021. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
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  20. ^ Willeke, Becky (October 6, 2021). "Renee Zellweger spotted in 'fat suit' playing Pam Hupp in true-crime series". KTVI. Archived from the original on October 6, 2021. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  21. ^ Garner, Glenn (October 15, 2021). "Renée Zellweger Is Unrecognizable as Convicted Killer Pam Hupp on Set of The Thing About Pam". People. Archived from the original on October 18, 2021. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  22. ^ Scheidt, Michael (October 29, 2021). "NBC Limited Series filming less than one hour from Baton Rouge". WVLA-TV. Archived from the original on November 23, 2021. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  23. ^ Scott, Walter (March 4, 2022). "Renée Zellweger on Bringing Murderer Pam Hupp To Life, Why We Love True Crime and How She Physically Prepared for the Role". Parade. Archived from the original on March 7, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  24. ^ Tangcay, Jazz (March 3, 2022). "The Thing About Pam Makeup and Hair Team Detail Renee Zellweger's 80-Minute Prosthetics Application And More". Variety. Archived from the original on March 6, 2022. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
  25. ^ Knolle, Sharon (February 11, 2022). "The Thing About Pam Producers Defend Putting Renée Zellweger in a Fat Suit to Play Pam Hupp". TheWrap. Archived from the original on February 14, 2022. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
  26. ^ Pedersen, Erik (November 12, 2021). "NBC Midseason Premiere Dates: This Is Us Final Season, Law & Order Thursdays, Kenan On Mondays". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 12, 2021. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
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  28. ^ Hill, Libby (February 3, 2022). "Why Can't We Cast Actual Fat Actresses to Play Fat Roles? — Opinion". IndieWire. Archived from the original on February 14, 2022. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
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  31. ^ "The Thing About Pam". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  32. ^ "The Thing About Pam: Season 1". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
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  34. ^ Doyle, John (March 7, 2022). "The Thing About Pam: Making fun of murderous women". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
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  37. ^ D'Addario, Daniel (March 7, 2022). "Renée Zellweger's The Thing About Pam Is a Crime Story Without Pop: TV Review". Variety. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  38. ^ Lowry, Brian (March 8, 2022). "The Thing About Pam dresses up Renée Zellweger for an odd Dateline drama". CNN. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  39. ^ Mathews, Liam (March 7, 2022). "The Thing About Pam Review: Renée Zellweger Is Entertainingly Evil in Uneven True Crime Limited Series". TVGuide. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  40. ^ Wardlow, Ciara (March 8, 2022). "NBC's The Thing About Pam Should Have Been a Feature Film". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  41. ^ Ihnat, Gwen (March 8, 2022). "Impressive performances steer the twisty true-crime story of The Thing About Pam". The A.V. Club. Retrieved March 10, 2022.

External links[]

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