The Thing About Pam

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.

• Renée Zellweger as Pam Hupp, a criminal who framed Russ Faria for his wife's murder
• 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
• Katy Mixon as Betsy Faria, Russ' wife, Mariah Day's mother, and the murder victim
• Gideon Adlon as Mariah Day, Betsy and Russ' 17-year-old daughter
• Sean Bridgers as Mark Hupp, Pam Hupp's husband
• Glenn Fleshler as Russ Faria, Betsy's husband and Mariah's father
• Suanne Spoke as Janet, Betsy's mother and Mariah's grandmother
• Mac Brandt as Det. McCarrick, a detective assigned to Betsy's murder case

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".[3] 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".[4]

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 murder of Betsy Faria, sentencing and release of her husband Russ Faria, and the conviction of Pam Hupp for the murder. Since 2014, Dateline has 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.[5]

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.[6] 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.[7]

Marci Wiseman, following her resignation as Co-President of Blumhouse Television in October 2020, was later removed as an executive producer for the series.[8] In June 2021, Josh Duhamel was added to the cast with Mary Margaret Kunze joining as an executive producer.[9] 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.[10] 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.[11] On August 30, Judy Greer and Katy Mixon joined the cast.[12]

On September 24, 2021, Gideon Adlon, Sean Bridgers, Glenn Fleshler, Suanne Spoke, and Mac Brandt were added to the cast. On September 28, it was announced Scott Winant would direct the first two episodes of the series and executive produce. As a result of the pre-production delay, filming was postponed until October 1, 2021.[13][2] 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".[14] Throughout October, Zellweger was photographed wearing face and body prosthetics to portray Hupp.[15][16] Filming also took place in Hammond, Louisiana.[17]

In November 2021, the series was given a premiere date for March 8, 2022.[18]

• The Thing About Pam at IMDb