'The Thing About Pam' Episode 1 Review: Slow but intriguing start to twisted murder mystery
When a story is told several times, it’s highly likely that a movie or a TV show based on it might not be able to generate a sense of excitement in viewers. However, everyone likes to watch a good TV series and that’s what ‘The Thing About Pam’ is. The story of Pam Hupp and the murder of Betsy Faria has been told several times, but NBC has managed to produce a TV show that feels really exhilarating and engaging.
The show tells the story of how an insurance agent named Pam (Renee Zellweger) gets herself in the worst phase of her life when she gets accused of murdering multiple people. If you haven’t seen the ‘Dateline’ series on it, then you are in for a treat, but even if you have previously seen those episodes, some really great writing and performances will keep you hooked.
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The first episode manages you provide an intriguing introduction to the case and the characters. You can find some similarities between the NBC series and the critically-acclaimed movie ‘Fargo’. The only difference is that ‘Fargo’ claimed to be a true story whereas ‘The Thing About Pam’ is actually based on real events.
The reality is that the show is presenting you with a compelling story that is impossible to miss and that’s where the NBC series scores. The writing is great and whenever we see Renee Zellweger on the screen, something magical happens. She is a treat to watch and even though her makeup looks a bit weird in some scenes, the Oscar-winning actress just sweeps you off of your feet with her impeccable acting. She has always been extraordinary while playing villains and we can see why she is attracted to this role of an unconventional femme fatale.
Meanwhile, Glenn Flesher as Russ Faria is good as well. In the real ‘Dateline’ series, we saw that Russ was hysterical during the whole process and Fleshler has showed that perfectly. Meanwhile, Katy Mixon as Betsy also gives a strong performance. The introduction of Judy Greer is great and it seems like she will be the one to watch out for in the upcoming episodes.
The first episode is a strong start to what seems to be a compelling limited series and if the writing manages to stay strong, we might witness one of the best true-crime shows in recent history.
'The Thing About Pam' returns to NBC with a new episode every Tuesday at 10 pm EST.