NBC’s linear network is dramatizing one of its most memorable Dateline NBC subjects as a limited series. TVLine reports The Thing About Pam will begin its six-episode run on March 8 at 10 p.m. Accompanying the release date was the first trailer for the series which stars Renée Zellweger (What/If, Judy). View the new trailer below.
In this literal ripped-from-the-headlines tale, Zellweger portrays Pam Hupp, a Missouri woman who played a strong role in solving the 2011 murder of her best friend, Betsy Faria. As she corporated with the police, she was vocal in authorities focusing their crosshairs on Betsy’s husband, Russ. Russ was eventually convicted of the murder, with Hupp being the prosecution’s star witness. However, Russ’s conviction was later overturned in 2015 as investigators uncovered a more sinister conspiracy perpetrated by Hupp. As of July 2021, Hupp had been charged with the murder of Betsy Faria.
According to TVLine, Zellweger is joined by Glenn Flesher (Barry, Werewolves Within) and Katy Mixon (American Housewife, Four Christmases) who play Russ and Betsy Faria, respectively. Josh Duhamel (Jupiter’s Legacy, Safe Haven) will portray Russ’s defense attorney, Joel Schwartz. And Judy Greer (Halloween Kills, Kidding) will play former Lincoln County prosecutor, Leah Askey.
Dateline NBC aired its first episode about the case, “Return to Game Night,” in January 2016. At the time, it had been five years since Faria’s murder and her husband, Russ, was seeking a new trial. A second episode, “Stranger Than Fiction,” aired in November of the same year revisiting Hupp’s involvement in the case and her possible connection to another death. In 2019, a podcast sharing the title of the miniseries was developed.
The Thing About Pam is written by showrunner Jessika Brosiczky (UnREAL, The Unborn) and executive produced under Zellweger’s Big Picture Co. along with Blumhouse Studios and NBC News Studios. Scott Winant (Sacred Lies, Breaking Bad) is set to direct the first two episodes.