After directing the Emma Stone-led Cruella for Disney, I, Tonya director Craig Gillespie is pivoting back to the world of biographical tales set in the 1990s with the eight-episode Hulu miniseries Pam & Tommy.
The series stars Lily James, Sebastian Stan, and Seth Rogan, all three of whom disappear into their roles. James and Stan play Pamela Anderson of Baywatch fame and Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee, respectively. The titular duo gets married after a whirlwind romance and later has their honeymoon sex tape leaked by electrician Rand Gauthier, played by Rogan.
The first episode focuses largely on Gauthier and his motivation behind stealing and leaking the tape, which makes for a bit of an odd premiere considering how little of the other two leads — particularly James’ Anderson — appear. Gauthier is obviously a much lesser-known figure than the other two main characters and Rogan does a great job showing the different sides to him. The premiere sort of feels like a prologue for what’s to come (even though it takes place in the middle of the timeline the show is set in) but it ends up being a bit too drawn-out as a full episode.
The timeline shifts back a bit for the second and third episodes to the early days of the titular duo’s romance and marriage, as well as showing how Gauthier ended up as their electrician in the first place. Both of these episodes are stronger overall than the first as they allow for all three characters to shine, and viewers get to see the chemistry between James and Stan that makes their scenes together work so well. The second episode does contain a scene with that already-infamous “character” voiced by Jason Mantzoukas, which was honestly unnecessary no matter if the real Tommy Lee has admitted to having conversations with his own genitalia.
The early episodes of Pam & Tommy work hard to sell viewers on the relationship between the infamous celebrity couple while hinting at the impending doom of it all, both with the sex tape and their relationship with each other in general. They also open the door to some interesting societal conversations to come later on, with particular emphasis on Pamela Anderson being “innocent” in the whole scandal and the motivation behind it, yet being the one with the most to lose from the situation. Even though the series is set in the 1990s, its message sadly still rings true today, and will hopefully spark a cultural conversation in that regard.
SCORE: 7/10
As ComingSoon’s review policy explains, a score of 7 equates to “Good.” A successful piece of entertainment that is worth checking out, but it may not appeal to everyone.
