Greers career in both film and television has been extremely prolific, with her appearing in nearly 200 roles to date, including the Blumhouse reboot of Halloween, directed by David Gordon Green and starring Jamie Lee Curtis. Betsy's friend, house-flipper Pam Hupp, told the police she was the last person to see her on the night of her death after insisting on driving her home. Michael tries to analyze their relationship but Helene reminds Michael that he romanticizes and rejects that they ever had a good relationship. "I mean she does it with such ease, the way that she portrayed Pam and sort of the fallout. The series was announced in May 2020 when the company revealed a partnership with Blumhouse Television. [47] By the end of its run on April 12, 2022, The Thing About Pam had become NBC's highest-rated freshman series of the 20212022 television season. One of the earliest of these characters to have actual screen time is Pam's mom, Helene Beesly. It isn't until Season 6 that Helene appears on-screen again, and this time she's played by Linda Purl. With heavy makeup and prosthetics Renee Zellweger is unrecognizable until she speaks. The entire experience was a revelation to many diehard fans, and it offered up an endless stream of juicy behind-the-scenes details. Drew Scheid as Travis Hupp, the son of Pam and Mark. Betsy is mostly shown through flashbacks in the series, for obvious reasons, but she is the catalyst to the overall story. But which faces will you be seeing cropping up in this new drama? Katy Mixon is best known as April on Eastbound & Down. "So, I can't blame her saying that, you know, I hope that she watches it and knows that there wasn't a day where we didn't speak about Betsy on set, and really think about and say 'I can't believe this happened. ', "How could you blame her for saying that? Lakeview Park is located in Fenton, Mo., and is less than an hour from where Pam lived in O'Fallon. Pamela Anderson had the biggest assets on "Baywatch," but she didn't reap the rewards. 7. Every suburban midwestern mom needs a Pam in her life. It was a smart policy, as it allowed the less-well-known actors (many of which have since become super stars in their own right since) to develop into the characters that we all know and love. The Thing About Pam is a six-part true-crime drama coming to NBC based on the Dateline examination of the murder of Betsy Faria in 2011. It's always intense, especially when you really care about a project and a role, and everyone else around you does too. [48], The series was one of 94 out of the 200 most-popular scripted television series that received the ReFrame Stamp for the years 2021 to 2022. Pam Hupp (Rene Zellweger), who declares herself "a pillar of the community," has been intimately involved in Betsy's life while Betsy has been getting cancer treatments. Poor Betsy. Zellweger's received criticism for donning a fat suit to play Pam Hupp (via The Wrap), the Midwestern mom and alleged serial killer.And some critics have found the comedic elements of the story off-putting. Hupp is already serving a life sentence for a separate case. She can also be seen in "Whiplash," "Wild Prairie Rose," "Gastropod" and many others.On stage, Spoke has twice won the Ovation Award, the Garland Award/LA Weekly Award for Best Performance in numerous productions and has also been awarded the Los Angeles Drama Critics Award/Garland Award for Best Production/Producer. Film credits include Think Like a Dog, The Lost Husband, Love, Simon, Transformers and New Years Eve.. On Halloween day of 2013, the body of Pam Hupp's 77-year-old mother Shirley Neumann (played by Celia Weston) was found on the lawn of the senior retirement community where she was living at the time. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters, Rene Zellweger Becomes Convicted Killer Pam Hupp in 'The Thing About Pam'. She will soon begin production on the feature film The Back Nine in the role of a former golfer who set her clubs aside to make way for her husbands pro career and raise her son, only to then turn pro during the back nine of her life. ", The Academy Award winner went on: "It's the juxtaposition of the making you comfortable to laugh and then the tragedy that's ongoing in this story that makes you stop for a second and really feel the gravity of the consequences, the decisions and the choices that this person made. She has series regular roles in the Netflix animated shows Pacific Rim and Battle Kitty. She also guest-starred on the premiere of Hulus Solar Opposites.. [I am] going to be researching and trying to understand just based on the limited information that's available. For more information on cookies including how to manage your consent visit our. When Dateline started premiering episodes about Pam Hupp back in 2013, they had no idea what they were in for. Manage all your favorite fandoms in one place! Meanwhile, television producers sought to devote several episodes from Dateline NBC to Betsy's story, which uncovers Pam's past and makes her a suspect in the case. Actress Alice Barrett Mitchell's Role in NBC Miniseries 'The Thing About Pam' Is Strangely Meta By Bianca Piazza Mar. He added that when he did speak to Faria, "he took me so much deeper into his story and his pain and the humanity of it all.". [38] John Doyle of The Globe and Mail said the actress "brings an equal amount of vinegary exuberance to the work. Her other TV credits include Psych, Wilfred, My Name Is Earl, Two and a Half Men and Eastbound and Down.. When his wife Betsy is found dead, Russ is destroyed. [14] In June 2021, Josh Duhamel was added to the cast with Mary Margaret Kunze joining as an executive producer. Purl's version of the character even dates Michael for a string of episodes. "That was a very powerful moment for me, and for the role it felt good. This brutal crime set off a chain of events that would expose a diabolical scheme deeply involving Pam Hupp. Katy is known for her work on CBS' Mike & Molly, ABC's American Housewife and is due to appear alongside Jessica Chastain and Michael Shannon in George & Tammy later in 2022. [20] At the second annual BlumFest in October, Zellweger spoke with Dateline correspondent Keith Morrison about portraying Hupp, "Truth is stranger than fiction. Update 03/18/2022, 6.55 a.m. "[36] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 55 out of 100 based on 18 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [17] On August 30, Judy Greer and Katy Mixon joined the cast. In 2021, the real Pam was charged with first-degree murder for the fatal stabbing of Betsy Faria in 2011 she has pleaded not guilty and is still awaiting trial. In the first official trailer and images, audiences get a peek at the Oscar-winning actress' dramatic . [10] 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". England and Wales company registration number 2008885. While Pam's mom shows up pretty often throughout the show, though, the one question that fans wanted to be answered was why Cochran's Helene is randomly replaced by Purl's version of the character in the first place. The character appears twice. Mixon is best known for her title role on ABCs American Housewife, which recently aired its fifth and final season. ("The Delivery"), Upon speculating that a cold sore might be a sign he has herpes, Michael goes on a field trip to visit all of his former lovers. Previously, she directed an AOL original short that documents the practice of Transcendental Meditation and how it has changed the lives of teachers and students who learned the practice from the David Lynch Foundation. It's her mom, it's her family, and it's weird that actors are portraying the worst thing that ever happened to your life.". A one-stop-shop for all things video games. Dateline journalist Keith Morrison provides the show's narration. The limited series also stars Olivia Luccardi, Jesse Scott Egan, Adam David Thompson, Catherine Carlen, Sarah Stipe, Drew Scheid, and Ann Mahoney. Russ Faria added: "I think they've done a really good job of staying true to the story as much as they could. Josh Duhamel will play Joel Schwartz, the defense attorney Russ hired to plead his case. When asked how she would respond, Adlon said she could see why Mariah was concerned and would likely feel the same in her position, but she assured that was never their intention. These details include her name, erroneously written as "Rita" and details "Klondike 507". The limited series also stars Olivia Luccardi, Jesse Scott Egan, Adam David Thompson, Catherine Carlen, Sarah Stipe, Drew Scheid, and Ann Mahoney. Josh Duhamel most recently played The Utopian in Jupiter's Legacy, and he's also known for his performances in Las Vegas, Unsolved, and for playing Captain Lennox in the live-action Transformers movies. Moments after walking through the door of his Troy, Mo., home on Dec. 27, 2011, Russ Faria discovered his wife, Betsy . The Thing About Pam finale airs Tuesday, April 8 on NBC at 10 p.m. In The Thing About Pam which is based on the Dateline podcast of the same name Katy Mixon plays warm, non-confrontational, easily manipulated Betsy Faria. At least that is what her trusted friend Pam keeps telling her. [24], Makeup artist Arjen Tuiten said it took eighty minutes to apply prosthetics on Zellweger. She has been a series regular on General Hospital and Switched at Birth as well as having smaller roles in Step by Step, Judging Amy, The Division, and ER. I listened to the podcast, so I did know the background on this case. There are so many things about Pam. But when Tanya hit her head while trying to escape from a yacht full of would-be murderers, she . [40] From Vulture, Roxana Hadadi said "Zellweger is simultaneously broadly cartoonish and blandly nonspecific. Betsys mom, Janet, doesn't know what to believe. She most recently filmed HBOs limited series White House Plumbers, opposite Woody Harrelson and Justin Theroux, and will be co-starring in Reboot from Modern Family co-creator Steve Levitan. 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