At certain moments, Pam & Tommy is as sleezy as the infamous sex tape at its core. The eight-episode series, which premieres with the first three episodes, wants to redeem Pamela Anderson, played somewhat convincingly by Lily James, a woman who had her life and career upended by a lurid video that was never intended to go public. Set in the early days of the World Wide Web, the show re-imagines the events surrounding the theft of a sex tape shot by Anderson and her then-husband Tommy Lee (an unhinged Sebastian Stan) on their honeymoon. The clip, first released as haphazardly copied VHS tapes and then as a streaming video, arrived at the height of Anderson’s career and exemplified how women are objectified very differently than men.
In their valiant journey to redeem Anderson’s perspective, however, the creators and producers of the series failed to include the real-life Anderson—neither she nor Lee were involved in the making of the show. That knowledge, that Anderson’s actual voice wasn’t heard in this process, lends a sense of discomfort. As compelling as it is, the series centers around the lack of a woman’s consent—so where is Anderson’s?
Still, Pam & Tommy knows what it’s doing. The uncanny transformations of James and Stan into Anderson and Lee are impossible to look away from. Stan embraces Lee’s unlikability, playing the Motley Crue drummer as a narcissistic asshole who sees himself as the most important person in a room despite his band’s declining career. James, nearly unrecognizable with prosthetic breasts and a sheen of hair and makeup, brings a real vulnerability to Anderson, who is more girl than sexpot here. Her breathy voice, similar but not identical to Anderson’s actual tone, adds a texture of realness to the onscreen Pamela, who is constantly being forced to the sidelines by the producers of her TV series Baywatch.
But before we meet Pamela and Tommy, the audience is carried into the story by Rand Gauthier, a down-on-his-luck contractor played by Seth Rogen (who also developed and produced the series). Rand has been hired by Tommy to renovate the master bedroom in his mansion, but Tommy keeps changing his mind and refusing to pay the workers. Rand, a former porn actor living in a decrepit apartment, reaches his breaking point when Tommy abruptly fires the entire crew, leaving Rand in debt. Armed with an amateur knowledge of world religion, Rand decides to embody karma itself and steal the rock star’s safe. It’s a successful burglary, as history has recorded, but the sex tape is simply an added bonus for Rand, who wants to get paid. The first episode, “Drilling and Pounding,” only introduces Pamela and Tommy on its fringes—it’s Rand with whom we’re meant to sympathize.
The second episode, “I Love You, Tommy,” flashes backwards, depicting the famous couple’s courtship and tweaking some of the facts to suit the narrative. Director Craig Gillespie, who helmed the first three episodes, doesn’t shy away from the hard-partying lifestyle, depicting Tommy as a drug-addled alcoholic and Pamela as his willing accomplice. The pair, aided by pills, quickly become infatuated with each other after meeting in a Hollywood club. Pamela is wide-eyed and coy; Tommy is a borderline stalker with a larger-than-life personality. While the series never shows more than a passing glimpse of the central sex tape, Gillespie certainly goes all-in revealing the viewer the couple’s raucous sex life. In another scene, Tommy has a graphic conversation with his erect penis, voiced by Jason Mantzoukas, a conceit borrowed from Lee’s autobiography Tommyland. The nudity and sex are blatant, which feels somewhat ironic for a show that’s commenting on whether it’s acceptable to show a couple’s private bedroom antics to the public. Is the difference here that this is a fictionalized drama with actors, or does that even matter?
In its early episodes, Pam & Tommy successfully hooks you in, whether or not you agree with its methods. The subsequent episodes—which will drop weekly—are equally as compelling, following the saga to its conclusion. It’s fascinating to see Rand’s side of the story, as he teams up with questionable porn producer Uncle Milton (a perfectly cast Nick Offerman) to monetize his accidental discovery and impart revenge on Tommy, who is possibly the most obnoxious person in the world. It’s clear that Rand, separated from his porn star wife Erica (Taylor Schilling), never considered the collateral damage to Anderson when he released the tape. Here, Rand just wants what he’s owed.
Pam & Tommy is based on Rolling Stone’s 2014 article “Pam and Tommy: The Untold Story of the World’s Most Infamous Sex Tape,” although the writers appear to have drawn from other sources—like Tommyland—in creating the show. There is a lot of truth to the story, with many of the events actually unfolding, although it’s best viewed as fiction inspired by reality rather than reality itself. Like celebrity culture as a whole, the series is massively entertaining, somewhat flawed, and potentially exploitative. Does it showcase Anderson through a new lens? Maybe. It certainly adds to her perspective and gives her a more integral part in the story that surrounds the tape. But without the actress’s actual participation it will never be able to offer her the redemption it so badly wants to give.