Renee Zellweger is set to make her broadcast TV debut as star and executive producer of the NBC limited series “The Thing About Pam,” which also hails from Blumhouse and NBC News program “Dateline.” The show, which will consist of six episodes, received a straight-to-series order from NBC.
This “The Thing About Pam” is an adaptation of the popular 2019 true-crime podcast of the same name. The case at the center of the podcast also got a bunch of airtime across a multi-episode investigation performed by “Dateline.”
The podcast, and now the show, is based on the 2011 murder of Betsy Faria that resulted in her husband Russ’ conviction. Russ insisted he did not kill his wife, and his conviction was later overturned. The brutal crime set off a chain of events that would expose a diabolical scheme deeply involving Pam Hupp.
Jessika Borsiczky will write the series and serve as showrunner.
“The Thing About Pam” marks a few firsts: It’s the first major scripted project under the purview of new NBCUniversal Chairman of Entertainment Content Susan Rovner, as well as the first project between Blumhouse Television and NBC News Studios, whose partnership was announced last year.
“When you think about what qualifies something as a ‘must watch,’ I’m not sure you could do any better than the undeniable trifecta of Renee Zellweger, Blumhouse and ‘Dateline,’” Rovner said in a statement on Thursday. “The twists and turns of this saga are truly stranger than fiction, and in the hands of this incredibly talented artistic team, this series will bring a completely new perspective to a story that has already captivated millions.”
“Similar to our acclaimed and award-winning crime series such as ‘The Jinx’ and ‘Sharp Objects,’ we see this opportunity to fuel viewers’ appetites for strong and compelling stories,” Jason Blum, CEO and founder of Blumhouse, added. “This opportunity to build a powerful, scripted franchise and work with the incomparable Renee Zellweger in her first starring role on broadcast TV, with a writer as gifted as Jessika Borsiczky and adapting material from the treasure troves of ‘Dateline’ in partnership with our friends at NBC, is unparalleled. I couldn’t be more proud of the Blumhouse team for bringing it to fruition.”
“As NBC News Studios continues to build upon an impressive track record only a year into our launch, we could not be more proud to work with this extraordinary team of collaborators on our first foray into scripted,” Noah Oppenheim, president of NBC News, said in a statement of his own.
“The Thing About Pam” will be executive produced by Zellweger, Borsiczky, Oppenheim, Blum, Carmella Casinelli, Liz Cole, Chris McCumber and Jeremy Gold. Blumhouse Television, NBC News Studios and Big Picture Co. will produce.
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