Pam & Tommy

:

Season 1
  • Network: HULU
  • Series Premiere Date: Feb 2, 2022
User Score
6.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 24 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 24
  3. Negative: 4 out of 24
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User Reviews

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  1. whoischarlotte
    Mar 23, 2022
    8
    The casting on this was outstanding, especially Lily James and Sebastian Stan. Outstanding!
  2. SamGuzman
    Jun 16, 2022
    9
    What if the Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee tape had never leaked? What would have happened with the careers of both, or with their relationship? Maybe Pam had become a movie superstar, or maybe Baywatch had outshone the rest of her work. Perhaps their marriage didn't have much of a future, or perhaps they had become an unlikely stable couple.

    The problem is that they will never know,    What if the Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee tape had never leaked? What would have happened with the careers of both, or with their relationship? Maybe Pam had become a movie superstar, or maybe Baywatch had outshone the rest of her work. Perhaps their marriage didn't have much of a future, or perhaps they had become an unlikely stable couple.

    The problem is that they will never know, because their life ceased to belong to them and became part of popular culture.

    This is one of the thoughts that Pam & Tommy left me. The series is an excellent opportunity to demystify these two characters and put yourself in their shoes, find characteristics that you can identify with, be happy for them and then feel devastated for them.

    That’s why the work of characterization and the interpretation of Lily James and Sebastian Stan is so extraordinary. The two main actors deserve a separate mention because their research work is perfectly projected in each of the episodes; they don’t do an imitation, but rather captured the essence of their characters and blended in with them.

    It is important to clarify and acknowledge the respect with which directors, writers and actors treated Pamela Anderson. It was risky to involve comedy in a story like hers, but the series manages to do so without ever making fun of her. The comedy can be in certain situations, it can be in the pathetic character of Rand Gauthier or the extravagance of Tommy, but never in Pamela. And that is appreciated.

    After watching the show, I find it a bit disappointing to see the media put so much emphasis and attention on just one scene (the talking penis, which you can surely recognize even if you haven't seen the show yet), when the show has so many moments that are much more transcendent and better achieved in terms of rhythm, setting, music and character development. It's not that it's a bad scene, in fact it perfectly represents Tommy's personality; however, I think there are better moments.

    Also invaluable is the series' smooth transition from light comedy and romance to full-blown nightmare. As you get to the last chapters you realize that, as much as you would like to change things, there will be no happy ending here. A hopeful ending is what they give us, and it was the most we could hope for.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

83
#83 Most Discussed TV Season of 2022

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
70

Generally favorable reviews - based on 43 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 43
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 43
  3. Negative: 1 out of 43
  1. TV Guide Magazine
    Reviewed by: Matt Roush
    May 25, 2022
    80
    Unexpectedly exhilarating. ... Lily James and Sebastian Stan are sensational as Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee. [14 - 27 Feb 2022, p.6]
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  2. The New Yorker
    Reviewed by: Doreen St. Félix
    Mar 1, 2022
    50
    Rogen’s Gauthier is sketched out more confidently than any other character. The alluring, trashy chic aesthetic of “Pam & Tommy” is a smoke screen for a series that is reluctant to give its protagonists—the lovers it would purport to raise to a classical perch—any real depth.
    Read full review
  3. The Detroit News
    Reviewed by: Adam Graham
    Feb 17, 2022
    75
    "Pam & Tommy" doesn't make fun of them or their relationship, but shows it for what it is: a match made in the stars. James' physical transformation is astounding (she's aided considerably by prosthetics), and she finds the warmth within Pam, the naïve small town girl with dreams that perhaps outweighed her talents. Stan is clearly going for it in the role of Tommy, and he softens some of the rocker's harder features and less desirable traits; he makes him lovable.
    Read full review
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