"Pam & Tommy": The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly!

Lily James and Sebastian Stan star in new Hulu series “Pam & Tommy” that premiered on February 2nd, and has been hard hitting since.

The show focuses back in early 1995, when young model and actress Pamela Anderson and Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee were on top of the world -- until a big scandal of a leaked sex tape went viral. She was starring in the TV hit “Baywatch”, and while his band was past its 1980s prime, he could still live the rockstar life in their Malibu mansion. We are up to 4 episodes so far, and they are jam-packed with countless amazing moments represented by James and Stan.

Not to mention the amazing makeup and 360-degree change for both actors to truly look like their characters. According to an interview and a deep dive by Harper’s Bazaar, it takes about four hours a day for Lily to transform into Pam. Not only that, but she wears acrylic teeth dentures that give her a perfect smile, and it worked to push out her lip similar to Pam. She apparently is also wearing a forehead prosthetic that could not be reused, as well as brow wigs.

Not only the look, but the onscreen chemistry between the two leads is also insane!

Let’s not forget the soundtrack, from songs like "Sunny" by Dusty Springfield in the first episode to Shirley Bassey’s "Spinning Wheel" in the third episode.

In addition to Lily James and Sebastian Stan, the show gives us Seth Rogen, who plays Rand Gauthier, the man who stole the tape then duplicated and distributed it for money.

While the comedy, the make-up, and the acting in this show is hard-hitting, so is the actual show’s topic. It explores a perspective of Pam and Tommy’s real-life scandal -- a scandal that left Pamela Anderson traumatized. Anderson was against the production of this show when she heard it was happening, while the showrunners are selling it as “the greatest love story ever sold.” For the most part, the subjects of this story are against its retelling, especially since they’ve been trying to push past it for 25 years now. Gauthier, the one who distributed this tape, technically had committed a form of revenge porn. Even though his original plan was to hurt Tommy, it was Pamela who was left the most exploited due to his actions.

The lack of emphasis given to the actual “bad side” of the incident was never talked about at the time, and it is treated the same way in the series, making it a retelling of the same real-life events that left Pamela Anderson in a bad spot back in the '90s. Even if the show is trying to bring these subjects to light to give people a “newer” perspective of what had happened, and to help those affected, isn’t it a little counterproductive to go on with the program when the very woman it affected isn’t approving of it?

According to Vanity Fair, “She made a distinct decision, which took no time at all to make, to not be a part of this.” Meaning, she really really hated the idea of this series happening. In another interview for People, a source said, "Pamela deserves a level of respect. She's a human being and a mom. There's a sense of hypocrisy about it. It's her life and she should have the decision [as to] whether it's turned into a commodity for public consumption.” Pamela Anderson herself has spoken briefly on the subject.

We can appreciate the artistry of the show and the acting, but should we actually revisit this moment and continue to talk about a serious issue in a comedic way, especially when the subjects of the series have openly disapproved of the project?

New episodes of "Pam and Tommy" drop every Wednesday on Hulu.