Yup, those sure are Lily James and Sebastian Stan as Pam & Tommy

TV Features Pam
Yup, those sure are Lily James and Sebastian Stan as Pam & Tommy
Image credits: Left: Lily James (Erica Parisse/Hulu), Right: Sebastian Stan and Lily James (Craig Gillespie/Hulu)

Today, in “We’re honestly not sure if we needed to see this today” news: Hulu has released the first-look photos for its upcoming “comedic limited series” about the release of Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee’s infamous sex tape, with Lily James and Sebastian Stan slotted into Pam & Tommy’s title roles. And, lo and behold, there they are: Respected thespians James and Stan, doing their best to work with the make-up, rather than against it, while attempting to channel two of the 1990s’ most eternally visible sex symbols.

But while the tone projected by the above photos doesn’t go very far beyond “High-commitment couples costume circa 1996,” it’s still not clear what angle the Hulu series itself, written by Rob Siegel and DV DeVincentis, and directed by I, Tonya’s Craig Gillespie, is likely to take on the pair’s relationship. After all, while many aspects of Anderson and Lee’s partnership were entertainingly absurd, there were also those aspects that were simply awful, like the domestic abuse charges Lee copped to after assaulting Anderson in 1998. (That’s to say nothing of the issues of consent raised by the tape itself, which was alleged by Lee to have been stolen from the couples’ home and promptly broadcast to the entire planet.) This is tricky, messy material for any show, especially one purported to be a comedy series, to tackle, and it’s not clear where on the rubbernecking vs. respectful scale Pam & Tommy is likely to fall.

In the meantime, though, we do have these two very weird pictures! (No sign, though, of Seth Rogen, who, like Gillespie, Siegel, and DeVincentis, is an executive producer on the series, and who’s reportedly playing Rand Gauthier, the former adult film star alleged to have stolen the tape.) Nick Offerman and Taylor Schilling are also set to co-star on the series.

72 Comments

  • bishbah-av says:

    Is V.I.P. streaming anywhere? I have a sudden urge to binge-watch it.

    • gildie-av says:

      It’s not. But if you want the rights to the property they’re all yours. 

    • obatarian-av says:

      V.I.P always struck me as a PG version of an Andy Sidaris film https://www.amazon.com/Girls-Guns-G-Strings-Sidaris-Collection/dp/B004HHX9OQ

      • taumpytearrs-av says:

        Not completely inaccurate, but I thought of it more as a knowingly goofy take on old Charlie’s Angels jiggle/action shows. It never got as weird as Sidaris’ movies, with his bizarre obsession with remote control planes/cars/etc, or the occasional giant radioactive toilet snake. Now I feel the need to pull out that Sidaris box set and watch some painfully long, overly convoluted schemes to bomb or shoot someone. I need a skateboard and a mannequin, stat!

    • taumpytearrs-av says:

      You can watch the first two seasons (with ads I’m assuming) on Plex. Or you could swing by and borrow the first season DVD set from me, I picked it up on the cheap years ago out of nostalgia for when I watched it as a horny 14 year old (funnily enough, I wasn’t into Pam then, but I watched it for every other woman of the show, especially Natalie Raitano, mmmmm).

  • jkayer09-av says:

    Filed under More Reasons to NOT  get Hulu…

  • brickstarter-av says:

    Stan doesn’t seem grimey enough.  He looks like he’s showered sometime in the last decade.  Maybe they’ll roll him around in a greasy puddle before film starts, or add in the filth digitally.

    • seinnhai-av says:

      Yeah. The hair. It looks like it was washed? AND someone combed it?  Yeah, 1/5 stars, no faith.

      • south-of-heaven-av says:

        Tommy also had a lot more tattoos at this point. Like his chest & stomach were completely covered by the 90s.

        • Robdarudedude-av says:

          Not really, he had a little more ink in the picture the above was based upon. But the real Tommy is definitely scuzzier looking.

    • aliks-av says:

      Have you seen I, Tonya? He’s pretty greasy in that.

    • typingbob-av says:

      Digital filth is Tight.

    • TotoGrenvitch-av says:

      He is more pop star pretty boy in the looks department no matter how many leather jackets they put him in. Off the top of my noggin I can’t think of any current actor that has that ratty quality of Tommy Lee.  I mean Pete Davidson has the same vibe but not the handsome looks.

  • daveassist-av says:

    I would ask… WHY?  But dollar signs indicating their willingness to escape some people have answered the question for me.

  • RiseAndFire-av says:

    Feel like Michael Fassbender should’ve played Tommy Lee. Some things just shouldn’t be faked.

    • edkedfromavc-av says:

      I was kind of hoping for Norm McDonald.

    • bhlam-22-av says:

      Right? I don’t want to see a digitally ensmalled penis on Sebastian Stan!

    • thevoid99-av says:

      He was my choice to play Tommy Lee in my pitch for “The Dirt” because of what he’s got but having just seen Sebastian Stan full-frontal, he’s got what it takes.

    • Shampyon-av says:

      Feel like Michael Fassbender should’ve played Tommy Lee. Some things just shouldn’t be faked.I know you were referring to his dick, but the first thing that came to mind was this:

      https://www.elle.com.au/celebrity/michael-fassbender-domestic-abuse-allegations-19326According to documents reportedly obtained by The Daily Beast, the aspiring actress and model claims in 2009, after Fassbender had partied late at a film festival, she found him “sleeping in urine” and when she tried to wake him up, he allegedly threw her over a chair and broke her nose.In another alleged incident the actor reportedly had a fight with Andrews while driving home following a dinner. Andrews claims Fassbender was driving erratically and when she tried to get out and take the keys he put the car in drive she was dragged by the vehicle.“I went to the hospital and had a twisted left ankle, blown out left knee cap and a bursted ovarian cyst,” Andrews’ filing reportedly reads. “Lots of internal bleeding.”

    • ifsometimesmaybe-av says:

      Sebastian Stan sort of looks like Dave Navarro to me.

    • mavar-av says:

      Sebastian looks like Pat the NES punk

  • barkmywords-av says:

    I think I’ve seen everything I’ve needed to see from those two. No thank you, Hulu.

    • cran-baisins-av says:

      I get where you’re coming from, but that’s the way I felt about Tonya Harding and Jeff Gilooly, and I thought I, Tonya was phenomenal (and that Stan and Robbie were excellent in it). Given that Craig Gillespie is directing this, too, I’ll probably at least check it out.

  • snagglepluss-av says:

    Looking forward to seeing Nick Offerman play Mick Mars (which he probably isn’t but a man can dream)

    • south-of-heaven-av says:

      I will give The Dirt this much credit as a movie, it correctly made Mick Mars look like the coolest guy in Motley Crue by a country mile.

      • snagglepluss-av says:

        You should read the hook. He comes off as both the most normal of the band members but also possibly the most f’ed up of the four. 

        • south-of-heaven-av says:

          Buddy I’ve read that book enough times that I can practically recite it backwards!

    • typingbob-av says:

      I want Nick Offerman to play Pamela Anderson, but he’ll have to lose the mo … Will this show have action figures?

  • psychopirate-av says:

    I can recognize Sebastian Stan, but not James at all. Wow.

    • beeeeeeeeeeej-av says:

      Yeah I had to google her name to make sure I wasn’t getting mixed up with a different Hollywood Lily, but she is near unrecognisable. Looking real close I can kind of see it in her eyes in her solo picture, but the image of her and Stan I would have guessed that was Lily James. I reckon it’s because her eyebrows are one of her defining features and they are a hell of a lot thinner in this performance, her nose looks a little different too but it’s hard to tell at the angle of these images.

  • surprise-surprise-av says:

    There’s a lot of history in these jeans…Pam Anderson was wearing them when she found out she had all 4 hepatitices…hepatiti? Either way, she’s a friend.

  • oldmanschultz-av says:

    Why is she biting his nipple ring like that? It’s incredibly upsetting.

    • south-of-heaven-av says:

      It’s a recreation of one of Pam & Tommy’s most famous photos. I kind of hate that I know that, but what can you do?

      • oldmanschultz-av says:

        I hate the very idea of it. But I especially hate seeing an execution, ANY execution of that idea.

        • south-of-heaven-av says:

          I’m extremely weird about anyone touching my chest, and I have no idea why, so I’m with you, but I also acknowledge that I’m in the minority on this.

      • surprise-surprise-av says:

        It’s like the Migrant Mother of Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee photos.

      • typingbob-av says:

        “Scientology can help you with that.”

  • drips-av says:
  • thekinjacaffeinespider-av says:

    I googled ‘Lily James’ and rubbed one out. Then I posted this comment. Now I’m done with this.

  • south-of-heaven-av says:

    Her: 10/10, holy shit, amazing transformation. Emmys all around for hair, makeup and costumesHim: Ehh. Maybe it’ll look better not in stills, but he’s missing a lot of Tommy’s tattoos, which is bugging me. I can’t believe I’m saying this but Sebastian Stan has his work cut out for him if he wants to be as good of a Tommy Lee as Machine Gun Kelly.

    • bernardg-av says:

      Yeah, his lack of height for one. Tommy Lee is a tall lanky dude, Machine Gun K also tall lanky boy. Sebastian Stan is not.

    • ghostiet-av says:

      Actually he has pretty much the same amount of tattoos as Lee had in the picture this is a recreation of.

  • south-of-heaven-av says:

    No sign, though, of Seth Rogen, who, like Gillespie, Siegel, and DeVincentis, is an executive producer on the seriesRogen could definitely play Vince Neil in 1996. Or 2018.

  • gdtesp-av says:

    My attraction to Lily James was getting creepy and pathetic. These images tempered that nicely.

  • labbla-av says:

    Lilly James should make a sequel to Barbwire. 

  • fezmonkey-av says:

    To quote Bellona*: “Who?”*I’m guessing about 94% of the people here have no idea what that means. Don’t worry, you’re not missing much.

  • dabard3-av says:

    Sebastian Stan is really cornering the market on playing real-life sleazeballs.

  • magpie187-av says:

    Comedic? Tommy went to prison for beating her up. This is not a funny story. 

    • toddisok-av says:

      Tragedy is when I cut my finger 

    • pearlnyx-av says:

      How about in The Dirt (movie) where he doesn’t know why Heather Locklear is divorcing him. They just kinda skipped over that whole domestic abuse situation and just had him slap some groupie on the bus.Fun fact: On Melrose Place, there was a storyline where Heather’s character’s abusive ex-husband tracks her down. She showed someone photos from the police of what he did to her. Those were real photos from one of the times Tommy beat the shit out of her. She said the producers from Melrose called her and said they needed her to come in for make-up to take the pics. She said she’d save them some time and gave them those.

      • mik-el-av says:

        Yeah, he hit the girl after she stabbed him. The bros on the internet were saying it was self defense, which it was not, and that response was precisely the reason they chose that case as their example of “Tommy’s Dark Side”. (He punched her long after she stabbed him with a pen. It was assault in retaliation for assault, not defense. Also he hit her because she pissed him off with her big mouth, not because she assaulted him). Bros still love the Askin’ For It defense even when they know it doesn’t work.

  • dapperdeb-av says:

    Wow, that’s a big bucket of men and only men writing, directing and producing a “comedic series” about a violent man and a woman whose image was very invasively sexually exploited against her will, compounded by the humiliation and dehumanization of her having to grin and bear the fallout. Not seeing the comedy here.Both Anderson and Locklear came out of their relationships with Lee damaged, so F that guy.

  • snooder87-av says:

    I think the Pam and Tommy Lee sex tape was the first sex video I ever saw.

  • paraduck-av says:

    Then Sebastian Stan can play John Bobbitt and his ’90s trilogy will be complete.

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