The Thing About Pam is delivering a different kind of true crime to network television, as a scripted series based on real events and real people. After three episodes, Renée Zellweger’s Pam seems primed to quite literally get away with murder, after Russ (Glenn Fleshler) was found guilty despite the best efforts of lawyers Joel (Josh Duhamel) and Nate (Ben Chase). The limited series is only halfway done, however, and Russ’ story isn’t done despite his conviction. Glenn Fleshler, who has also appeared in shows ranging from True Detective to Hannibal to Law & Order: SVU, spoke with CinemaBlend and previewed the upcoming twists that will “send everybody spiraling.”
Russ’ story seemed more hopeless than ever at the end of the most recent episode, with the judge overruling every single one of Joel’s efforts to use the evidence that would provide some extremely reasonable doubt about his "guilt." He was convicted, and the case seemed closed... but The Thing About Pam still has a lot of ground to cover. When I spoke with Glenn Fleshler, he teased what’s on the way for his character and the show as a whole:
Well, he continues to go through a lot of ups and downs. There is a little hope, a little ray of sunshine comes here and there. Some other pain and difficulties. But the show manages to stay very dramatic. There's a lot more twists and turns. The early part of our show is about the Faria case, but there's actually more to it. More events that happen and more things involving Pam that upset the town and confuse people and send everybody spiraling. So, yeah, it's kind of just getting going at this point.
So far, Pam has successfully fooled almost everybody in town into believing that she’s nothing but Betsy’s supportive friend – albeit one who spins some very convenient and elaborate stories to cast as much blame as possible on Russ. That said, anybody who has been listening to the narration from Keith Morrison (who also narrates Dateline) knows that everything is going to fall apart for Pam sooner or later, and “everybody spiraling” seems like a good start to her downfall!
The next episode, called “She’s A Loving Daughter,” airs on March 29, and the episode description reveals that Pam really is starting to lose control as Russ is on the verge of getting a second trial while she’s still struggling with money and the Dateline producer is causing trouble for her again. Her relationship with her mom will seemingly be as messy as ever, which is presumably the inspiration for the episode title. Then again, depending on how Russ’ daughter feels about her dad’s conviction and the way the trial went down, could she have a part to play as well?
Only time will tell on that front, but the second trial could go very differently for Russ if Joel gets to actually use all of the evidence in the case. D.A. Leah Askey had the good luck of a friendly judge the first time around; whoever judges the second trial could decide Russ’ fate and set Pam and the rest of the characters up to start spiraling. The Thing About Pam – which features Renée Zellweger in a prosthetic body suit that she felt was “important” for her role as Pam – is only halfway through the full story, and Glenn Fleshler promised more “twists and turns” on the way, so be sure to keep tuning in!
New episodes of The Thing About Pam air on Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on NBC. If you missed any of the first three episodes or just want to revisit the story so far, you can find the series streaming with a Peacock subscription and/or a Hulu subscription. For some more viewing options for now and once The Thing About Pam wraps and New Amsterdam returns for more Season 4, check out our 2022 TV schedule!
