It stars Renée Zellweger, Josh Duhamel, Judy Greer, Gideon Adlon, Sean Bridgers, Suanne Spoke, Mac Brandt, Katy Mixon, and Glenn Fleshler.

Though some praised Zellweger's performance as Hupp in her network television debut, others criticized the comedic tone used to convey the story of a real murder.

The Thing About Pam details the murder of Betsy Faria, a cancer-stricken woman found dead in her home in Troy, Missouri, in December 2011.

The police suspected Betsy's husband, Russ, as the culprit and arrested him, but when his conviction was overturned, holes appeared in Pam's testimony, revealing a diabolical scheme.

Meanwhile, television producers sought to devote several episodes from Dateline NBC to Betsy's story, which uncovers Pam's past and makes her a suspect in the case.

At the time of its announcement, NBC News Studios had already attained partnerships with Blumhouse Television and Focus Features, with the former revealing they were in negotiations to develop and produce scripted programs based on stories told on Dateline.

[10] In a statement, Cole said that "having been at the forefront of the true-crime genre for so long, we know better than anyone that truth is often stranger than fiction, and with the twists and turns in this case, we saw a real opportunity to present it in a scripted format".

In addition to the series announcement, it was revealed Cole would executive produce alongside Jason Blum, Marci Wiseman, and Jeremy Gold.

[11] The limited series was given a six-episode order and titled The Thing About Pam on February 4, 2021, with Renée Zellweger joining the cast to portray Hupp in her network television debut and attaching herself as an executive producer through her production company Big Picture Co.

It was also reported that NBCUniversal Chairman of Entertainment Content Susan Rosner Rovner would oversee the series and that Jessika Borsiczky would write and serve as showrunner.

[12] In May 2021, Jenny Klein signed a one-year first-look deal with Blumhouse Television and joined The Thing About Pam as a writer and executive producer.

[20] At the second annual BlumFest in October, Zellweger spoke with Dateline correspondent Keith Morrison about portraying Hupp, "Truth is stranger than fiction.

[1] When asked why they did not cast an actress with a closer resemblance to Hupp's physical appearance, McCumber replied, "When a two-time Oscar winner calls and says, 'I'm obsessed with this story and I want to play Pam and I want to produce, you say, 'Yes, yes, yes, yes.'

[31] Initial responses to the promotional material were negative; Libby Hall from IndieWire called Zellweger's use of prosthetics and a padded suit an example of fatphobia.

The website's consensus reads: "Renée Zellweger is visibly having fun, but The Thing About Pam's glossy take on a true crime is neither as entertaining or insightful as it aims to be.

"[41] Variety's Daniel D'Addario criticized the "uncanny" prosthetics and the appearance of a Dateline producer as a character, writing, "It'd be a shame if Zellweger's first acting gig after her Oscar-boosted return to Hollywood were, ultimately, little more than NBC cross-promotion.

[43] Liam Mathews at TVGuide said the "deliciously satisfying" tone was similar to that of the Coen brothers, but that its use to convey the story of a real murder would make "you feel [a] little queasy.

"[44] Ciara Wardlow, writing for RogerEbert.com, categorized it as "a watchable if often underwhelming true crime docudrama that wants to both be weird and play it safe, ending up in a strange middle ground between the two.