Kyle Cooke
I’m Not Dating Ava Dash…
and Amanda Ain’t Dating West Wilson!

Published
March 11, 2026
5:35 AM PDT

As a genre, true crime has dominated television for years. Massive documentary hits like Netflix’s Making a Murderer and HBO’s The Staircase proved just how captivated audiences can be by real-life criminal cases. But as the genre has grown more popular, networks and studios have increasingly looked for ways to tell these stories outside the traditional documentary format, creating scripted series that allow writers and actors to explore the personalities and circumstances surrounding the crimes in greater detail.

That was the approach NBC took in 2022 when it teamed up with Blumhouse Television to produce The Thing About Pam, a limited series based on one of the strangest murder cases in recent American history. Rather than presenting the story as a grim procedural, the series leaned into the bizarre nature of the real-life events and the outsized personality at the center of the case. The result was a show that blended crime storytelling with dark humor and an almost Coen Brothers–style sense of absurdity. The tonal gamble didn’t work for everyone, but four years later, The Thing About Pam remains a fascinating look at a real-life story that was already stranger than fiction.

What Is ‘The Thing About Pam’ About?

The Thing About Pam is based on the real-life murder of Betsy Faria (Katy Mixon) in Troy, Missouri, a case that quickly spiraled into one of the most convoluted investigations in recent memory. When Betsy is found stabbed to death in her home in 2011, suspicion immediately falls on her husband, Russ Faria (Glenn Fleshler). Despite a lack of convincing evidence and the fact that he had a strong alibi, Russ is ultimately convicted of the crime, largely due to a deeply flawed investigation.

At the center of the story is Pam Hupp, played by Renée Zellweger, a seemingly friendly acquaintance of Betsy who becomes increasingly entangled in the case. As the investigation unfolds, Pam’s role begins to look far more suspicious than anyone initially realized. Over time, prosecutors and investigators begin uncovering a web of lies and manipulations that point to a far more disturbing truth behind Betsy’s death. The series also features a strong supporting cast, including Judy Greer as prosecutor Leah Askey and Josh Duhamel as defense attorney Joel Schwartz, as the case becomes increasingly bizarre.

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What sets The Thing About Pam apart from most true-crime adaptations is its unusual tone. Rather than presenting the case strictly as a grim procedural, the series often leans into the absurdity of the situation, from the baffling and botched investigation to the unusual personality of Pam herself. That tonal choice set the show apart, in both good ways and bad. At times, it risked feeling like it was adopting the darkly comedic style of shows like Fargo while telling the story of a very real murder. Still, the strange twists of the case, and Pam Hupp’s outsized personality, help explain why the creative team leaned into a more stylized approach. And much of that tone ultimately works because of Renée Zellweger’s bold performance at the center of it all.

Renée Zellweger Delivers One of Her Boldest Performances in ‘The Thing About Pam’

Looking at Renée Zellweger’s impressive resume, it might be surprising that her first real foray into television came through a network true-crime series. But Zellweger herself was introduced to the story of Pam Hupp while listening to Dateline’s popular 2019 podcast of the same name. As she explained in a 2022 interview with Entertainment Weekly, the case was so strange that it immediately drew her in. “You can’t quite believe the facts that surround the case,” she said, describing the story as an “escalating absurdity.” That sense of disbelief ultimately became central to her performance.

Zellweger commits fully to the role, leaning into Pam’s strange blend of seeming totally relatable while also being incredibly manipulative and unpredictable. It’s a performance that feels very different from the other real-life figures she has portrayed in the past, including Judy Garland in Judy, which earned her the Academy Award for Best Actress. Pam Hupp is not a tragic icon or beloved public figure, but someone far messier and far more baffling. That challenge results in a deliberately heightened performance that matches the show’s unusual tone. The Thing About Pam also marked a milestone in Zellweger’s career: not only was it her network TV debut, but she also served as an executive producer, helping shape the tone of the series while anchoring it on screen.

Looking back four years later, The Thing About Pam remains one of the more unusual entries in the ever-growing world of true-crime television. Its willingness to blend dark humor with a real-life murder case remains controversial, but the show’s attempt to capture the bizarre nature of the story, and the odd person at the center, gives it a distinct identity among a crowded field of true-crime adaptations. For viewers who missed it the first time around, the six-episode limited series makes for a quick and compelling binge.

Superhero Video Games
Non-Stop Action
Save the City … Finish the Villain

Published
March 11, 2026
12:05 AM PDT

Kandi Burruss & Ex Todd Tucker’s
Restaurant On The Hook for Six-Figure Settlement!!!

Published
March 11, 2026
2:00 AM PDT

Summer House’s Kyle Cooke responded to claims that he cheated on estranged wife Amanda Batula prior to the end of their four-year marriage.

During an appearance on the Tuesday, March 10, episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, the host, 57, rehashed how Amanda, 34, said on the reality series last month that “women have been sliding into her DMs to share evidence that you’ve hooked up with them.”

Kyle, 43, responded, “It’s tough. [There’s] so much noise, but I feel bad she’s had to deal with that. Look, I can tell you, I was not, like, physically or emotionally unfaithful.”

Podcaster Danny Pellegrino, who joined Kyle on the WWHL episode, then directly asked him, “What are all these pictures out there then? Why were you getting so close to take pictures with [other women]?”

Related: Summer House’s Kyle Cooke Breaks Silence After Amanda Batula Split

Summer House star Kyle Cooke is speaking out following his split from wife Amanda Batula. “I think people will be surprised but also happy to see that Amanda and I are in a good spot,” Cooke, 43, told “Hollywood Raw” podcast host Adam Glyn in a video shared via TikTok on Thursday, January 22. “Obviously […]

A blank Kyle replied, “Pictures? I mean, the pictures I’ve seen are with people that are my friends.”

Kyle’s comments come after Us Weekly exclusively reported on Tuesday that the former couple are “on good terms” and “friendly” following their split, which was announced via a joint statement in January. A source told Us that the duo “communicate often about the dogs” they own, Reese and Ryder.

Kyle and Amanda are yet to file for divorce, with a second insider telling Us that they “want to keep a divorce amicable and keep it very mature.”

Related: Kyle Cooke Chokes Up Thanking Amanda Batula at ‘Summer House’ Party

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Summer House star Kyle Cooke made sure to give a shout-out to estranged wife Amanda Batula at the season 10 premiere party, less than one month after the pair announced their separation. “Through all the ups and downs, you stood by my side,” Kyle, 43, shared at the Wednesday, February 3, event after getting emotional […]

One month after the pair’s split was announced, Amanda raised claims of Kyle cheating during an episode of Summer House. “Every time you go out I get DMs telling me that you were up to something suspicious,” she told Kyle. “I don’t even bring them all up to you anymore because it’s just constant.”

The episode also saw a producer ask Amanda if she believed that Kyle had been cheating on her, which drew the response, “I don’t know. I’d like to think not. But he has in the past. There have been plenty of rumors about it. Who knows? Only Kyle.”

Fans have watched the pair’s rollercoaster relationship unfold via the Bravo reality TV show over the years, including 2018’s cheating drama when Kyle confessed to being unfaithful while he was drunk. Amanda forgave Kyle at the time before he proposed to her later that year and they tied the knot in September 2021.

During Kyle’s WWHL appearance, Cohen also quizzed Kyle on Amanda’s Summer House episode quip, aired earlier on Tuesday, which saw her tell the cameras, “Now I can leave him and I got a watch out of it.” (Kyle gifted Amanda a Cartier watch during Tuesday’s episode).

Kyle laughed before responding with, “I did catch that. I mean, look, if we were actually in the process of splitting up last summer, there’s no way she would’ve said that, that was a joke. She earned that [watch]. That was the highlight of my summer, to see her smile … I would’ve bought her three watches if I could just relive that moment.”

Following Diablo Cody’s success with the 2007 film Juno, the writer sought to complete her next project. Her hyper-specific dialogue made the film a sensation and was quoted years after its release. Her next film, sadly, was not met with as much fanfare. In 2009, Cody wrote Jennifer’s Body, a critique of the male gaze set in a high school.

Even though the film was directed by Karyn Kusama, who would go on to direct The Invitation and executive produce Yellowjackets, her work on Jennifer’s Body would largely be unappreciated until years later. The horror film was massively mismarketed as a teen drama when it was actually a satirical, deliciously bloody look at gender roles. Jennifer’s Body has the same witty dialogue as Juno, but instead follows a teenage girl who, after being sacrificed to the devil, comes back as a man-eating succubus. Many audiences misread the film the first time around, but it is finally getting a chance to live again on Tubi.

‘Jennifer’s Body’ Would Be a Smash Success if It Came out Today

In 2009, conversations about gender still had a long way to go. While feminism had its place in pop culture, Jennifer’s Body went over many critics’ heads. Viewers were distracted by its campy tone and did not pay attention to the resonant themes at its bloody center. It didn’t help that the film’s marketing campaign seemed to try to capitalize on Megan Fox’s popularity with a younger male audience, which is precisely one of the film’s central critiques. It was marketed toward a young male audience, which missed the film’s intent.

Fox plays Jennifer Check, a high school student who is only appreciated for her sex appeal. One night, a touring band takes advantage of her in a Satanic ritual meant to grant them fame. It goes horribly awry, and instead of being sacrificed, Jennifer turns into a demon who can only survive by consuming the flesh of boys.

The relationship between Jennifer and her best friend Needy (Amanda Seyfried) is another element that was geared more to a female audience, but was misunderstood upon its release. The film also depicts the complexities of female friendships, which an audience over-sexualizing Fox would naturally miss out on. Needy and Jennifer’s relationship is extremely specific to the female experience. Though Jennifer becomes a cannibalistic monster, she initially refuses to cross the line of killing her best friend. Jennifer’s Body also deals with the spectrum of sexuality, which is not always depicted in mainstream films.

At the time, the project was unfairly compared to Twilight, which had only come out the previous year. This story was not a supernatural romance at all, but a horror film about the ramifications of taking away women’s bodily autonomy. Despite its outrageousness, the film’s subtleties were wildly misconstrued. It is tragic that had the film come out today, it likely would have been embraced with open arms. If anything, it has become more relevant than ever in the current cultural landscape. Now, fans have the opportunity to give the film a second chance by streaming it on its current home, Tubi.

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Release Date

September 18, 2009

Runtime

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107 minutes

Director

Karyn Kusama

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Producers

Brad Van Arragon, Daniel Dubiecki, Jason Reitman

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Benny Blanco
Offered Help to Launch Foot Focused Account
After Flaunting Toes!!!

Published
March 11, 2026
3:00 AM PDT