Pam & Tommy TV Review | Common Sense Media

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Parents' Guide to

Pam & Tommy TV Hulu Drama 2022 Pam & Tommy Poster Image
  • Common Sense Says
  • Parents Say 1 Review
  • Kids Say 2 Reviews

Common Sense Media Review

Marty Brown By Marty Brown , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 16+

Famous celebrity sex tape sparks shallow bio-series.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Pam & Tommy is a biographical drama based on the mid-'90s romance between Pamela Anderson (Baywatch) and Tommy Lee (Mötley Crüe), which notoriously culminated in the leak of a private sex tape that became extremely popular online. Predictably, the series contains a lot of…

 Why Age 16+? Sex, Romance & Nudity

Central plot is about a sex tape, and that's just the beginning of sexual conten

 Language

Heavy profanity is used throughout: "f--k," "s--t," "ass," etc.

 Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Characters are seen drinking alcohol to excess, smoking cigarettes, using drugs

Violence & Scariness

Mostly limited to verbal threats. In addition, private moments stolen and spread

 Products & Purchases

Some product placement, including brand-name alcohol.

 Any Positive Content? Positive Messages

Concentrates mostly on plot rather than messaging or themes, beyond some simple

Positive Role Models

Stays pretty surface-level with its characterizations and somehow presents its s

 Diverse Representations

The casting in Pam & Tommy seems to be more focused on verisimilitu

  • Parents Need to Know

    Parents need to know that Pam & Tommy is a biographical drama based on the mid-'90s romance between Pamela Anderson (Baywatch) and Tommy Lee (Mötley Crüe), which notoriously culminated in the leak of a private sex tape that became extremely popular online. Predictably, the series contains a lot of sexual content, including nudity, simulated sex, and simulated masturbation. The couple were also celebrated for their hard-partying lifestyle, and alcohol, cigarettes, and cocaine are used throughout the series. In real life, Anderson and Tommy Lee came off as slightly more sympathetic than they do in this version of the story, which focuses more on the sensational aspects of the story and characters than on why they might be relevant to viewers nearly 25 years later.

  • Sex, Romance & Nudity

    a lot

    Central plot is about a sex tape, and that's just the beginning of sexual content, which also includes nudity, simulated sex, simulated masturbation.

    Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

    Get started Close

  • Language

    a lot

    Heavy profanity is used throughout: "f--k," "s--t," "ass," etc.

    Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

    Get started Close

  • Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

    a lot

    Characters are seen drinking alcohol to excess, smoking cigarettes, using drugs (especially cocaine) throughout.

    Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

    Get started Close

  • Violence & Scariness

    a little

    Mostly limited to verbal threats. In addition, private moments stolen and spread online through video without the consent of its subjects.

    Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

    Get started Close

  • Products & Purchases

    a little

    Some product placement, including brand-name alcohol.

  • Positive Messages

    very little

    Concentrates mostly on plot rather than messaging or themes, beyond some simple class warfare stuff.

  • Positive Role Models

    very little

    Stays pretty surface-level with its characterizations and somehow presents its subjects as less sympathetic than they were in real life.

  • Diverse Representations

    very little

    The casting in Pam & Tommy seems to be more focused on verisimilitude than diversity.

    Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update .

Where to Watch

  • Pam & TommyTV Review 1:04
  • Pam & Tommy Trailer Pam & Tommy
  • Pam & Tommy TV Show: Pamela Anderson (Lily James) checks the tape
  • Pam & Tommy TV Show: Tommy Lee (Sebastian Stan) rages
  • Pam & Tommy TV Show: The contractor who started it all (Seth Rogen)

Pam & Tommy

Parent and Kid Reviews

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  • Parents Say (1)
  • Kids Say (2)
age 17+

Based on 1 parent review

See all 1 parent review age 14+

Based on 2 kid reviews

See all 2 kid reviews

What's the Story?

PAM & TOMMY's title characters were D-list celebrities before a private sex tape they made was stolen and leaked online in the early days of the internet. The series fleshes out the story around that tape, from the contractor who leaked it as revenge for an unpaid bill to the massive effect it had on pop culture, not to mention the couple's lives, careers, and relationship.

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Is It Any Good?

Our review: Parents say (1 ): Kids say (2 ):

A decent rule of thumb for biographical series is: Are they more fun than simply pulling up the subject's Wikipedia page and reading it? Pam & Tommy takes a story that fascinated people for years and adds almost nothing to it other than runtime. That's not to say it's not fun. There are plenty of solid performances, from a nearly unrecognizable Seth Rogen to Lily James' impersonation of Pamela Anderson. Sebastian Stan's depiction of Tommy Lee might be more compelling if he had more to do than just be obnoxious, but that's essentially the deal with the whole series, which paints its subject matter in broad strokes and ends up somehow making the characters even less likable than they were in real life.

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Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the scandal at the center of the show. How would you react to your private media being spread online against your will? What steps can you take to keep your private media private?

  • What's interesting about the Pam & Tommy story? Why is it worth making a TV series out of this story? How is it relevant to contemporary culture?

  • How does the show present its characters? Does it seem to like or dislike them? How does it seem to want the audience to feel about Pamela and Tommy?

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TV Details

  • Premiere date : February 2, 2022
  • Cast : Lily James , Sebastian Stan , Seth Rogen
  • Network : Hulu
  • Genre : Drama
  • TV rating : TV-MA
  • Last updated : March 8, 2022
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Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Pam & Tommy

Suggest an Update

Your privacy is important to us. We won't share this comment without your permission. If you chose to provide an email address, it will only be used to contact you about your comment. See our privacy policy . Pam & Tommy Poster Image

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Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

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