Everything We Know About Hulu's Pam & Tommy , from the Lookalike Cast to the Dramatic Backstory
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Getty; Hulu
Lily James and Sebastian Stan got Hollywood talking with sneak peeks of their dead-ringer reprisals for their respective roles in Hulu's upcoming limited series Pam & Tommy.
Here's what we know about the sizzling show so far.
Production has already begun
In December, Deadline reported that James, 32, and Stan, 38, would light up the small screen as Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee in an eight-episode drama for Hulu. The series will tell the story of the rocker couple's infamous leaked sex tape and the scandal that followed.
Seth Rogen also stars as the man who stole the tape, with I, Tonya filmmaker Craig Gillespie directing.
Hulu Sebastian Stan and Lily James
James was recently seen filming as the blonde bombshell, wowing on the beach in the Baywatch babe's iconic red-hot one-piece.
The show follows the iconic couple's whirlwind romance
Anderson, now 53, married Mötley Crüe drummer Lee, now 58, on a beach in Mexico in 1995 after dating for just four days. They would go on to welcome sons, Brandon, 24, and Dylan, 23, before divorcing in 1998.
The series will tell their love story, as well as the firestorm they faced when a safe containing an almost-hour-long VHS sex tape from their honeymoon was stolen by a former disgruntled employee (played by Rogen), who leaked it to the public, Deadline reports.
At the time, Anderson tried to stop the video's release with a lawsuit, but it was eventually posted online, and she dropped the suit.
Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee in 1996
The leaked tape sparked major litigation
During an appearance on Watch What Happens Live last year, the Barb Wire star told host Andy Cohen that the infamous video was "not a sex tape," but "a compilation of vacations that we were naked on."
Anderson also got candid about that difficult time in her life, saying it still stung to think about the betrayal and legal drama shrouding the leaked tape.
"I've never seen it. I made not one dollar. It was stolen property. We made a deal to stop all the shenanigans," the star said on WWHL in 2015. "I was seven months pregnant with Dylan and thinking it was affecting the pregnancy with the stress and said, 'I'm not going to court anymore. I'm not being deposed anymore by these horny, weird lawyer men. I don't want to talk about my vagina anymore or my public sex — anything."
RELATED: See the Cast of Pam & Tommy Transform into Their Real-Life Counterparts
After the sex tape was seized and leaked online, Anderson pressed charges against video distribution company Internet Entertainment Group (IEG) in hopes of pulling it from the web.
However, Los Angeles U.S. District Judge Dean Pregerson initially threw out her copyright infringement and invasion-of-privacy lawsuits against IEG, ruling that the couple had signed away the rights to the so-called "honeymoon" tape. An appeals court later overturned that decision and ordered the case be reopened.
Four years later, in 2002, the federal judge granted the actress and the rocker a default judgment, citing IEG for failing to appear in court or defend itself in any way.
Pregerson then awarded Anderson and Lee a total of $1.48 million – the profit IEG made on sales of the tape – to be split 50-50. The plaintiffs also received attorneys' fees and court costs.
hulu Lily James
The actors have truly gotten into character
You've got to see it to believe it! James and Stan have seemingly turned back time to transform into their Pam & Tommy roles. In a black-and-white first look photo from the upcoming series, James clung to Stan's shirtless torso and playfully bit his nipple ring as part of his costume.
"Love bites," Stan captioned the May 7 Instagram post.
The same day, the Rebecca actress posted a sultry snap of herself in costume on her own account. Rocking platinum locks and a black corset top, James shared a quote from the Baywatch babe, writing, "It's great to be blonde. With low expectations it's very easy to surprise people."
Teasing what's to come in the limited series, Stan has also shared shots of himself in costume as Lee making a mean mug on the hood of a black convertible, practicing his drumming skills and striking a silly pose with a Buddha statue.
RELATED: See all the photos of the Pam & Tommy cast in character!
Sebastian Stan/Instagram
"We don't stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing," the Avengers actor captioned the car pic, in a quote from the Mötley Crüe rocker.
Costar Rogen, who plays the villain, also posted photos of his '90s-era costume earlier this month. In one mirror selfie, a mulleted Rogen wore a long-sleeved striped polo shirt tucked into light wash denim shorts with a belt and threw a two-tone windbreaker over a similar look in a second photo.
"My co-stars @imsebastianstan and @lilyjamesofficial are a lot cooler than I am," he teased.
Despite their divorce, Anderson once called Lee "the love of my life"
Todd Williamson/Getty
Though the rock and roll couple split in 1998, Anderson only had good things to say about her ex-husband in conversation with PEOPLE 17 years later.
"There was Tommy and then there was nobody else," the actress said. "He was the love of my life. We had a wild and crazy beginnings that was too much for both of us."
"It really was love at first sight. I only knew him four days before I married him," she added.
"I had beautiful children with him. My kids are grateful to be born out of true love," she said of her sons, Brandon and Dylan, who are now in their twenties. "Everything else I was trying to piece together."
In 2008, Anderson and Lee supposedly got back together again, with Lee telling Rolling Stone, "We've only given it a try 800 times — 801, here we go." Though it didn't last for the long haul, they have reportedly remained amicable through the years.
Before he tied the knot with Anderson, Lee was previously married to Elaine Starchuk and Heather Locklear. On Valentine's Day in 2019, he wed social media star Brittany Furlan.
Anderson's marriage to Lee was her first; after they split, she was briefly engaged to model Marcus Schenkenberg in 2001 before marrying – and divorcing – Kid Rock in 2006.
In 2007, she married longtime pal Rick Salomon in a union that was annulled due to fraud a year later. In 2014, Anderson and Salomon wed a second time, before the actress filed for divorce again, citing irreconcilable differences.
She has since been linked to Jon Peters, and announced in January that she married her bodyguard Dan Hayhurst on Christmas Eve.
Hulu hasn't announced a release date
The streaming service has stayed mum on when Pam & Tommy might premiere. According to Deadline, the only detail that's clear is that the Hulu limited series began shooting this spring.
Anderson's pal Courtney Love has slammed the show
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Though Anderson and Lee have yet to personally comment on Pam & Tommy, the actress' pal Courtney Love has had some choice words about the upcoming limited series.
"When Pam / Tommy sex tape was out / myself @pattyschemel @xmadmx were making a record," Love wrote on Facebook on May 13, posting an article about the limited series. "And the lone women in many recording studios in LA. Where all / ALL! The staff engineers / producers / owners / were watching the sex tape with huge schadenfraude.. Guffaws, It was disgusting. I banned anyone discussing it.. It destroyed my friend Pamelas life. Utterly."
What's more, the 56-year-old singer claimed the upcoming series asked to use her likeness as well. "Last week I was asked to approve using a Rolling Stone cover of mine / shot by Mark Seliger in this piece of s—," Love said. "That they had approved. I said 'f— no.' shocked. Gentleman don't approve this sort of thing."
Love concluded her post by calling out James by name.
"My heart goes out to Pammy ♥️♥️ further causing her complex trauma. And shame on Lily James whoever the f— she is. #vile," she wrote.
