Parents' Guide to

Pam & Tommy

By Martin Brown, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Famous celebrity sex tape sparks shallow bio-series.

TV Hulu Drama 2022
Pam & Tommy Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.

Community Reviews

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age 14+

Based on 5 parent reviews

Maya M
Maya M Parent of 10 and 12-year-old
September 9, 2022
age 13+

Sex scenes like characters naked and groaning on each other. Swearing.

There were a lot of graphic sex scenes and lots of swearing. Implied and graphic sex is in this. Characters are naked and lying on top of each other groaning. Sebastian Stan has a scene with discussion about his penis and shows it briefly. Uses word penis twice. Lots of swearing using the words “fvck” and “sh1t” I don’t recommend for anyone under 13 or at least anyone who hasn’t had sex education/the talk. If you are a Sebastian fan this is a good movie for you but personally I didn’t enjoy this movie as much as I hoped I would.

This title has:

Educational value
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Hodyna dilotr
Hodyna dilotr Adult
February 25, 2022
age 10+

Disappointed me

Tbh the show is really boring but anyway, about the age raiting, its not as worse as your making this, not lot of sex stuff and just 1 nudity part (sabastian peins but not really graphic and kinda hidden
See all 5 parent 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.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (5):
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.

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?

TV Details

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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.

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