NBC’s ‘The Thing About Pam’ takes on famous local case. Here’s 5 more MO productions

The trial of Pam Hupp, a Missouri resident who could face the death penalty for allegedly stabbing her best friend to death in 2011, has been moved to the 31st Judicial Circuit in Greene County, Mo., as of early November.

Hupp’s case has been widely reported on, and NBC released a true crime series about the situation in March.

“The Thing About Pam” is a limited series available to watch via NBC. The true crime show is based on a murder in Troy, Missouri, and it follows Pam Hupp, who allegedly murdered her best friend, Betsy Faria, in 2011.

Five days before Faria, who was terminally ill, died, she amended her life insurance policy to make Hupp the sole beneficiary of $150,000, TIME reports. Hupp evaded serious legal suspicion until 2016, when she was arrested for killing another individual, Louis Gumpenberger.

What other productions have ties to the St. Louis area? Here are five shows and movies based on or filmed in St. Louis and other Missouri locations:

1. “Superstore”

• This 6-season series was also created by NBC and is based on a fictional chain of big-box stores, called Cloud 9, located in St. Louis. The workplace comedy can be viewed using a Hulu premium subscription and boasts a Rotten Tomatoes score of 93%, with an average audience score of 80%. “Superstore” has won six awards and 2.56 million viewers tuned in to the March 25, 2021 series finale.

2. “Parenthood”

• This film was released in 1989 and starred Steve Martin, Dianne West and Keanu Reeves as members of a chaotic St. Louis family. Rotten Tomatoes critics gave the movie a 91% score, and the box office saw a $126 million gross return on its budget of approximately $20 million. West was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and Randy Newman was nominated for the Best Original Song Oscar award for his piece “I Love to See You Smile.” “Parenthood” can be rented on YouTube and other platforms for $3.99.

3. “Ozark”

• “Ozark” is about a financial planner who relocates to the Missouri Ozarks and gets caught up in a money-laundering scheme. The series is on Netflix and features shots of the actual Ozarks, although filming was mainly based in Atlanta. “Ozark” stars include Jason Bateman, Julia Garner and Laura Linney. Garner won two Emmys for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Ruth Langmore, one in 2019 and one in 2020. The third Emmy “Ozark” won was for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series in 2019.

4. “Gone Girl”

• Psychological thriller “Gone Girl” is set in a fictional Missouri town and was filmed in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, although some indoor shots were taken in Los Angeles. In the 2014 film, Ben Affleck stars as Nick Dunne, who becomes a prime suspect in his wife’s disappearance. “Gone Girl” is based on a novel and won 64 awards, with 188 nominations. “Gone Girl” can be streamed with a fuboTV subscription or rented on YouTube for $3.99.

5. “On Our Own”

• Family focused sitcom “On Our Own” ran from 1994-95 and featured St. Louis orphans who band together after their parents are killed in a tragic accident. The kids’ names all start with the letter “J” and they live in the O’Fallon Park area. Jurnee and Jake Smollett were both nominated for young actor/actress awards for their roles.

This story was originally published March 10, 2022 at 3:27 PM.