NBC's Dateline Announces THE REAL THING ABOUT PAM Special

On Friday's new DATELINE NBC at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT, correspondent Keith Morrison will report on the latest twists and turns in the case of Pam Hupp, who was charged last year in the murder of her close friend Betsy Faria. The two-hour special will feature new interviews, including with Leah Askey, the prosecutor behind the wrongful conviction of Betsy's husband Russ Faria.

During The Real Thing About Pam, Morrison presses Askey about her decision to prosecute Russ instead of Hupp, who is currently serving life in prison for the murder of Louis Gumpenberger, which detectives allege she committed in an attempt to frame Russ.

Asked whether Gumpenberger may still be alive TODAY if Askey had concentrated on prosecuting Hupp instead of Russ, she defended her actions, telling Morrison: "I don't have any culpability in anything to do with Louis Gumpenberger. It is a terrible tragedy. But I was elected to do a job. And I did my job. And a jury convicted [Russ.]"

She also admitted that the murder of Gumpenberger made her think that Hupp was "capable of more" than she would have "given her credit for," but that she still believes Hupp wasn't involved in the murder of Betsy. She explained, "It made me think, that's a terrible tragedy, and she obviously lost her marbles. Like, she snapped...She's definitely gone off the deep end." Hupp has pleaded not guilty in the murder of Betsy.

Friday's special is a continuation of Morrison's years-long reporting on Hupp, including how she impersonated a real-life Dateline producer. Morrison also hosted the #1 Dateline podcast, The Thing About Pam, which has been downloaded over 22 million times since its September 2019 launch. Additionally, the podcast was also the inspiration for NBC's eponymous series starring two-time Oscar-winning actress Renée Zellweger. The scripted series was a collaboration between Blumhouse Television, NBC News Studios and Zellweger's Big Picture Co.

The Real Thing About Pam is produced by Cathy Singer and Christine Fillmore and senior producer Adam Gorfain. David Corvo is the senior executive producer and Liz Cole is the executive producer.

Watch a preview of the special here:

To post a comment, you must register and login.