Hulu's upcoming original series, Pam & Tommy, premiers on February 2.

According to Variety, the look of actors Lily James and Sebastian Stan is so spot-on that when Hulu released the first photos of the “Pam & Tommy” stars in May, it quickly went viral on social media. “I was blown away,” Stan says. “The hair and makeup team deserve all the accolades that they can get.”

Of course, there’s a bit of irony to “Pam & Tommy” breaking the internet. In the series, James and Stan play the “Baywatch” star and Mötley Crüe drummer as the couple meet, fall in love and then make a private recording that is ultimately stolen - becoming the first infamous viral video of a burgeoning online age.

The tape was shared and played at parties like it was contraband. Dubbed VHS copies spread across the world, as it was sold and traded on the then-brand-new World Wide Web. It later inspired a whole cottage industry of celebrity sex tapes, most of which were purposely leaked - unlike this one.

“I remember hearing about it as if it was like a Yeti,” says “Pam & Tommy” executive producer D.V. DeVincentis. “Like, you couldn’t necessarily assume it was true. It definitely had this sort of aura of a rumor, and something apocryphal. And then finally somebody put it in front of me and I saw it.”

And yet, there remain many misconceptions about what really happened, and who was really to blame. Over time, the actual story of the tape’s theft and how it victimized both Anderson and Lee - but at very different levels - has been lost to the memory of late-night punchlines and sophomoric snickering.

For the stars, producers and directors of “Pam & Tommy,” there was a sense that they were on a mission to correct that record - and in particular, perhaps find a little recompense for Anderson. “Pam & Tommy” is really three stories in one: a heist thriller retracing how the tape fell into the hands of a disgruntled construction worker; an unconventional love story about two celebrities whose relationship became more public than they ever could have imagined; and a societal critique on how the media, the justice system and the public all failed Pamela Anderson.

“It’s an important story, I think, from being able to understand what the impact of that media tornado really was,” says Stan. “For them as a couple but particularly for her as a woman. I can’t imagine what having a private home video stolen from you - how that wouldn’t impact a newlywed couple.”

Read the extensive report at Variety.

Set in the Wild West early days of the Internet, Pam & Tommy is based on the incredible true story of the Pamela Anderson (Lily James) and Tommy Lee (Sebastian Stan) sex tape. Stolen from the couple’s home by a disgruntled contractor (Seth Rogen), the video went from underground bootleg-VHS curiosity to full-blown global sensation when it hit the Web in 1997. A love story, crime caper and cautionary tale rolled into one, the eight-part original limited series explores the intersection of privacy, technology and celebrity, tracing the origins of our current Reality TV Era to a stolen tape seen by millions but meant to have an audience of just two.

Pam & Tommy will premier on the same date in the UK, February 2, via Disney+. The series is produced by Point Grey and Annapurna and also stars Lily James, Sebastian Stan, Seth Rogen, Nick Offerman, Taylor Schilling, Andrew Dice Clay, Pepi Sonuga, Spencer Granese, and Mozhan Marnò.