In Pam & Tommy Episode 7, Erica finally discovers that her ex-husband was the person who stole and shared the tape. Her reaction is to immediately condemn him for his crime. Schilling told Decider that this scene was “the lynchpin” for why she wanted to work on Pam & Tommy and why she loved Erica.

“She’s small, but mighty,” Schilling said. “It is Pam and Tommy’s story, but the way that Erica can highlight and hold a mirror and amplify what’s going on or amplify the way that Pam was exploited is because she’s a sex worker who has made the decision with her own agency in a very autonomous way and is living life the way she choses. She’s a well-adjusted successful adult actress. And because of that she’s able to say, ‘What I do is pornography. What I do involves consent forms and salary. And -I am happy to hold the gaze of people who recognize me from my work when I’m buying milk. But what happened to Pam Anderson is a violent crime because there were no consent forms.’”

Collider: Thank you for talking to me about this. It seems like there are endless conversations to be had about this show and this story.

TAYLOR SCHILLING: I know. You don’t know even where to begin.

When you first heard about this project, before reading a script and before learning about what the approach to the story would be, what was your reaction, just to the idea that they were doing this? Were you immediately intrigued or did you have a lot of questions?

SCHILLING: I was so intrigued, particularly once I’d read the script. I knew the material that the show was dealing with, and it wasn’t just a show about a sex tape. It was shedding new light on the crime committed against Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee. I found it really nuanced and important.