The Act is a true crime anthology television series. The first two episodes aired on March 20, 2019. The first season of The Act is about the true story of Gypsy Rose Blanchard and the murder of her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard.
Apparently, Dee Dee Blanchard had the mental disorder, Munchausen syndrome by proxy. This caused her to abuse her daughter by fabricating illnesses and disabilities of her daughter to get sympathy. In The Act, Patricia Arquette plays Dee Dee Blanchard and Joey King plays Gypsy Blanchard. Calum Worthy plays Nick Godejohn, Gypsy’s boyfriend.
Is The Act on Netflix?
The Act is a Hulu original series, and thus, it is not on Netflix, nor will it ever be.
The Act is one of many shows about the tragedy of this family. On May 16, 2017, the documentary film, Mommy Dead and Dearest aired for the first time on HBO, which explores not only the murder and its aftermath but also the years of abuse that led up to the murder. Mommy Dead and Dearest is also on Hulu now, so it will not be coming to Netflix.
On November 6, 2018, Investigation Discovery aired a documentary, Gypsy’s Revenge, about the incident that included a prison interview with Gypsy. On January 26, 2019, Lifetime released a movie, Love You to Death, that was based on this story, but which used fictional names for the people involved, and starred Marcia Gay Harden.
Similar shows that are on Netflix
Not only is The Act not on Netflix, but neither are any of the other shows based on this murder. There are some other shows that may be of interest, though. Among these are The Woman with 7 Personalities, Abducted in Plain Sight, and The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
Controversy surrounding The Act
Even though The Act uses the real names of Gypsy Rose, her mother, and her boyfriend, apparently, they did not obtain permission from any of the people involved. Furthermore, they have not offered any royalties to them either. Currently, Gypsy Rose is serving a 10-year sentence for her role in the death of her mother, and her boyfriend, who committed the act, was sentenced to life in prison.
Gypsy Rose told Bustle that she will be taking legal action against Hulu. Because she is in prison, she is unable to watch the show but feels it is “unfair and unprofessional” that the producers of the show did not ask for her permission to use her real name and actual story. Gypsy Rose said,
I want to share my story and bring awareness about Munchausen by proxy, in the hopes that I can encourage those who might be experiencing abuse to speak up, because someone WILL listen. No child should ever be abused especially from their parent.
Other family members have also spoken out against The Act, including her cousin Bobby Pitre, who told Bustle that Gypsy’s aunts, who are also Dee Dee’s sisters want “people to just let it go and leave it alone.” According to rumor, Gypsy’s dad and stepmom are cooperating with the production of another series called By Proxy, but it has not been picked up by any network at this time.