The Act Season 1 is a true crime story based on the murder of Dee Dee Blanchard by her daughter Gypsy in 2015. Fans of true crime drama are eagerly looking forward to the highly anticipated anthology drama series.
The Act Season 1 is helmed by journalist Michelle Dean who, after interviewing Gypsy in prison, published an account of the crime in a 2016 viral BuzzFeed article, titled Dee Dee Wanted Her Daughter To Be Sick, Gypsy Wanted Her Mom To Be Murdered.
Ahead of the premiere of The Act Season 1 on Hulu, here is everything you need to know, including release date, cast, trailer and plot.
The Act release date on Hulu
The Act Season 1 will premiere on Hulu on Wednesday, March 20.
How many episodes are there in The Act?
The Act Season 1 has eight episodes. The first two episodes will be released on March 20, while the rest of the six episodes will be released weekly.
The Act production details
The Act is a true crime anthology drama series based on the real life murder of Dee Dee Blanchard by her daughter Gypsy. The series is co-written by Nick Antosca and Michelle Dean. Dean and Antosca also serve as co-showrunners.
Hulu gave The Act a series order in May 2018. The executive producers for the series include Dean, Antosca, Greg Shephard, and Britton Rizzio.
The production companies behind the series include Universal Cable Productions.
Filming of The Act Season 1, which took place in Effingham County, Georgia, started in October 2018 and ended in February. Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre directed Episode 1 of The Act.
Dee Dee Blanchard and Gypsy’s story was previously the subject of a 2017 HBO documentary, Mommy Dead and Dearest.
The Act Season 1 trailer
Hulu released the official trailer for The Act Season 1 on March 4, 2019.
The Act Season 1 cast
The Act Season 1 stars Patricia Arquette as Dee Dee Blanchard, Joey King as Gypsy Rose, Chloë Sevigny as Mel, AnnaSophia Robb as Lacey, and Calum Worthy as Nick Godejohn.
Arquette had to gain weight for her role as Dee Dee, while King had to shave her head for her role as Gypsy.
The Act Season 1 plot: What is the series about?
The Act Season 1 is based on the disturbing real-life murder of Dee Dee Blanchard by Gypsy, her teenage daughter.
Gypsy was a girl believed to be chronically ill and under the care of her mother Dee Dee. But it was discovered after she murdered her mother Dee Dee that she was never ill and that Dee Dee’s claims that her daughter was ill were false.
Dee Dee reportedly claimed that Gypsy was suffering from asthma, muscular dystrophy, leukemia and brain damage. But it was later found that there was nothing wrong with Gypsy and that she was a victim of abusive treatment by her mother, who suffered from a mental disorder called Munchausen syndrome by proxy.
People with the syndrome subject their children and wards to abusive treatment by trying and sometimes succeeding in convincing medical professionals that their children have a serious illness. They then feed their children prescription drugs meant only for patients with the alleged illness and subject them to needless medical procedures and surgery.
Police officers were alerted to a possible crime at the home of Dee Dee and Gypsy in Springfield, Missouri, by a Facebook post.
Dee Dee’s dead body, which had multiple stab wounds, was found on June 14, 2015, in the bedroom of their home.
Gypsy was missing when police officers entered the house. They thought that someone broke into the house, killed Dee Dee and took Gypsy away. But they later found that Gypsy had plotted with her boyfriend Nick Godejohn — whom she met online — to murder Dee Dee.
Gypsy was found guilty of second-degree murder and sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2018, while Godejohn was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.