Trailer provided by Hulu via YouTube.
Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.5/5)
Release Date: March 20, 2019
Genre: Biographical, Crime, Drama
Platform: Hulu
Creator: Nick Antosca, Michelle Dean
Cast: Joey King, Patricia Arquette, AnnaSophia Robb, Chloë Sevigny, Calum Worthy
When truth is stranger—and more horrifying—than fiction, that’s where The Act lives. Hulu’s gripping 2019 limited series, The Act, dives headfirst into one of the most disturbing and heartbreaking true crime stories of the past decade: the tale of Gypsy Rose Blanchard and the murder of her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard.
Told in eight hauntingly constructed episodes, the show peels back the twisted layers of a relationship built on deception, control, and deep psychological manipulation. With standout performances and unsettling emotional depth, The Actmanages to walk a very fine line between horror and empathy, making it one of the most compelling true crime dramatizations in recent memory.
The Story Behind the Horror
For those unfamiliar with the real-life case, The Act chronicles the story of Gypsy Rose Blanchard (Joey King), a young girl raised to believe she suffers from a slew of chronic illnesses: leukemia, muscular dystrophy, seizures, a sugar allergy, and more. Her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard (Patricia Arquette), is the ever-attentive, ever-controlling caretaker—loving to outsiders, but sinister beneath the surface.
What unfolds is a harrowing account of Munchausen syndrome by proxy—a mental health disorder in which a caregiver, usually a parent, fabricates or induces illness in someone under their care, often for attention or sympathy. Dee Dee keeps Gypsy infantilized, isolated, and heavily medicated, constructing an elaborate lie that wins them charitable donations, free housing, and media coverage. But as Gypsy grows older and begins to question her reality, the psychological chains begin to tighten—until she makes a desperate and deadly decision to free herself.
Powerhouse Performances
Patricia Arquette is a force of nature as Dee Dee Blanchard. She plays the role with unsettling precision, balancing maternal warmth with manipulative menace. One moment, she’s tenderly brushing her daughter’s hair; the next, she’s slipping crushed pills into Gypsy’s food or threatening her with a wheelchair-bound future if she doesn’t obey. Arquette’s performance is not a caricature of evil—she portrays Dee Dee as a deeply damaged, terrifyingly believable person, which makes her even more frightening.
Joey King, in a career-defining role, matches Arquette beat for beat. As Gypsy, she transforms physically and emotionally over the course of the series. King convincingly portrays Gypsy’s childlike demeanor, her confused sexuality, and her growing awareness of the prison her life has become. The way King modulates her voice and posture, transitioning from innocent victim to an emotionally complex co-conspirator, is nothing short of phenomenal.
The supporting cast is strong as well. AnnaSophia Robb plays Lacey, a neighbor who begins to sense something is off, while Chloë Sevigny delivers a measured performance as her skeptical mother, Mel. Calum Worthy brings a disturbing naivety and unpredictability to Nicholas Godejohn, Gypsy’s online boyfriend turned accomplice. Their twisted love story—equal parts awkward, desperate, and violent—adds a strange layer to the central narrative.
Tone, Atmosphere, and Direction
What makes The Act so haunting isn’t just the shocking nature of the true story—it’s the way the series crafts its tone. The cinematography is drenched in pastel pinks, soft lighting, and suburban charm, creating an eerie visual contrast between the cheerful surface and the dark reality underneath. The visuals often reflect Dee Dee’s carefully curated image of a perfect mother-daughter duo. But as the story unravels, the colors desaturate, the lighting hardens, and the mood grows darker and more claustrophobic.
The series is less concerned with courtroom drama or whodunit suspense. Instead, it zeroes in on the psychological warfare between mother and daughter. Each episode methodically builds tension, focusing on Gypsy’s internal conflict as she teeters between loyalty and desperation. You feel her longing for normalcy, for friendship, for autonomy—every little gesture, every forbidden taste of sugar, feels monumental in her isolated world.
The show also employs a nonlinear structure, opening with the discovery of Dee Dee’s body and then rewinding to show how things got to that point. This device helps maintain suspense even for viewers familiar with the case, as the emotional context surrounding the murder is slowly revealed.
Themes and Emotional Weight
At its core, The Act is about control, power, and the long-term consequences of trauma. Dee Dee’s need to be needed becomes a life sentence for Gypsy, and as the series unfolds, it asks viewers to consider the blurred lines between victim and perpetrator. Gypsy is not a cold-blooded killer—she’s a young woman pushed past her breaking point, emotionally and psychologically broken.
But The Act also raises uncomfortable questions: How much blame does Gypsy bear? Could the murder have been avoided? What about the institutions and neighbors who missed the signs? The show doesn’t try to give easy answers. Instead, it presents the facts—albeit dramatized—and asks the audience to sit with the discomfort.
In doing so, it forces viewers to confront a deeply disturbing truth: sometimes, the most horrifying monsters aren’t strangers in the dark—but the ones who claim to love us most.
Criticisms and Controversies
While The Act received critical acclaim—especially for Arquette and King’s performances—it wasn’t without controversy. Some members of Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s extended family criticized the show for dramatizing the events without their input. Gypsy herself, who was still incarcerated at the time of release, expressed mixed feelings about the series, stating that she was both hurt by how she was portrayed and appreciative of the awareness it brought to her story.
As with most true crime dramatizations, there are questions about what’s factual versus fictionalized. The creators took some liberties with characters and dialogue, but the emotional truth of the story remains intact. Still, viewers should keep in mind that this is a dramatization, not a documentary.
Final Verdict
The Act is a masterclass in psychological drama, blending true crime with emotional storytelling in a way that’s both captivating and disturbing. It doesn’t just present a crime—it dissects the fragile, volatile relationship that led to it. With unforgettable performances, nuanced writing, and a haunting aesthetic, The Act is one of the most impactful limited series Hulu has ever released.
It’s not an easy watch—but it’s an important one. It asks viewers to consider the dark underbelly of perceived innocence, the long shadow of trauma, and the price of liberation when all other options are stripped away.
If you’re a fan of true crime, psychological thrillers, or powerful performances that linger long after the credits roll, The Act is an essential addition to your watchlist.
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