Based on a BuzzFeed News piece that co-showrunner, producer, and writer Michelle Dean wrote, The Act follows the Blanchards' actual circumstances fairly closely. In February 2019, he was sentenced to life in prison without a possibility of parole.īut with half of the season's eight episodes now available to stream, viewers have a strong idea of how accurately the creators have adapted real life for the small screen. In 2018, following Gypsy's confession that she 'talked him into' killing Dee Dee, Godejohn was found guilty of first-degree murder and armed criminal action.

In 2016, Gypsy pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and as of 2018, she's serving a 10-year prison sentence. The mother was found stabbed to death in June 2015, prompting the arrest of Gypsy and Godejohn less than two days later. However, a growing Gypsy began to catch onto the fabrications, discovering that Dee Dee lied about her daughter's age and questioning whether she was truly sick.Īs of April 5, the Hulu series has yet to reach the most gruesome chapter of the Blanchards' story, so we don't know how the TV show will handle Gypsy Rose and her boyfriend Nicholas Godejohn plotting to and succeeding in murdering Dee Dee. The pair's relocation from Louisiana to Missouri in the wake of Hurricane Katrina then allowed for Dee Dee to deepen her reported lies without fueling much suspicion. Dee Dee also reportedly told people that Gypsy had the mental capacity of a 7-year-old and that she had to use a wheelchair at all times.ĭespite the truth about Gypsy's health, she and Dee Dee frequently partnered with charitable organizations like Habitat for Humanity and the Make-a-Wish Foundation. Previously unbeknownst to others, Dee Dee was falsely portraying Gypsy as a sick child, claiming that her daughter suffered from seizures, muscular dystrophy, and a chromosomal disorder.

ICYMI, Hulu's anthology series The Actexplores the real story of Dee Dee Blanchard (Patricia Arquette) and her daughter Gypsy Rose (Joey King), who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder of her mother in 2016. Hollywood does what it can to make a captivating story, so how real is The Act? Hulu's latest true crime story details the harrowing experience of Munchausen syndrome by proxy victim Gypsy Rose Blanchard. A curious neighbor might be created, the timing of a crucial event could be pushed forward, or the creative team may decide to change the main conflict entirely.

True crime stories ripped from the headlines for TV productions are just like all adaptations in that some facts are inevitably turned into fiction.

The act is based on a true story