Is Hulu’s ‘The Act’ Show Based On A True Story?

The first two episodes of Season 1 of Hulu’s new seasonal anthology series, “The Act,” releases on Wednesday, and the storyline might seem familiar to some viewers.

According to the synopsis, the show tells different “startling, stranger-than-fiction true crime stories,” and the first one to be tackled is the tale of Gypsy Blanchard, played by Joey King (“The Kissing Booth”)

Gypsy’s trying to escape the toxic relationship she has with her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard (Patricia Arquette), but it’s not so easy, and the task leads to secrets coming out and, eventually, a murder.

It’s based on a true story and the 2016 BuzzFeed News article written about it. Michelle Dean, who wrote the original news story, is a showrunner on the show alongside Nick Antosca. The cast also includes Chloë Sevigny (Mel), AnnaSophia Robb (Lacey) and Calum Worthy (Nick).

It remains to be seen how true the Hulu show stays to the real story, but in real life, Dee Dee thought Gypsy was sick when she was a baby and always brought her to different doctors, claiming the child had many issues.

Eventually, as Gypsy grew up, Dee Dee would have her use a wheelchair, even though she could walk, and shave her head, even though she wasn’t losing her hair, in order to make it look like she was sick. The mother would also claim her daughter had the mind of a 7-year-old and couldn’t speak too well, which also turned out to be untrue.

One day, Dee Dee was founded murdered in her home. That’s when all of the lies she told about herself and Gypsy started to unravel. Find out more about this true story when “The Act” premieres on Hulu on Wednesday