Recently there has been buzz surrounding the new Hulu show called The Act. This show starts out based on a girl and a mother who lost their house during hurricane Katrina and have to move. The girl, named Gypsy, has to use a wheelchair and has several illnesses and her mother is taking constant care of her. What makes this show horrifying? Her mother is manipulating Gypsy into believing she has all kinds of diseases, and Gypsy does not even need a wheelchair. When Gypsy begins to find out these illnesses are made up by her mother, she is still forced to use a wheelchair and lie to neighbors, doctors, and friends about the actual truth.
The second thing that makes this show horrifying is that it is based on a true story. Gypsy would meet a man in real life off an internet dating site and would later kill her mother. They would run away and later be convicted.
Recently in February, the man was sentenced to life in prison while Gypsy is serving a 10 years in prison. Gypsy’s mother forced her to use a wheelchair, convinced doctors and Gypsy that she was four or five years younger than she actually was, that she had muscular dystrophy, and a long list of other fake illnesses. They would get free trips to Disneyland, tons of donations, and even their house after the hurricane. No one believed that Gypsy’s mother could do such a terrific thing when the truth came out.
Original (left), The Act (right)
This show, although horrific in many ways, is hard not to binge. For some reason the show is riveting and you can’t wait to watch the next episode. There are currently four episodes out and every episode makes my heart grip for Gypsy and things she had to live through. The original Buzzfeed article popularized the story in 2016.
Along with this show, there was a documentary made in 2017 about this story titled Mommy Dead and Dearest. Can I say you should watch the show? Maybe, maybe not, because the story is hard to see unravel. At the same time, the show is hard not to watch once you start because you need to know what happens next