What you need to know about The Act

Janee-Lea Mouatt

Source: Lightbox.co.nz

The Act is an American television show that has recently just come out in New Zealand for viewing on streaming websites and applications. The Act is based exclusively around real events that happened in the United States of America in 2015.

The story tells the tale of a mother, Dee Dee Blanchard, and her daughter Gypsy Blanchard, who is convinced by her mother that she is chronically unwell.

The real Gypsy and Dee Dee Blanchard (left) and the Actors (right) / Source: eonline.com

Over many years, Dee Dee fools her daughter, medical professionals from different hospitals, their neighbours, and their friends into thinking that Gypsy was seriously ill.

Gypsy wants to live her life like any other teenage girl even though she is confined to a wheelchair due to her apparent illness. Eventually, she finds out that she is not actually sick and can walk.

Becoming determined to have some independence away from her overprotective mother, Gypsy starts talking to a man online called Nick. They form a very strong relationship and end up plotting to kill Dee Dee.

There did not seem to be a lot of hype around The Act when it first aired in March. Before seeing the show advertised anywhere else, I spotted it on the Lightbox application on my cell phone.

It had been advertised for weeks before I finally decided to sit down and watch it. I was sitting in my lounge at home and I thought to myself, “Why not give it a go?”.

I then watched four episodes to catch up on what I had missed.

The characters chosen to portray the characters did not at all disappoint. Patricia Arquette and Joey King are perfectly fitted to playing the roles of Gypsy and Dee Dee.

Dee Dee (Patricia Arquette) shaving Gypsy’s (Joey King) head due to having cancer / Source: Variety.com

The Act is certainly a very underrated television series. I enjoyed it because it is based on a true story, and I found the overall storyline to be very interesting but also intense.

I feel that the show provides proof that in everyday life, everything is not always as it seems. It just goes to show that anything can happen behind closed doors.

I overall really enjoyed watching The Act on Lightbox, and I would strongly recommend anyone with a discerning and curious mind to check this series out.