The Act trailer dramatises shocking true-crime case of Gypsy Rose and Dee Dee Blanchard

Hulu’s newest true-crime miniseries, The Act, dramatises the chilling story of Gypsy Rose Blanchard and her mother Dee Dee Blanchard.

Serving as the first instalment in a “seasonal anthology that tells startling, stranger-than-fiction true crime stories”, The Act takes its basis from a 2016 Buzzfeed News article by Michelle Dean.

On 14 June, 2015, Dee Dee’s body was found in her home with multiple stab wounds. Concerns grew as her daughter, Gypsy Rose, was missing and, according to Dee Dee, suffered from leukemia, asthma, muscular dystrophy, and several other chronic conditions and had the mental capacity of a 7-year-old due to brain damage she suffered as a result of her premature birth.

Police found Gypsy Rose the next day in Wisconsin where she had fled with Nicholas Godejohn, a boyfriend she met online. Investigators also discovered that she was older and had none of the physical or mental health issues that Dee Dee claimed.

Dee Dee reportedly had Munchausen syndrome by proxy, forcing her daughter to pass herself off as younger and pretend to be disabled and chronically ill, while subjecting her to physical and psychological abuse.

Gypsy Rose pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and is serving a 10-year sentence.

The Conjuring‘s Joey King plays Gypsy Rose, while Patricia Arquette has transformed into Dee Dee for the series.

The first two episodes of The Act are set to premiere on Hulu on 20 March 20.