Lifetime has greenlit a new docuseries following unexpected internet sensation Gypsy Rose Blanchard. For those not in the know, Gypsy was a victim of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, convinced by her mother to think she had various ailments.
Gypsy became aware of her mother’s abuse, planned, and facilitated her murder, having to spend eight years in prison as a result. The case itself was a media sensation and her release from prison just as well caused a frenzy online. The public sympathy toward Gypsy had every news outlet trying to get a hold of her for an interview.
With Gypsy’s new name recognition, other projects started popping up, like Lifetime’s documentary, The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, which has reached 9.8 million views as of the present. That success spun into a newly announced docuseries.
Should Lifetime leave Gypsy Rose Blanchard alone?
Elaine Frontain Bryant, the Head of Programming at A&E, Lifetime, and LMN expressed, “Millions have followed Gypsy’s story and are invested in seeing what is in store for her next. After a lifetime of trauma and serving her time, we are all rooting for Gypsy to embrace all that life has to offer and become the woman she always wanted to be.”
Lifetime described the series as “an authentic, raw and revealing look at Gypsy’s new life on the outside. From the joyful moments as she is free to make her own decisions for the first time, to the challenges of navigating life and relationships while facing her past, including the abuse she suffered at the hands of her mother, and Gypsy’s own notoriety and fame.”
The description went on, “Gypsy must reconcile the pop-culture, celebrity version of herself while trying to forge her brand-new identity.”
While Gypsy has a fanbase out there who probably want to see this docuseries, it’s hard not to see Lifetime’s move here as exploitative. Then again, if Gypsy signed off on it and she’s doing well for herself, perhaps everything is fine.
TELL US – WHAT’S YOUR REACTION TO LIFETIME’S INCOMING GYPSY ROSE BLANCHARD CONTENT?
