The Watcher

Created by Ryan Murphy & Ian Brennan, The Watcher is their latest collaboration. Think along the lines of American Horror Story, and you have an idea of what you're in for.

The series is based on the true infamous story of the “Watcher” house in New Jersey.

What Is The Watcher About?

Nora (Naomi Watts) and Dean Brannock (Bobby Cannavale) have just purchased their suburban dream home in the idyllic Westfield, New Jersey.

After putting all of their savings into closing the deal, the family moves in, but they soon realise the neighbourhood is less than welcoming.

There’s a wacky older woman named Pearl (Mia Farrow) and her brother Jasper (Terry Kinney), who sneak into the Brannock’s house and hide in their dumbwaiter.

Then there’s Karen (Jennifer Coolidge), the real estate agent and an old friend of Nora’s, who makes them feel like they don’t really belong, encouraging them to sell up.

And if that wasn't enough, they must contend with nosy neighbours Mitch (Richard Kind) and Mo (Margo Martindale), who don’t seem to understand property lines.

Their icy welcome quickly turns into a full-blown living hell when ominous letters from someone calling themself “The Watcher” start arriving.

Terrorizing the Brannocks to their breaking point, the neighborhood’s sinister secrets come spilling out.

The Watcher Trailer

Is The Watcher Worth Watching?

In November 2018, New York Magazine published The Watcher. It chronicled the true story of a New Jersey family being stalked by a mysterious, threatening letter writer.

The Broaddus family bought their dream house, a six-bedroom home at 657 Boulevard and were doing some renovations before they moved in.

That's when they discovered a white envelope addressed to “The New Owner”.

It was the beginning of a nightmare with a mysterious stalker, strange neighbors and sinister threats.

So how did the whole story unfold?

Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan have done another incredible job of bringing this true story to life.

It is brilliant. Told over seven episodes, The Watcher will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. It is so creepy and so tense that at times, you just can't bare to see the Brannock family being tormented so mercilessly.

As always, the casting is totally on point. Naomi Watts, Bobby Cannavale, Jennifer Coolidge and Richard Kind are superb.

The production, the cinematography, and the whole vibe of The Watcher are perfect, and it is a limited series that is definitely worth watching.

But as good as The Watcher is, it is also a very loose re-telling of the original story.

A lot of the drama is fiction for the purpose of amping up the show, so while yes, there was ‘The Watcher', he/she has never been found and a lot of the events in the series did not happen.

The Watcher Release Date

Filming for The Watcher began in September 2021, wrapping in February 2022.

Netflix then announced that the limited series would be released on October 13th 2022.

The Watcher Netflix Main Cast Members

Naomi Watts (The Impossible) as Nora Brannock

Bobby Cannavale (Nine Perfect Strangers) as Dean Brannock

Mia Farrow as Pearl

Noma Dumezweni as Theodora

Joe Mantello

Richard Kind as Mitch

Terry Kinney as Jasper

Margo Martindale as Mo

Jennifer Coolidge (The White Lotus) as Karen Calhoun

Henry Hunter Hall

Luke David Blumm