Ryan Murphy is ruling the Netflix Top 10 once again this week with three titles – ‘The Watcher’, ‘DAHMER – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story’ and ‘Mr. Harrigan’s Phone’ – on the Netflix charts.
Talking about Murphy’s latest real-estate thriller ‘The Watcher’, it was on the #1 spot with 125.01M hours viewed on the English TV List. Starring Naomi Watts and Bobby Cannavale, the series was in the Top 10 in 90 countries.
The seven-episode series stars Naomi Watts and Bobby Cannavale as Nora and Dean Brannock, a couple who exhaust their savings to purchase their dream home in the suburbs. Soon after moving in, the Brannocks begin receiving mysterious letters from the Watcher, who promises to keep a constant eye on the home and its new residents. As more and more unsettling incidents befall the family, the list of suspects grows. The Brannocks are determined to find who the Watcher is.
While ‘The Watcher’ is fascinating the viewers on Netflix here are some facts about the series written and directed by Ryan Murphy:
Is The Watcher a true story?
‘The Watcher’ is based on the true story published in the 2018 New York Magazine article “The Haunting of a Dream House” by Reeves Wiedeman. The article details how Maria and Derek Broaddus purchased their dream home in June 2014, not far from where Maria grew up.
Shortly after closing, the Broadduses began receiving anonymous letters from the Watcher.
The first letter was friendly and welcomed them to the neighborhood. But subsequent letters were increasingly hostile and focused on the family’s three young children. The Broaddus family, feeling unsafe, employed the help of local law enforcement to find out who was sending the threatening letters.
Where is The Watcher house?
The real-life Watcher house is located at 657 Boulevard in Westfield, New Jersey. The house in the series shares the same address. The neighborhood and homes filmed for the series are in New York.
What did the Broaddus family do with ‘The Watcher’ House?
The home was put up for sale in February 2015, eight months after the Broadduses purchased it. Unable to find buyers even after a series of price reductions, the listing was removed in June 2015.
The Broadduses then filed a legal complaint against the previous owners for failing to disclose letters they’d received. But with not much happening on that front, the Broadduses relisted the home in spring 2016. With no luck once again they considered selling the house to a developer who could tear the house down and create two houses, but the planning board rejected the plan.
Eventually, the Broadduses found a tenant to rent the house (and recoup some of the investment) and sold the house in July 2019 for $500,000 less than they paid for it five years earlier.
Is the series exactly same as the real life?
Despite being based on a true story it’s not exactly similar and has some fictionalised parts. For example, the real Broaddus family never moved into the house whereas the fictional Brannocks lived there for a while. Also there are differences like the amount for which the house was listed in real life and in the show.
And lastly the most important question…
Who is the Watcher?
While in real life it still remains a mystery but if you think you can put your investigative mind and figure it out do catch ‘The Watcher’ currently streaming and trending on Netflix.
We’re hiring!
We are hiring two full-time junior to mid-level writers with the option to work remotely. You need to work a 5-hour shift and be available to write. Interested candidates should email their sample articles to [email protected]. Applications without a sample article will not be considered.
