‘The Watcher’: Ryan Murphy’s Newest Startling Series Based on True Events

Ryan Murphy is making a name for himself as the inventor of gruesome drama, deviating from snappy content like the high school musical drama series Glee.

The Academy Award winner is the mastermind of the psychological thriller series Ratched, which he co-created with Evan Romansky and American Crime Story. 

A few weeks after the premiere of the twisted series, Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, Murphy and Ian Brennan are already burning the midnight oil on another true crime drama, The Watcher.

Like Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, The Watcher is based on the chilling true events of a mysterious psychopathic stalker who keeps sending mail to the Brannock family. 

The stalker, 'The Watcher', begins sending letters to the family as soon as they move into their new house, claiming to have watched the house for decades and will keep watching them until they meet the house's demands.

The series is based on a story published in the New York Magazine, in November 2018 called 'The Watcher'. It chronicled a New Jersey family, The Broaddus, who was being stalked by a mysterious person who kept sending them letters.

In June 2014, Derek Broaddus and his wife, Maria Broaddus, were preparing to move into their six-bedroom home at 657 Boulevard in Westfield, New Jersey. Just before moving in, they received a letter in their mailbox, written in thick clunky handwriting addressed to 'The New Owner'. 

The letter began warmly by welcoming the new owners into the neighborhood. But things took a turn when the writer asked intrusive questions like, “How did you end up here?” “Did 657 Boulevard call to you with its force within?”

The writer claimed that 657 Boulevard had existed for over 100 years, being watched by generations in his family- his grandfather in the 1920s, his father in the 1960s and was now his turn. 

The Watcher had apparently surveyed the family and was aware that the couple had three children, noting that it was a bad decision to renovate the house because they would make it unhappy. 

The stalker didn’t reveal his identity but claimed that he could be one of the many people that drove or walked by their house. The letter ended with, “Welcome my friends, welcome. Let the party begin” and signed “The Watcher.”

The writer sent the Broaddus family three letters, and the contents were so threatening that they eventually sold the house and left after five years. 

The identity of The Watcher has never been discovered, leading some people to speculate that the Broadduses pinned the mail themselves as a tactic to avoid buying the house for $1.3 million.

Bobby Cannavale and Naomi Watts impersonate the Broaddus couple as Dean Brannock and Nora Brannock. Luke David Blumm plays the couple’s son Carter Brannock. Award winner Jeniffer Coolidge also stars as Karen Calhoun. 

Other star casts include Mia Farrow as Pearl, Noma Dumezweni as Theodora, Richard Kind as Mitch, Terry Kinney as Jasper, Margo Martindale as Mo, Joe Mantello, Christopher McDonald, Michael Nouri, Isabel Gravitt and Henry Hunter Hall.

Netflix released The Watcher's official trailer two weeks ago, showing a family's joy of moving to a new neighborhood quickly taking a toll when they receive a letter from The Watcher. 

Shocking events of a mysterious figure consistently standing outside the Brannock’s home and eerie neighbours unfold as the song Hopelessly Devoted to You by Olivia Newton-John plays in the background. 

The trailer also hints at the family's youngest child being in danger as The Watcher quotes that the house wants young blood. Dean Brannock feels the enormous pressure to protect his family from unknown looming danger, with the entire neighborhood coming under suspicion.

The Watcher is a limited series containing seven episodes, which will debut on Thursday, October 13 2022 on Netflix. 

Knowing Ryan Murphy’s knack for creating shockingly disturbing shows, the audience can expect The Watcher to be an unnerving watch, dropping just in time for Halloween.

The eleventh season of Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk's FX Horror anthology series American Horror Story: NYC is about to debut on October 19 2022. Comprising ten episodes, the series will release two episodes every week through November 16 2022. 

Returning casts from the show’s previous seasons include Dot-Marie Jones, Billie Lourd, Nico Greetham, Isaac Cole Powell, Rebecca Dayan, Zachary Quinto, Leslie Grossman, Sandra Bernhard, Denis O’Hare and Patti Lu Pone. They will be joined by newcomers Charlie Carver, Joe Mantello and Russell Tovey.