The Watcher is Netflix’s upcoming limited series based on a true story published in New York Magazine’s The Cut. It comes from Ryan Murphy’s output deal with Netflix and here’s the latest on everything known about Netflix’s The Watcher currently eying an October 2022 release date.
We unveiled exclusively The Watcher back in February 2021 with the news that Ryan Murphy is attached.
Since then, we’ve had lots of news regarding the seven-episode limited series. So let’s dig in.
When will The Watcher release on Netflix?
We can exclusively reveal that Netflix eying an October 2022 release date for The Watcher, meaning it’ll be part of Netflix’s Halloween 2022 lineup.
The show is currently eying to debut on October 13th, 2022, but this is subject to change.
Netflix themselves have only confirmed a “Fall 2022” release window so far.
The series will release as one of three Netflix Original Ryan Murphy projects in the fall of 2022. The other two are Mr. Harrigan’s Phone and DAHMER.
A fourth Murphy project is also set to release on FX in the form of American Horror Story season 11.
In the teaser from Ryan Murphy Productions, The Watcher is featured with the death symbol in the letter.
https://twitter.com/ryanmurphyprod/status/1568335937699987459
What’s The Watcher on Netflix about?
The series adapts a story from The Cut written in November 2018 by Reeves Wideman. The story is called The Watcher and came with the tagline “A family bought their dream house. But according to the creepy letters they started to get, they weren’t the only ones interested in it.”
A month after the story was published, Netflix acquired the rights to the story with the original intention of creating a film.
The basic premise of the story is as follows:
“Based on the real-life case, beginning in 2014, of the Broaddus family, who were spied on, threatened, and ultimately driven to sell their home & leave the town they loved, by a mysterious stalker who identified themselves only as “The Watcher” in the letters sent to Mr & Mrs Broaddus.”
Netflix’s official synopsis on the show’s page is as follows:
“Ominous letters. Strange neighbors. Sinister threats. A family moves into their suburban dream home, only to discover they’ve inherited a nightmare.”
The series will be suitable for ages 15 and up according to the BBFC.
It’s worth noting that real-life names from the original story are not being used and instead are given fictional names.
The Watcher story was seen on The Cut
In September 2022, Netflix began advertising the show with a viral campaign for the series with Jennifer Coolidge as Karen Calhoun, the estate agent in the series.
Through viral marketing with real-life ads, a Zillow listing for the house, and a house tour, it gives us a first glimpse at what we can expect.
Who’s behind The Watcher on Netflix?
Ian Brennan is the key driver of the project and is also executive producing alongside long-time collaborator Ryan Murphy. Eric Newman is also notably serving as an executive producer. All three names above work with Netflix under extensive overall deals.
Henry Joost and Bryan Unkeless also serve as executive producers.
Among the directors announced so far for the series includes Paris Barclay, Henry Joost, and Ariel Schulman.
The Watcher: Full list of Cast Members
The Watcher features a huge ensemble cast with many familiar faces.
Let’s break down the cast of The Watcher now:
The Watcher Series Leads
Pictured: Naomi Watts, Bobby Cannavale, Jennifer Coolidge, Noma Dumezweni, Mia Farrow and Margo Martindale
Deadline revealed the top three actors who are attached to The Watcher in June 2021 and November 2021.
Naomi Watts (known for King Kong and Netflix’s Gypsy) will be playing Nora, renamed from Maria in the source story
Bobby Cannavale (known for The Station Agent and lends his voice in Netflix’s Big Mouth) is on board to play Dean, renamed from Derek.
Jennifer Coolidge (who recently featured in HBO’s The White Lotus) will be playing Karen in the series who is the real estate agent showing the family the house and described as glamorous and funny.
Rounding out the main cast includes Noma Dumezweni (Mary Poppins Returns), who will play the private investigator called Theodora (renamed from Reggie).
Mia Farrow is on board to play Pearl, who is the next-door neighbor.
Finally, Margo Martindale is on board to play Maureen, another neighbor. She lives behind the house in question with her husband.
Other Cast Members in Netflix’s The Watcher
Pictured: Henry Hunter Hall, Richard Kind, Isabel Gravitt, Seth Gabel, Chris McDonald, Terry Kinney, Michael Nouri
Rounding out the cast includes:
Henry Hunter Hall as Dakota a businessman who founded a security firm.
Richard Kind will play Mitch, Isabel Gravitt will play Ellie, Seth Gabel will play Andrew, Chris McDonald will play Detective Chamberland, Terry Kinney will play Michael and Michael Nouri will play Richard.
Also, according to IMDb listings, we’ll also see Aidan Pierce Brennan and Lily Talevski star.
Where is The Watcher in production?
Filming on the series took place between late September 2021 and wrapped at the end of March 2022. The production was filmed primarily in New York.
While we haven’t seen many filming shots, we know some of the filming took place in Brooklyn, specifically at McCarran Park.
The Watcher filming by McCarran Park near Nassau Ave in Brooklyn. @olv #mccarranpark #thewatcher pic.twitter.com/2fjXFPoCgn
— HometownTourist (@LindaMorov) November 5, 2021
We’ll keep you posted right up until the release of The Watcher on Netflix so keep this post bookmarked.
If you want to add The Watcher to your Netflix Queue use the remind me button on the official page for the series.
Are you looking forward to The Watcher coming to Netflix? Let us know in the comments.
