The Watcher (2022 TV series)

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The Watcher
The Watcher (2022 TV series).png
Promotional poster
Genre
Created by
Based on"The Haunting of a Dream House"
by Reeves Wiedeman
Starring
Composers
No. of episodes7
Production
Executive producers
Producers
  • Todd Nenninger
  • Lou Eyrich
  • Todd Kubrak
  • Danielle Wang
Cinematography
  • Jason McCormick
  • Maceo Bishop
  • Stanley Fernandez
Editors
  • Lisa Trulli
  • Franzis Müller
  • Danielle Wang
  • Travis Weaver
  • Regis Kimble
Running time44–52 minutes
Production companyRyan Murphy Productions
DistributorNetflix Streaming Services
Release
Original networkNetflix
Original releaseOctober 13, 2022 (2022-10-13)

The Watcher is an American mystery thriller television miniseries created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan for Netflix.[3] It premiered on October 13, 2022.[4] It is based on a 2018 article for New York's "The Cut" by Reeves Wiedeman.[5][4] It is a limited series.

Premise

The series follows the true story of a married couple who, after moving into their dream home in Westfield, New Jersey, are harassed by letters signed by a stalker who goes by the pseudonym "The Watcher".[5][6] Throughout the series, they determine who is the watcher with the help of people they meet along the way, including a private investigator, Westfield Police, and even their old friends and neighbors.

Cast and characters

Main

Recurring

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date
1"Welcome, Friends"Ryan MurphyRyan Murphy & Ian BrennanOctober 13, 2022 (2022-10-13)
The Brannock family, parents Nora and Dean, and kids Ellie and Carter arrive at 657 Boulevard to attend an open house. Nora meets an old friend, Karen, who is the realtor. After having a few odd experiences, the family decides to buy the house. However, Dean has to take out almost all of the family's savings to afford the home. Six weeks later, the family moved in. Ellie hears music from an empty room, and the family receives an ominous letter from "The Watcher," who threatens to kidnap Ellie and Carter. Dean and Nora go to the police, but Detective Chamberland believes the whole thing is a prank. However, he agrees to send in the letter for DNA testing and says he knows the family "had to dig deep" to afford the house. The next morning, Carter finds Jasper, their neighbor, in the home's dumbwaiter. Pearl, Jasper's sister, explains that the old owners were okay with Jasper using the dumbwaiter. Dean and Nora decide to install alarms and cameras and hire Dakota, a 19-year-old entrepreneur. Later that night, Carter finds his pet ferret dead. A few mornings later, Dean finds another Watcher letter in the mail.
2"Blood Sacrifice"Paris BarclayRyan Murphy & Ian BrennanOctober 13, 2022 (2022-10-13)
3"Götterdämmerung"Ryan MurphyRyan Murphy & Ian BrennanOctober 13, 2022 (2022-10-13)
4"Someone to Watch Over Me"Paris BarclayRyan Murphy & Ian BrennanOctober 13, 2022 (2022-10-13)
5"Occam's Razor"Jennifer LynchRyan Murphy & Ian BrennanOctober 13, 2022 (2022-10-13)
6"The Gloaming"Max WinklerIan Brennan & Reilly SmithOctober 13, 2022 (2022-10-13)
7"Haunting"Jennifer LynchIan Brennan & Reilly Smith & Todd Kubrak & Ryan MurphyOctober 13, 2022 (2022-10-13)

Production

The series is based on a 2018 article for New York's "The Cut" by Reeves Wiedeman, which chronicled the experience of Derek and Maria Broaddus after they received threatening letters upon moving into their home at 657 Boulevard in Westfield, New Jersey in 2014,[5] which continued until they sold the home in 2019.[7] The character John Graff was based on John List, a mass murderer and longtime fugitive who murdered his family in his Westfield home in 1971. Similarities between John Graff's character and the List murders include his career as an accountant, attending Lutheran church, and murdering his family members and live-in mother, along with leaving music playing in the house and planning an alibi that would cause the bodies to remain undiscovered for several weeks.[8]

On-location scenes for the home at 657 Boulevard were filmed at a private residence in Rye, New York that was built in 2016.[9] The scenes where the Brannock family stays at a motel were filmed at an operating motel located in the hamlet of Locust Valley on Long Island, New York.[10]

While no scenes were filmed at the real-life 657 Boulevard residence in Westfield, the neighborhood received increased attention from visitors and fans following the release of the series; the home was guarded by police and barricade tape to prevent trespassers in October 2022.[11] This has caused outrage from neighbors near 657.

Furthermore, people responded poorly, stating the fact how it veers so distant from the actual story, and does not showcase that in the story.

Reception

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 48% approval rating with an average rating of 5.3/10, based on 21 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "This suburban nightmare sometimes achieves the campy fright of creator Ryan Murphy's best horror fare, but it sprawls in too many ludicrous directions to satisfy."[12] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 54 out of 100 based on 8 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[13]

Daniel D'Addario of Variety summarized the show as "ultimately unremarkable fiction."[14]

References

  1. ^ Gulla, Emily (October 13, 2022). "The Watcher viewers are all saying the same thing about new Netflix thriller". Cosmopolitan. UK. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  2. ^ Carlin, Shannon (October 13, 2022). "The Horrifying True Story Behind Netflix's The Watcher". Time. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  3. ^ Nolfi, Joey (September 14, 2021). "Naomi Watts teases her return to horror in 'freaky' Ryan Murphy 'Watcher' series". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Rice, Lynette (September 24, 2022). "'The Watcher': Netflix Unveils Trailer & Debut Date For Ryan Murphy's Latest Scarefest". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c Wiedeman, Reeves (October 11, 2022) [November 12, 2018]. "The Haunting of a Dream House". The Cut. Archived from the original on October 13, 2022. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
  6. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (December 5, 2018). "Netflix Wins Heated Auction For Film Rights To Dream House Nightmare Tale 'The Watcher'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
  7. ^ Wiedeman, Reeves (October 11, 2022). "Taking Another Look at The Watcher What we know about the case four years later". The Cut. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  8. ^ Nolfi, John (October 14, 2022). "The Watcher's Grisly John Graff Murder Sequence Is Based on True Story of a Family Massacre". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  9. ^ Allen, Kelly (October 17, 2022). ""The Watcher" Was Filmed at This Grand New York Home". House Beautiful. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  10. ^ Sweet, Jacqueline (October 20, 2022). "'The Watcher' Motel Scenes Filmed At Long Island's Tides Motor Inn". Oyster Bay, NY Patch. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  11. ^ Fernandes, Nicolas (October 20, 2022). "Westfield, N.J., residents are sick of Netflix fans driving to 'The Watcher' house at 657 Boulevard". NJ.com. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  12. ^ "The Watcher: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
  13. ^ "The Watcher: Season 1". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
  14. ^ D'Addario, Daniel (October 13, 2022). "'The Watcher' Sucks the Suspense From a True-Life Horror Story: TV Review". Variety.

External links

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Presented content of the Wikipedia article was extracted in 2022-10-27 based on https://en.wikipedia.org/?curid=69902123