Dahmer’s reign as the #1 series on the streaming service Netflix comes to an end as it is replaced by The Watcher. This thriller series has come to this position after only premiering a week okay and is breaking records on Netflix that only something like Stranger Things could trump. And that is no mean feat considering Dahmer was crowned the second-highest watched English language Netflix show last week, according to Tom’s Guide.
Both of these shows funnily enough are produced and created by horror TV show Ryan Murphy and his co-producer Ian Brennan. Murphy, whose pinnacle past project was (and still is) American Horror Story, is widely known in the TV show industry as the ‘Dark Prince’ and is heavily praised for his dynamic approach to the horror genre. The duo also previously collaborated on Glee and Scream Queen, alongside Brad Falchuk. While Falchuk wasn’t involved in Dahmer or The Watcher, he did work with Murphy to co-create American Horror Story. Clearly, this trio knows how to craft a very compelling horror/thriller series….and also one about show choirs.
So what is The Watcher about?
Well, The Watcher’s thrilling tale is based on the real life encounter, where a wealthy family in New Jersey who after a sinister confrontation with the unidentified ‘Watcher’ decide to forgo moving into their newly acquired property. Real life Derek and Maria Broaddus and their three young children, all of whom were under 10 at the time, are about to move into their new home when an unknown presence begins to watch and threaten them with strange notes to assert his dominance over the New Jersey based property.
The show itself is inspired by a 2018 article published in New York Magazine. Part of the magazine’s The Cut column, it chronicled the mysterious events that befell a New Jersey family after they acquired what they thought would be their dream home.
This TV show adaptation on Netflix, which stars Naomi Watts and Bobby Cannavale is a little different, as the family actually does move into the house and then has several in person encounters with the ‘Watcher’ as he drives them out of their suburban home and into a state of madness. As if threatening unsolicited mail wasn’t enough of a reason for the couple to begin second-guessing their living situation, matters are made worse by strange neighbors and several sinister sequences that have the pair convinced they are being watched.
The Watcher is definitely highly captivating and has the kind of skilled cinematography associated with most of Murphy’s work that makes the watcher (us, the audience) almost feel as if they themselves are experiencing the events of the series.
