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The Watcher on Netflix tells the terrifying story of a couple whose dream home turns into a nightmare. The tense mystery from Ryan Murphy begins as Nora Brannock (Naomi Watts) and Dean Brannock (Bobby Cannavale) upend their city life to move to the suburbs. However, within days of arriving, an ominous letter appears in their postbox from someone called "the Watcher" who issues threats against their family.
Sadly for the couple, this is just the beginning. More letters appear as things start going wrong inside their house as well. Trying to maintain the safety of their family, the Brannocks go to extreme measures to work out who is behind the post. The seven-part drama has had viewers hooked, and is still riding high on Netflix's streaming lists.
However, perhaps the most terrifying aspect of the show is that it's actually based on a real-life case. The details of the true-crime are chillingly similar as the real Broaddus family were haunted by their own letters at their New Jersey home. We've taken a deep dive into what actually happened, how the Netflix series changed aspects of the story, and where the family is now.
Is Netflix's The Watcher a true story?
In short, yes, The Watcher is based on a real story. The true crime story was documented in The New York Magazine article called 'The Watcher: The Haunting of a Dream House', which was published in 2018. Written by Reeves Wiedeman, the article takes a deep dive into the story of the Broaddus family.
Derek Broaddus and his wife Maria bought their Westfield, New Jersey house in 2014. When they were busy working on renovations of 657 Boulevard, Derek found a letter sent to "The New Owner" in the mailbox. Inside, someone called "The Watcher" introduced themselves in exactly the same way they do in the Netflix series, referencing "young blood" in the same creepy manner.
The Broaddus family went straight to the police with the evidence. They conducted an investigation that saw several of their Westfield neighbors called in as suspects. However, just as in the show, they could never find the culprit.
The case is still open after it was turned over to the Union County Prosecutor’s Office which struggled to solve it too, despite using forensic evidence. What they did find was that the person who sealed the envelopes was a woman, but still did not find a match among the neighbors.
Although, despite its basis in truth, several changes were made to the original story for entertainment purposes with the names and details mostly changed in the Netflix show.
Equally, the series sees several strange disturbances happen inside the house while the family is living there. But in reality, the Broaddus family never moved into the home. The letters caused them so much distress that they stayed with their family before trying to sell the house.
The family decided to disclose the letters to any potential buyers which meant it was very difficult to get anyone to buy it. They also attempted to get permission to sell the lot to a developer, but this was denied. In the end, they rented the property out before eventually selling it at a loss in March 2019. Per The Cut, the new family who lives there has not received any letters from The Watcher.
The Broaddus family’s story has previously been adapted into a Lifetime movie called The Watcher, which was never approved by the family. However, they did sell the rights of their story to Netflix in a seven-figure deal, according to Deadline.
They weren’t involved in the creation of it though, simply requesting that their real names be changed and that the family depicted on screen looked very different from their real family. Per The Cut, they also said that "they wouldn't mind it if the fictional house burned to the ground."
For what to stream next, check out our lists of the best Netflix shows and best Netflix movies to watch now.
