Naomi Watts, one of the many stars featured in the Netflix thriller series The Watcher, has some bad news for fans of the show. Although she didn’t respond with news about the project being canceled, her feedback wasn’t very promising.
Created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan for Netflix, The Watcher premiered on the streamer in 2022 with pretty good reviews. Unfortunately, things didn’t stay that way very long. The Rotten Tomatoes score sailed down to 56%, where it still remains, with IMDb reporting a score of 6.5/10. Regardless, Netflix renewed the show for a second season a little after it premiered.
Following the termination of Ryan Murphy’s contract with Netflix, news about The Watcher Season 2 fizzled out. The showrunner is now fully dedicated to his new contract with Hulu, which covers the female-led legal drama All’s Fair. Watts, also part of the cast of Murphy’s latest show, was asked about The Watcher‘s follow-up, but she gave a disappointing update:
There hasn’t been any real movement on it yet.
While speaking to Entertainment Weekly during the Toronto International Film Festival, Watts mostly stayed on the subject of The Friend. In this new film, she co-stars alongside a huge Great Dane and plays a novelist who’s forced to take care of a dog when her friend suddenly dies, and she adopts the massive creature. When asked about an update to The Watcher Season 2, Watts simply said:
“I don’t have one, if there is one. I wish I could. It was so fun, right? I don’t have an update, I’m afraid.”
Per Entertainment Weekly’s piece, it appears the show could possibly continue without the Brannocks, Watts’ family in the show. Months ago, her statement about her return to the show wasn’t very encouraging: “To be honest, we left the house, so I don’t know if we’ll be coming back. I don’t know what the plan is there, so I can’t give you a straight answer, I’m afraid.”
The Watcher is One of the Best Shows in the Ryan Murphy Universe
The Watcher follows Nora and Dean Brannock as they move to a dream home in New Jersey, and they start getting threats from “the Watcher.” The stalker terrorizes the Brannocks, while the neighbors don’t look very happy that they moved to the area. Eventually, they discover a previous resident named John Graff may be behind the threats, but his presence could be related to the horrific events that took place at their new home years ago.
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The series is based on the true story of Derek and Maria Broaddus, a couple who moved to a new home in New Jersey in 2014. They ended up moving in 2019 after years of receiving letters with threats saying they had to move. The character of John Graff is based on John List, a serial killer from New Jersey who murdered his family in their home.
The Watcher takes place in the Ryan Murphy universe, and he took some writing and directing duties in some of the episodes. While it’s not his best work, it’s definitely a bold twist on the themes Murphy usually tackles. Using a thriller backdrop, Murphy disarms the perfect version of the American family and shows that some monsters are domestic. It’s one of the best performances by Naomi Watts and Bobby Cannavale, who give life to Nora and Dean, respectively.
Season 1 of
The Watcher
is available to stream on Netflix.
