The Watcher: Netflix series inspired by a true story
Naomi Watts, Bobby Cannavale, and Mia Farrow are the protagonists of the streaming The Watcher’s seven most-viewed episodes of the moment. But what is accurate, and what is invented?
Autumn is giving us a lot of beautiful series like House of the Dragon, Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer story, and The Watcher, Ryan Murphy’s new Netflix show.
The plot is inspired by an article published in The Cut, where the authors reported the story of the persecution suffered by a family that had just moved to the residential suburb of Westfield, New Jersey.
Within the TV series streaming on Netflix, Naomi Watts and Bobby Cannavale are the Brannock’s spouses, a couple whose stories are inspired by those that happened to the Broaddus family who, after buying a new house, begins to receive disturbing letters from the one who signs himself as “The Watcher.”
Although the seven-episode miniseries is based on actual events, the show’s writers have taken some liberties in writing the characters and events that, in some cases, have been emphasized, becoming much more dramatic and upsetting.
So what is true in The Watcher, and what is instead a product of the producers’ imagination? Let’s clarify.
‘The Watcher’: A true story
In 2012 Derek and Maria Broaddus, who in the series go by the names of Dean and Nora, moved to 657 Boulevard in Westfield, the same address used on the show, where they began receiving a series of threatening letters from an anonymous stalker who claimed to be a “protective observer” of the building, whose messages have created much unease and a series of justified concerns for the Broaddus family.
The Langford family lived near the Broaddus and were downright bizarre, with matriarch Peggy living with most of her 60-year-old children at 90, including Michael, an unemployed man known in the neighborhood for walking into neighboring yards.
To peek inside their windows. It, therefore, goes without saying that the Langfords were the source of inspiration for the creation of Pearl, played by Mia Farrow, and Jasper, Terry Kinney, a couple much more intrusive and suspicious than the one that existed, which, however, became the main police suspect.
The investigation, however, did not lead to anything overwhelming, and no concrete evidence was ever found linking The Watcher to the Langfords.
The cult of drinking the blood of children
The cult of drinking blood was included to make the story even more disturbing and anxious, but it has no connection with the facts or people involved in this affair. The idea of using this device may have been inspired by the numerous satanic sects discovered in America in the 1980s and 1990s.
Just as it comes in the TV series, even, in reality, the identity of The Watcher has remained unknown.
Despite this, putting together the various evidence gathered, suspect number 1 was identified as an older woman living in Westfield’s vicinity. This is all she has managed to achieve in months and months of investigations and interrogations.
As for the Broaddus, however, it took the family five years before being able to sell the house, where the new owners claim they have yet to receive any letter from The Watcher.
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