- "The Watcher" premiered on Netflix Thursday, and stars Naomi Watts, Jennifer Coolidge, and Bobby Cannavale.
- It's based on the true story of the Broaddus family, who were tormented by a mysterious "Watcher."
Netflix's chilling new drama "The Watcher" premiered earlier this week, and while the twists and turns of the series may seem too scary to be true, the show is actually based on a real-life story.
Naomi Watts, Bobby Cannavale, Jennifer Coolidge, and Mia Farrow star in the series, which follows a family in New Jersey who are tormented by mysterious and threatening letters after moving into their dream home. Complicating matters is the fact that their neighbors are eccentric and nosy — meaning that anyone could potentially be sending the letters, signed only by "The Watcher."
The show faithfully portrays the horrifying reported experience of the real-life Broadduses, who bought their dream home in Westfield, New Jersey in 2014, but were then plagued by a series of mysterious letters that praised the couple for bringing their children, or "young blood," into the home, among other creepy statements.
What happened to the real-life Broaddus family who inspired Netflix's 'The Watcher'
The Broadduses' story was first told in a November 2018 article published by New York Magazine. In the article, titled "The Haunting of a Dream House," reporter Reeves Wiedeman detailed the unsettling things that happened to the family after they bought a home at 657 Boulevard in Westfield.
Per Wiedeman's article, the first letter the Broadduses received from "The Watcher" began relatively innocuously, but quickly morphed into something darker.
"Do you need to fill the house with the young blood I requested? Better for me. Was your old house too small for the growing family? Or was it greed to bring me your children?" the letter read, in part. After telling the Broadduses that they would learn their children's names and "call to them," the Watcher concluded: "Welcome my friends, welcome. Let the party begin."
They then signed the letter "The Watcher" in cursive, and there was no return address on the envelope — meaning that any of the Broadduses' new neighbors could have theoretically been responsible. According to the article, Derek and Maria Broaddus soon learned that the family who'd sold them the house had also received a similar letter shortly before moving out. The Broadduses then went to the police with their findings.
However, the investigation went nowhere, despite law enforcement interviewing several potential persons of interest, including a 60-year-old man (previously diagnosed with schizophrenia) who lived with his mother directly next door to the Broadduses. The family continued to receive threatening letters from "The Watcher," and eventually abandoned their plans to move into the home altogether, as detailed by Wiedeman's article.
The 'Watcher House' was sold in March 2019 to a young family from Westfield
New York Magazine recently published a follow-up article shortly before the premiere of the Netflix adaptation. In it, Wiedeman revealed that the Broadduses were able to sell the home — at a loss of over $400,000, once property taxes, bills, and fees for lawyers, private investigators, and real-estate agents were factored in — in March 2019. Thus far, the new family haven't received any letters from "The Watcher," although the Broadduses did send them a photograph of a letter they'd gotten in the event another one was sent.
The latest article also provided some updates on the case (spoiler alert: there aren't any, and many have accused the Westfield police department of bungling the initial investigation), as well as several potential theories (most of them debunked) involving a would-be suspect.
Per Wiedeman, the Broadduses are doing well, and live in a "lovely, albeit smaller" home across town. The mystery of "The Watcher," though, remains unsolved, and as Wiedeman notes, the only way to solve the case would be through a DNA match, or a confession.
All seven episodes of "The Watcher" are currently streaming on Netflix. You can watch the trailer below.