Netflix banks on audience eyes being drawn to latest expedition into ‘true’ crime
“Dearest new neighbor at 657 Boulevard, allow me to welcome you to the neighborhood.” In June of 2014, the newly-moved Broaddus family was sent an ominous letter. In the weeks following, more and more arrived, with the mysterious writer gaining more information about each family member. The only clue to the culprit? An ominous signature at the bottom of each letter: marked The Watcher.
Like all true crime or unsolved mysteries, the media caught wind and turned it into a profit-making, dramatized, not-so accurate piece of historical fiction. On October 13, this new Netflix series, The Watcher was released for public consumption. Already within the first week, The Watcher dethroned Dahmer from its first-place position and became a hit on the streaming platform. Just like Dahmer, The Watcher is a seven-episode series, slowly leading the audience to understand who this mysterious “Watcher” is but, spoiler alert, the mystery remains unsolved.
The series opens up by introducing the parents, Nora and Dean Brannock (Naomi Watts, Goodnight Mommy, and Bobby Cannavale, Blonde), venturing through the open house of their soon-to-be new home, overtly referred to as 657 Boulevard to nail the connection. Nora and Dean, with the help of their friend, Karen Calhoun (Jennifer Coolidge, The White Lotus), are persuaded to buy this house despite not having the money for it. Because this was their dream, Dean uses all of their savings to buy it, and six weeks later, the family moves in. Right away, mysterious incidents begin to occur: music is heard from a random room, a letter threatens to kidnap their children, and one of their many creepy neighbors was found hiding in the dumbwaiter. This prompts the family to put up security cameras, yet despite these efforts, strange events keep occurring.
After hiring private detective Theodora Birch (Noma Dumezweni, Made for Love), Nora and Dean begin suspecting their whole neighborhood is messing with them, especially Pearl and Jasper Winslow (Mia Farrow, Dark Horse, and Terry Kinney, The Bride in the Box). Not only does the family have the recurring “Watcher” letters, but they are met with death, hidden cameras, secrets, and a lot of romance and relationship issues. A lack of trust with neighbors and bad reputation applies the final icing on the cake.
Although based on an actual story, a lot of facts remain untrue. While 657 Boulevard does exist, the family never moved into the home but were only beginning to renovate it, something seen while The Watcher expresses his hatred for the changes. The family did occasionally visit the home to make sure progress was running smoothly, which is how the family did get the letters. While the police were actively involved in the case, in 2018, the officers stopped investigating due to lack of new evidence. The house was put up on the market for way less than the original price in 2019, and a young family in the area bought it. So far, this new family has never experienced a letter from The Watcher or had any disturbances. As for the neighbors who had to deal with being suspects in the case, many believed the family made it all up.
As much as it is nice for a series to stay true to the original story, platforms like Netflix need to dramatize these stories to earn interest from the public to make them a profit. The plot is quite interesting, with all the little twists and turns bringing more interest into wanting to know more. While the audience watches the decline of the parents as they run in circles to figure out the case, Nora and Dean become unlikeable and cause more conflict than needed; they begin to accuse their neighbors as well as get in the way of their daughter’s relationship, accusing her boyfriend of being The Watcher. Although the plot twists are both fascinating and confusing, especially when they revive characters who were thought to be dead earlier on. The finale only brought dissatisfaction to the entire series, leaving ends untied and never explaining details essential to the plot earlier on. It felt as if the team behind The Watcher completely scrapped these earlier ideas and followed through with a brand-new plot as each episode occurred.
Netflix recently announced that The Watcher would be renewed for a second series, but what else is there to bring to this series of complicated conflicts, interesting characters, and so much betrayal? Hopefully, the second season will tie those loose ends left behind by the first season, or maybe explain who The Watcher is. The Brannock family, just like the original case, no longer lives in the home, prompting The Watcher to write in his final letter, “Where have you gone to? 657 Boulevard is missing you.”
B-: The Watcher ventures away from the actual true crime case with its complicated plot line, bringing another dramatized series like Dahmer to break Netflix records.
By Ruby Pluchinsky
Oshkosh West Index Volume 119 Issue II