The Watcher Trailer: Netflix Brings Internet Urban Legend to Life With Naomi Watts

Netflix has released the first trailer for The Watcher, the latest spooky offering from American Horror Story co-creator Ryan Murphy. The trailer, which was released as part of Netflix’s TUDUM event on Saturday, gives fans their best look yet at the limited series which is based on the internet urban legend of “The Watcher”. The series stars Naomi Watts, Bobby Cannavale, Jennifer Coolidge, Margo Martindale, and Mia Farrow. It’s set to premiere on Thursday, October 13. You can check the trailer for the series out for yourself below.

In The Watcher, Watts and Cannavale play a married couple who move into a new home and quickly begin to be tormented by a stalker known only as The Watcher who sends threatening letters to their new residence. The story is inspired by the urban legend “The Watcher” whose story came to light in November 2018 thanks to an article by Reeves Wiedeman for The Cut. That article told the tale of the owners of a home in Westfield, New Jersey where, almost immediately after buying the home they began receiving creepy and threatening letters, all signed “The Watcher”. Ultimately, the letters became increasingly bizarre to the point that the owners were so terrorized that they never moved in and rented it out instead. They finally sold the home in 2019 at a significant loss.

Here’s how Netflix describes The Watcher: “Dean (Cannavale) and Nora Brannock (Watts) just purchased their dream home in the idyllic suburb of Westfield, New Jersey, but after putting all of their savings into closing the deal they soon realize the neighborhood is less than welcoming. There’s a kooky older woman named Pearl (Farrow) and her brother Jasper (Kinney), who sneaks into the Brannock’s house and hides in their dumbwaiter. There’s Karen (Coolidge), the realtor and an old acquaintance of Nora’s, who makes them feel like they don’t really belong, and nosy neighbors Mitch (Kind) and Mo (Martindale), who don’t seem to understand property lines. Their icy welcome quickly turns into a full-blown living hell when ominous letters from someone calling themselves ‘The Watcher’ start arriving, terrorizing the Brannocks to their breaking point as the neighborhood’s sinister secrets come spilling out.”

The Watcher debuts on Thursday, October 13th on Netflix.