The Real Family Who Inspired ‘The Watcher’ Won’t Watch the Netflix Show

The new Netflix drama The Watcher was watched for 125 million hours on the streamer during its first five days of release, dethroning Ryan Murphy’s other true-crime series, Dahmer, as the week’s most-watched series. But the Broaddus family, on whom the new series is based, has made it known that they will not watch.

Good Morning America‘s Eva Pilgrim said on October 18 that ABC News had reached out to the Broadduses for comment, but they declined. Despite not going on the record about the series, the family’s representative did confirm that they will not be watching the series.

“They do still live here in the [Westfield, New Jersey] area. And we’ve been told they have no plans to watch the show; the trailer was traumatizing enough,” Pilgrim said.

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Get to Know the Real-Life Stalking Case Behind Netflix's 'The Watcher'

While the series fictionalizes their story, giving the family a new name — the Brannocks — it is well known that the show is based on The Cut’s article about their ordeal.

As the story goes, the Broadduses finally moved to their dream home in New Jersey, only to begin receiving ominous letters from a stalker, signed “The Watcher.” The family had a horrific time trying to sell the creepy home, finally finding a buyer in 2019 after a five-year wait and a $400,000 loss on their investment.

The series takes many liberties about who the stalker at the center of the mystery might be, as the Broaddus family still to this day don’t know who was writing the profoundly disturbing letters.

The Watcher stars Bobby Cannavale and Naomi Watts as the central couple, Derek and Maria. The cast also includes Jennifer Coolidge, as their eccentric real estate agent, as well as Mia Farrow, Noma Dumezweni, and Margo Martindale.

The Watcher, Limited Series, Streaming Now, Netflix