Halfway through the nail-biting trailer for Netflix and Ryan Murphy’s The Watcher, Jennifer Coolidge’s real estate agent whispers repeatedly to Naomi Watts that she should “sell, sell, sell, sell, sell.” And if this terrifying series wasn’t based on a true story, you might be wondering why these absolute idiots didn’t move out of what is clearly a house under attack.
The trailer, which was just released at Netflix’s TUDUM festival, follows the Brannock family (Watts, Bobby Cannavale and their kids) as they move into an unassuming house in a nice neighborhood inhabited by people like: character actor Margo Martindale; character actor Richard Kind; and Mia Farrow, who is probably not a character actor, but let’s throw caution to the wind here and say there are a lot of character actors in this one neighborhood.
In any case, after moving in it quickly becomes clear they’re being watched by someone who is making the house — and them — their little project. As things get weirder and the threats increase, the family grows panicked over who it is in the neighborhood who is watching them. And unlike the more responsible Murphy projects like the recent Dahmer, it’s pretty clear based on which of his other shows gets called out in the trailer — that would be American Horror Story — this series will be in the mode of.
Here’s the full synopsis of the series from Netflix:
Dean (Bobby Cannavale) and Nora Brannock (Naomi 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 (Mia Farrow) and her brother Jasper (Terry Kinney), who sneaks into the Brannock’s house and hides in their dumbwaiter. There’s Karen (Jennifer Coolidge), the realtor and an old acquaintance of Nora’s, who makes them feel like they don’t really belong, and nosy neighbors Mitch (Richard Kind) and Mo (Margo 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 themself “The Watcher” start arriving, terrorizing the Brannocks to their breaking point as the neighborhood’s sinister secrets come spilling out. Based on the true story of the infamous “Watcher” house in New Jersey.
The seven episode series is based on “The Haunting of a Dream House,” by Reeves Wiederman, was created by Murphy and Ian Brennan, and will premiere on October 13 on Netflix. Watch the trailer above, and whisper “sell, sell, sell, sell, sell” along with Coolidge.
