A new Ryan Murphy thriller is in development for Netflix, which will be inspired by a chilling real-life horror story from New Jersey.
Naomi Watts has been cast in "The Watcher', which will be a new thriller series from 'American Horror Story' creator Ryan Murphy.
The series will see Watts will play one half of a married couple who move into their new home in New Jersey, and the story is inspired by the real-life happenings of Derek and Maria Broaddus, who bought the home in 2014. A number of days after they have settled down, however, they began to receive threatening notes from a person who called themselves "The Watcher".
According to reports, this unidentified individual sent them letters which read: "I have been put in charge of watching and waiting for its second coming. My grandfather watched the house in the 1920s and my father watched in the 1960s. It is now my time."
Over the years, the owners received numerous letters from this mysterious individual. "The Watcher" called the couple's children "young blood" and listed a car accident or a fire as ways to get revenge on the house owners. Five years later in 2019, the couple managed to sell the house which was nearly 110 years old.
Joining Naomi Watts in 'The Watcher' will be Bobby Cannavale ('Ant-Man', 'Thunder Force') as her husband. Both actors will star opposite each other in the upcoming movie 'Once Upon a Time in Staten Island'. Watts was due to star in one of the 'Game of Thrones' prequel series, but the production was canned after shooting the pilot.
'The Watcher' will see Ryan Murphy team up with his frequent collaborator Ian Brennan, and the pair have worked on numerous projects together, from 'Glee' to 'Scream Queens' and Netflix's latest release 'Halston'. After the Evan Peters miniseries 'Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story', production is expected to begin on this new limited thriller series.
