October 2, 2026, 2:13 p.m. ET
Ryan Murphy fans will be “watchers” again.
Netflix announced Friday (October 2) that Murphy’s chilling crime drama series “The Watcher” has finally begun production on its second season, with stars Naomi Watts, Bobby Cannavale, Margo Martindale and Isabel Gravitt all returning to reprise their original roles.
The show first aired in 2022 for an eight-episode season, then was renewed for a second season in November of the same year. However, no moves in the series were shared publicly until Friday, four years later.
The first season of the series tells the story of a picture-perfect family, who move into a quaint suburban home, only to be terrorized by a mysterious writer known as “The Watcher.” Watts and Cannavale led the series as a married couple who invest their financial future in their dream home, only to have it turn into a nightmare.
Murphy produced the series, along with his long-time collaborator Ian Brennan. The show reached the top spot on Netflix’s Top 10 domestic TV shows list the day after its premiere and spent five weeks on the international English TV shows list.
Netflix announced that production on season 2 will begin this fall in New York, which likely means a premiere date in 2027. The streamer has not announced any plot details on the new season, or whether any other cast members will return. Mia Farrow, Richard Kind and Jennifer Coolidge also appeared in the original season.
The first season was based on an incident that actually happened in Westfield, New Jersey, in 2014. Several days after closing on their new, nearly 4,000 square foot home, Maria and Derek Broaddus received a letter from someone claiming that her family had been watching her for years. The Broadduses bought the home for $1.3 million to raise their three children, not far from where Maria Broaddus grew up. Many disturbing letters, lawsuits, town hall meetings and loss of money later, the Broaddus sold the house in 2019. The real Watcher was never found.
Murphy and Brennan recently released “Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story” on Netflix (now streaming), focusing on the infamous Borden and two deaths that shocked a nation: the massacre of her wealthy father, Andrew Borden, and her stepmother, Abby Borden. The series, starring Ella Beatty as the titular murderess, spent two weeks at the top of the Netflix list.
Contributor: Erin Jensen, USA TODAY
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