'The Watcher': What's Real and What's Not in Netflix Series (2024)

This post contains spoilers for The Watcher

Netflix's newest series The Watcher is loosely based on the real-life story of the Broaddus family, who purchased what was supposed to be their dream home in Westfield, N.J., shortly before receiving ominous letters that made them halt their moving plans.

Although the series takes inspiration from the Broadduses story, there are a few key differences between the series and the real-life horror story.

1. The real-life owners never lived in the home at 657 Boulevard

In the series, the couple — Nora Brannock (played by Naomi Watts) and Dean Brannock (played by Bobby Cannavale) — move into the home in the first episode with their two adolescent children Ellie and Carter.

In real life, Maria and Derek Broaddus owned the home for five years, but they never actually lived in it because of the threatening letters. The Broadduses also had three young children who were all under the age of 10 at the time.

At one point, the Broadduses rented out the home, then another letter was received, which mentioned the renter. The renter agreed to stay as long as the Broadduses installed cameras, The Cut reports.

The Broadduses purchased the home in 2014 for $1.3 million, but they sold it in 2019 at a $400,000 loss.

According to The Cut, the money the Broadduses received from Netflix for selling the rights to their story didn't cover their losses from the house at 657 Boulevard.

The Union County Prosecutor's Office says the investigation is no longer active, but the case is still open, Today reports. To this day, The Watcher has never been identified despite investigations by both authorities and the Broaddus family.

2. Names were changed throughout the series

Instead of using the family's real names, the Broadduses requested that Netflix change the names of everyone in their family and make them look different than they do in real life. Other than that, they wanted no involvement in the series, The Cut reports. The Broadduses have not seen the show and don't plan to.

Other names were also changed in the series. The characters Pearl and Jasper are seemingly based on the Langford family, who the Broadduses initially suspected were behind the letters until they were ruled out as suspects by prosecutors, according to The Cut.

Neighbors Mitch (played by Richard Kind) and Mo (played by Margo Martindale) also seem to be inspired by the neighbors who lived in the home behind the Broadduses and had lawn chairs facing the real-life 657 Boulevard.

"One day, I was looking out the window and I saw this older guy sitting in one of the chairs," Bill Woodward, the Broadduses' housepainter, told The Cut. "He wasn't facing his house — he was facing the Broadduses.'"

Another especially eerie character in The Watcher is John Graff (played by Joe Mantello.) He is loosely based off the real-life family murderer John List. In 1971, List killed his wife, mother and his three children in their home in Westfield before going on the run for 18 years. But unlike in the show, List never lived at 657 Boulevard nor had any known connection to the home.

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3. No one drank the blood of children

In The Watcher, Dean meets with a past resident of 657 Boulevard named Andrew, who tells Dean how his life went into a downward spiral after moving into the home. Andrew said he moved in with his wife and 3-year-old son Caleb and became close with neighbors Mitch and Mo, who started babysitting Caleb.

One day, Caleb told his father that he walked in on Mitch and Mo and several other adults in red robes who were drinking a baby's blood during a cult-like sacrifice ritual. This account appears to be pure fiction: By all accounts, such an event was never witnessed by anyone in the Broaddus family or any past residents of 657 Boulevard. (Later in the series, it is suggested the character Andrew is a pathological liar.)

The writers of the series may have found inspiration from the real-life letter writer that frequently called the Broadduses children "young blood" in the letters.

"I am pleased to know your names now and the name of the young blood you have brought to me," the second letter the Broadduses received from The Watcher read.

"Will the young blood play in the basem*nt? Or are they too afraid to go down there alone? I would [be] very afraid if I were them. It is far away from the rest of the house. If you were upstairs you would never hear them scream," the letter continued.

4. The previous owners only received one letter from "The Watcher"

In the series, past resident Andrew told Dean that he began to receive violent letters encouraging him to sacrifice his wife and child. However, in the real-life story, the previous owners only received one letter, and it came shortly before they moved out of the home. It was the only time they were sent a letter from "The Watcher" in more than two decades of living at the home.

In the series, the character John Graff, who is another fictionalized past resident of 657 Boulevard, also received letters from The Watcher before committing a mass murder on his family. This also didn't happen in real life, since Graff was inspired by List, who had nothing to do with the property.

According to The Cut, the new owners have not received any letters from the infamous Watcher.

5. The home in the series is in Rye, N.Y.

The Broadduses home was located at 657 Boulevard in Westfield, N.J., and while the series keeps the address and location, it was actually filmed at a much larger and more expensive home in Rye, N.Y.