2022 Netflix Series The Watcher follows a New York family as they move into their dream home in Westfield, New Jersey. The Brannocks, Dean, Nora, Ellie, and Carter, move to New Jersey because of the rising crime rate in already dangerous New York City, and Westfeild is supposedly one of the safest cities in the Northeast. After receiving ominous letters from a stalker who calls themselves The Watcher, though, the family soon realizes that nowhere is really as safe as it seems. 

The series is based on a true story and a real family, the Broadduses. Maria and Derek Broaddus moved into the real 657 Boulevard in which the series is based in the summer of 2014. 

Besides some obvious changes such as the names of the characters, there are other inconsistencies in the show. The Broadduse shave three children, while the Brannocks only have two. The Brannocks had already moved into 657 Boulevard when Dean had received the first letter from the Watcher, but Derek Broaddus received the first letter before his family moved in. He was painting the house before the family moved in when he received it. The real house was not nearly as expensive as in the show, or as large. The Broadduses still live in Westfield, in a not-as-scary house, and the Brannocks took back to New York, discovering the small-town life wasn’t for them. 

Despite some changes from what really happened in 2014 in Westfield, many things were kept the same in the currently top watched series on Netflix, such as creepy neighbors and several excerpts from the real letters that the Broadduses received were left completely unchanged. I think that the show is definitely worth watching, and especially during the Halloween season as there are lots of twists and turns that keep the viewer on the edge of their seat.