Naomi Watts Was Over The Moon When She Found Out Jennifer Coolidge Was Joining The Watcher
Warning: This article contains spoilers for "The Watcher."
Moving becomes a downright scary ordeal for the Brannock family in Netflix's new limited series "The Watcher," based on a true story detailed in a news article of the same name. The series co-created by Ryan Murphy centers around a gorgeous home in a seemingly quiet suburban neighborhood. As Dean Brannock (Bobby Cannavale) says in Episode 1, "It's paradise." But unnerving letters lead the Brannock family to discover the home's mysterious past and the unwanted house guest lurking nearby, watching their every move.
Episode 1 starts with Dean, his wife Nora (Naomi Watts), and their two children driving to an open house, where they hope to tour and close the deal on the home that they've seemed to be eying for quite some time. Upon arriving at the home, Nora meets the realtor, who is actually her old friend Karen Calhoun, played by Jennifer Coolidge. Murphy, Watts, and Cannavale each carry their own star power, and adding Coolidge to the cast sent Watts over the moon.
Watts was super excited to work with Coolidge because of her role on The White Lotus
According to Stylist, Naomi Watts said she was thrilled to hear that Jennifer Coolidge would be joining the project as real estate agent Karen Calhoun. "You can imagine the joy when I heard that she became a cast member. Just having binged 'White Lotus,' I was like, 'Oh my god, this is the best job ever!' I already felt pretty excited about it. But then when she joined, it was just, you know, gold," she told the outlet.
For decades, Coolidge has been making a name for herself playing characters with big personalities, including the evil stepmother Fiona in "A Cinderella Story" and most recently as Tanya McQuoid in "The White Lotus." On that show, Tanya is a rich woman grieving the loss of her mother and looking for meaning in her life, and Coolidge's performance as Tanya ended up winning her a Primetime Emmy Award for outstanding supporting actress in a limited or anthology series or movie.
On "The Watcher," Coolidge's Calhoun character proudly shows off 657 Boulevard to the Brannock family in "The Watcher," and audiences even get their own tour of the home in a teaser released by Netflix. The video shows Calhoun listing the features of the home which contains four bedrooms and five bathrooms. While Calhoun ultimately sells the home to the unknowing Brannock family, Coolidge said she doesn't agree with her character's actions, according to a recent interview in Elle. "I feel that's what's missing, is just some really vicious dogs that could really save your life when someone is being so awful," she said.