The Watcher Gets A Season 2 Renewal From Netflix

One thing we can definitively say to be true: people love watching Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan's "The Watcher," so much so that Netflix has officially ordered a second season of it. The news was reported by Deadline on November 7. Netflix made the announcement at the same time it announced that Murphy and Brennan's other recent hit, "Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story," would be turned into an anthology series and renewed for two more seasons. 

It makes sense why the streaming giant would be bringing back "The Watcher." It's is one of the most popular shows of 2022 so far, with Netflix viewers watching it for 125 million hours in the first week alone. Now the big question is, what's Season 2 going to be about? "The Watcher" is based on a true story. It follows Nora and Dean Brannock (Naomi Watts and Bobby Cannavale respectively), who move into what they think is their dream home in New Jersey along with their two children. Soon, however, they begin receiving mysterious typewritten letters from an individual calling themselves "The Watcher," who claims to have been watching the house for decades. The Brannocks begin suspecting everyone, including each other, and their marriage unravels.

Season 1 ends with the Brannocks giving up and moving on, like they did in real life. That would seem to be the end of the tale. However, "The Watcher" took plenty of liberties with the truth. Knowing that the show isn't afraid to fudge the facts to tell a more engaging story, Season 2 could go in almost any direction.

The biggest question, of course, is who is the eponymous Watcher? There were plenty of suspects: the nosey Pearl Winslow (Mia Farrow) and her troubled brother Jasper (Terry Kinney); the pushy busybodies Mitch (Richard Kind) and Maureen (Margo Martindale); or even the duplicitous real-estate agent Karen (Jennifer Coolidge). Any or all of them could be the Watcher, and all of them are alive by the end of the series.

There are other questions the show left unanswered, too. Who was the mysterious "pigtail girl" who snuck into Dean's bedroom and tried to seduce him? Were Pearl and Jasper actually sneaking through the tunnels beneath the house?

So far, Murphy and Brennan have kept mum on what their plans for Season 2 might be. The only cast member who's commented on Season 2 so far is Cooldige. "I think Karen needs a good slap across the face," she said, referring to her character. "I think Karen needs to be punished" for what she did in Season 1 (per Entertainment Weekly).

It might seem strange that a show based on a true story would continue after that story is finished being told, but we've seen plenty of TV series continue long after they've burned through their source material, like "Pretty Little Lies" or "Mosquito Coast." Netflix clearly trusts Murphy and Brennan to come up with something good, and so far the duo hasn't let them down.