New dark true crime series replaces 'Dahmer' as Netflix's top show
Dahmer, one of Netflix's newest true crime series, has lost its title as the streaming platform's top show to another true crime series from the same creative minds—and it's quite dark, too.
In a report by Deadline, the series about the prolific serial killer and cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer had dominated the platform for 21 consecutive days before being overtaken by The Watcher on Oct. 14, which also came from Dahmer's creators Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan.
The latest terrifying crime series premiered on Oct. 13 and it is based on a 2018 article for New York magazine's The Cut by author Reeves Wiedeman.
Starring Naomi Watts and Bobby Cannavale, The Watcher tells the story of real-life couple Derek and Maria Broaddus, renamed as Dean and Nora Brannock in the series, as they move to their new house in an idyllic New Jersey neighborhood.
Shortly after, they begin to receive mysterious letters from someone calling themselves The Watcher. According to the article in The Cut, the first letter sent to them read: "Dearest new neighbor at 657 Boulevard, allow me to welcome you to the neighborhood."
As the couple received more letters, the tone of The Watcher's messages became more intimidating as they berated Derek and Maria for making changes in the house and even threatened to kidnap their children.
The Watcher comes under Murphy's five-year deal with Netflix that he signed in 2018, receiving $300 million (almost P18 billion).
According to Deadline, Dahmer earlier became Netflix's second most popular English-language series of all time after gaining 701.37 million hours of viewing in just over two weeks, surpassed only by the fourth season of the sci-fi horror Stranger Things.
Watch the trailer for The Watcher here: