True crime becomes a boon for Netflix: The Watcher and Monster anthology series are renewed for a second season as streaming giant predicts the shows will surpass 1 billion views in the next few weeks
- The first season of ‘Monster’ was officially titled Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, and followed the life and crimes of the infamous serial killer
- The first iteration of Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s ‘Monster’ anthology, is projected to reach 1 billion view hours in the coming weeks
- Two new installments will each focus on ‘other monstrous figures who have impacted society,’ according to Netflix
- The Watcher, based on a true story, has been renewed for a second season
- It follows a family who moves into their dream home only to begin receiving mysterious letters from someone calling themselves The Watcher
Netflix has found success in the true crime genre as the streamer announced that The Watcher will be renewed for a second season and Monster will return as an anthology series with two new installments.
The first iteration of Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s Monster anthology, titled Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, saw huge success having been watched 856.2 million hours within the first 28 days of its release. It became Netflix’s second most popular English TV season after Stranger Things.
Dahmer, which follows the life of the infamous serial killer, topped both the Netflix and Nielsen streaming charts, and is projected to reach 1 billion view hours in the coming weeks, according to Netflix.
The two new installments of the anthology will each focus on ‘other monstrous figures who have impacted society,’ but the specific crimes have not been revealed.
A second season has also been announced for The Watcher, which is based on the true story of a family in New Jersey who is harassed out of their dream home by a man who sends them mysterious letters.
It racked up more than 340 million hours watched since its release October 13 through October 30.
Premiere dates for season two of The Watcher and future episodes of Monster, have not yet been announced.
Netflix announced that The Watcher will be renewed for a second season. The series is based on the true story of a family in New Jersey who is harassed out of their dream home by a man who sends them mysterious letters
The first iteration of Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s Monster anthology, titled Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, saw huge success and became Netflix’s second most popular English TV season after Stranger Things
In a press release issued by Netflix on Monday, announced the second season of The Watcher and the continuation of the Monster anthology series.
The first season of Monster saw massive success, becoming Netflix’ second most popular English TV season ever, despite criticism from viewers and victims’ families for the way it portrayed the real-life horror story.
The renewed interest in Dahmer just before Halloween this year triggered speculation and fears for family members that people would dress up as the serial killer, donning a blonde wig, gold frame sunglasses and buy drills similar to the one used by the killer to dismember bodies.
Between 1978 and 1991, Jeffrey Dahmer murdered 17 men in Wisconsin and Ohio. He was convicted in 1992 and murdered in prison two years later at the age of 34.
Netflix describes the series as one that exposes these unconscionable crimes, centered around the underserved victims and their communities impacted by the systemic racism and institutional failures of the police that allowed one of America’s most notorious serial killers to continue his murderous spree in plain sight for over a decade.
The mother of one of Dahmer’s victims has previously said the Halloween costumes impersonating the Milwaukee serial killer are insensitive to the families of his victims.
Shirley Hughes, 85, the mother of Dahmer’s twelfth victim Tony Hughes, criticized the Netflix show for re-victimizing the family of those he killed and misrepresenting the circumstances around the death of her deaf son.
Hughes told multiple media outlets that she cannot believe the show was allowed to be made and that it pains her to see people profit from her son’s death.
She was the mother of aspiring model Tony Hughes, who was murdered aged 31 by Dahmer after they met at a gay bar in 1991.
A mugshot of Jeffrey Dahmer taken in August 1982, ten years before he was sentenced to 15 life sentences in prison
Shirley Hughes, 85, has said that she finds the new Netflix show re-traumatizing and views Dahmer-themed Halloween costumes as rubbing salt in the wound
Hughes is the mother of deaf, aspiring model Tony Hughes, who was killed by Dahmer in 1991
An entire episode of Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story focused on the murder of Tony Hughes, who was played by deaf actor Rodney Burford
Hughes told the Guardian: ‘I don’t see how they can use our names and put stuff out like that out there.’
She also challenged the show’s accuracy, saying: ‘It didn’t happen like that.’
Hughes told TMZ that it was difficult enough seeing the Netflix show but knowing that people planned to dress like her son’s killer was like salt in the wound.
While some fancy dress shops opted not to sell Dahmer paraphernalia at all, props have shown up in online stores like eBay. For sale were blonde wigs, vintage gold-framed sunglasses and even vintage drills that look like the one used by Dahmer.
Hughes told TMZ that she believed the family should be seeing some of the profits generated by her son’s death, but at a minimum eBay listings should be taken down.
Imitations of Jeffrey Dahmer’s distinctive gold-rimmed sunglasses were available online
A vintage Makita drill, similar to the one used by Dahmer to dismember his victim’s bodies, was listed for sale on eBay
In 1992, a Milwaukee judge awarded seven of Dahmer’s victim’s families $70million to acknowledge the severity of his crimes. But since Dahmer was behind bars there was no money for him to pay.
The judge at the time said: ‘It is true that it is Monopoly money in that Mr. Dahmer does not appear to have any resources.
‘But I think that it was critical to the survivors that the outrage that had been perpetrated on members of their family was appropriately appreciated by the court.’
It was then speculated that the penalties could potentially be paid for with money generated by a future book or movie.
Evan Peters starred as Dahmer in the Netflix series ‘Monster,’ with Richard Jenkins, Molly Ringwald, Michael Learned, and Niecy Nash were also part of the cast.
Between 1978 and 1991, Jeffrey Dahmer killed and dismembered no fewer than 17 men and boys, preying mostly on poor, young black men
‘Audiences can’t take their eyes off ‘Monster’ and ‘The Watcher,” said Bela Bajaria, Netflix’s head of global TV told Variety.
‘The creative team of Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan on ‘Monster’ along with Eric Newman on ‘The Watcher’ are masterful storytellers who captivated audiences all over the world. The back-to-back force of these two series is due to Ryan’s distinct original voice which created cultural sensations and we are thrilled to continue telling stories in the ‘Monster’ and ‘Watcher’ universes.’
Netflix viewers will also get another taste of another popular thriller series The Watcher as the streamer announced it was renewed for a second season.
The seven-part series stars Naomi Watts, 52, and Bobby Cannavale, 51, as a married couple who just moved into a brand new house in a New Jersey suburb, only to find themselves targeted by a stalker leaving threatening letters telling them to leave.
Netflix viewers were left in terror after watching the creepy new thriller The Watcher – and people who live near the house the show was based off of are too afraid to go near it
The brand new horror series tells the real-life story of a couple who were harassed out of their dream home (pictured) by a creepy stalker – whose identity remains a mystery to this day
Derek and Maria Broaddus purchased a home in Westfield, New Jersey, in 2014, but received four terrorizing letters from an unidentified person who threatened them and their kids (seen)
Because of the letters, the Broaddus family put the mansion back on the market, and it eventually sold again in 2019 for $959,000, and despite a long investigation, the identity of The Watcher was never discovered by police. Derek Broaddus is seen above
The Watcher is based on a true story about a couple named Derek and Maria Broaddus, who were menaced by an unidentified person after purchasing a six-bedroom home at 657 Boulevard in Westfield, New Jersey, for $1.4 million in 2014.
Between June of that year and February 2017, The Watcher sent four terrorizing notes to their home, in which he or she told them that they had been ‘watching the house for decades.’
The stalker threatened the Broaddus and their kids, writing in one harrowing note, ‘It has been years and years since the young blood ruled the hallways of the house. Have you found all of the secrets it holds yet?
‘Will the young blood play in the basement? 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.’
Because of the letters, the Broaddus family put the mansion back on the market, and it eventually sold again in 2019 for $959,000, and despite a long investigation, the identity of The Watcher was never discovered by police.
While the new owners have remained anonymous, many people who live in the town are still terrified to go near the home – with one resident revealing that people actually moved away from the area out of fears about the home’s sinister history.
‘There was always talk about the house. I’m sure people decided to move out at least out of that area,’ Ralph Bencivenga, 54, a lifelong resident who owns a pastry shop less than a mile from The Watcher house, told The New York Post recently.
‘It was kind of freaky. If you know Westfield, it’s more of a quiet town, more family oriented. When that story came out, it definitely struck people.’
Derek and Maria, who were menaced from 2014 to 2017, after purchasing a six-bedroom home at 657 Boulevard in Westfield, New Jersey. The real home is seen above
Now, their story has been retold in a Netflix show, leaving numerous people on the internet reeling in fear. Netflix announced in November that it has been renewed for a second season
The series stars Naomi Watts, Bobby Cannavale, Jennifer Coolidge, Mia Farrow, Henry Hunter Hall, Isabel Gravitt, and Luke David Blumm
‘That area where it happened is a really beautiful area. It’s not too far from schools. It was a weird situation.’
Bencivenga explained that it was hard for the Broaddus family to sell the home because ‘nobody’ wanted to go near it.
Executive produced by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, who were also behind hit shows Ratched, The Politician and Pose, the new Netflix show also stars Jennifer Coolidge, Mia Farrow, Henry Hunter Hall, Isabel Gravitt, and Luke David Blumm.
Netflix made an unexpected comeback in the third quarter of this year, following the success of shows like Stranger Things and Dahmer.
Executives at the streaming giant announced in October that the platform added 2.4million subscribers between July 1 and September 30 after two consecutive quarters losing subscribers. That is more than double what Wall Street expected.
Netflix also topped Wall Street projections with revenue of $7.9billion — up 6 percent from one year earlier.
Those earnings among to $3.10 per share, after the companies share prices fell nearly 60 percent over the year.
The report came as Netflix executives worked to revitalize its membership growth after a sudden decline in the first half of the year, when the company’s subscriber base shrunk by a whopping 1.2 million people.
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