The Watcher seemed like a solid idea on paper. It had the right materials: the ripped-from-The Cut true crime story set in an affluent commuter town with a preexisting sordid history. It had the right audience: worldly urbanites who have likely been strained of city life and who process their suburban ambivalence with Zillow-enabled yearning. And it had the right creative team: Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan of Glee, Ratched, and Dahmer — Monster. Combine that with the most overqualified cast assembled in one place, and you will likely have a morbid masterpiece of the streaming era.
