‘The Watcher’ Was Almost Filmed at 657 Boulevard — Here’s Where It Was Filmed Instead — Plus Comparison Photos

Netflix dropped another true crime hit with The Watcher, and it was almost filmed in the original house at 657 Boulevard in Westfield, New Jersey. The original story of the Brannock family (names changed by request) began in 2014 when they purchased their dream home for 1.35 million dollars. However, instead of moving into Suburban bliss, the family found themselves the victim of threatening letters. Find out where The Watcher was filmed and look at the original house compared to the Netflix series portrayal. 

One Hollywood producer offered to purchase the original watcher house

In 2018, numerous film and TV producers contacted The Watcher original family to purchase the rights to the article featuring their story about the letters. One specific horror producer wanted to buy 657 Boulevard to use the house as the setting for their film. The Cut did not report how much the offer for the home was. But, the Broaduses had no desire to see their story turned into a film or TV series. They didn’t want to relive the experience all over again. 

However, they opted to sell to Netflix, citing their experience with a Lifetime movie released without permission. In 2016, Lifetime released The Watcher, which cited letters from “The Raven,” but it had enough artistic liberties that the Broadus family couldn’t stop it from hitting Hollywood. By choosing Netflix for the story, they had at least some control over what came to the screen. They only had two requests of the producers — change their names and make the family look nothing like them. The Broaduses even suggested that Netflix burn the house down in the end.

Derek Broaddus does not plan to view The Watcher. He remarked that the trailer caused him enough stress. 

Where was ‘The Watcher’ filmed?

Since the family did not sell the original watcher home to the streaming giant, the producers chose a more luxurious house for filming — 1 Warriston Lane in Rye, New York. According to Sotheby’s International Realty, the fictional home boasts over 10,000 square feet of living space. There are four full floors which come furnished. The 6-bedroom house also has a ten-seat movie theater, indoor basketball court, full gym, a 3-car garage with an electric charging station, and six fireplaces. 

The original house was built in 1905, but the fictional Netflix home in The Watcher is much newer — built in 2016. The swimming pool is 70 feet long and prominently featured in the series. However, 657 Boulevard did not have a pool at all. According to Zillow, 1 Warriston Lane sold for $4.15 million in 2014, but the original New Jersey home sold for only $1.35 million.

The original house from ‘The Watcher’ story

The Broadus family home, where they received letters from the watcher, is considerably smaller than the Netflix portrayal. The Westfield house is half the size of the New York property.

Both houses have six bedrooms and multiple fireplaces. However, the differences are abundant. The 657 Boulevard home sits on less than a half acre of property, but the fictional house has 1.25 acres. The Netflix house has three more bathrooms than the real property. One interesting thing to note is that there’s no mention of a dumbwaiter in either home. 

All seven episodes of The Watcher are available for streaming on Netflix.