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If you binged the new Netflix series The Watcher over the weekend, you’re not alone. A real-life horror story involving a family in New Jersey inspired the series, but it’s important to note showrunners added many aspects of the show for dramatic effect. However, Derek and Marie Broaddus received creepy letters from an anonymous person that became more ominous with each letter. So, where is the Broaddus family today? Do they live at 657 Boulevard in Westfield, New Jersey?

Naomi Watts and Bobby Cannavale play Dean and Nora Brannock in 'The Watcher' are seen here sitting at a table as Noma Dumezweni speaks in a production still. They're characters are based on the Broaddus family.
Naomi Watts and Bobby Cannavale play characters based on the Broaddus family in ‘The Watcher.’ | Cr. Eric Liebowitz/Netflix © 2022

An anonymous source only known as ‘The Watcher’ sent increasingly frightening letters to the Broaddus family

For a quick refresher, the Broaddus family bought the house at 657 Boulevard in 2014. Maria grew up in Westfield. However, she and Derek planned some renovations for the home before moving into it. One day when Derek checked the mail, he found a handwritten letter signed by The Watcher. The person welcomed the family to the neighborhood, and while that sounds like a nice neighborly thing to do, the letters became increasingly creepy. The person mentioned the Broaddus family children and referred to them as “young blood” and said the house allowed them “to watch you and track you as you move through the house.”

The Broaddus family contacted authorities, but no one ever discovered the identity of the person writing the letters. Derek and Maria never moved into the home with their children, and after years of trying to sell the house, they managed to do so at a significant financial loss in 2019.

Where is the Broaddus family today?

While the Broaddus family never moved into 657 Boulevard, they did stay in Westfield, New Jersey. According to The Cut, the family lives relatively close to the house despite everything they went through. As Derek and Maria tried everything to get to the bottom of the mystery, many people believe they sent the letters to themselves. They also still deal with the lingering effects of the entire incident.

The Cut writes, “The Broadduses try to avoid thinking or talking about The Watcher, which only adds stress. They prefer to move on and have turned down offers to go on just about every television network and declined interest from documentarians hoping to try and solve the case, not wanting to put their lives on-camera.”

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The family had two requests about the Netflix series

Neither Derek nor Maria wanted to have the worst years of their life adapted into a television series for people to binge-watch. Nonetheless, that’s what happened. Previously, Lifetime made a movie loosely inspired by the events, but they used enough creative license that the Broaddus family couldn’t halt the production or release.

However, when they finally sold the rights to their story, the family requested two things from Netflix regarding their version of The Watcher. They asked that Netflix change the names in the series. (Naomi Watts and Bobby Cannavale star as Nora and Dean Brannock.) Plus, they asked that the fictional family not resemble their real family at all.

All episodes of Netflix’s The Watcher are currently streaming.

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