Ryan Murphy's true-crime thriller The Watcher has taken the number one spot on Netflix's most-watched charts, dethroning the creator's own Dahmer miniseries.
Per Deadline, The Watcher toppled Dahmer's 21-day stint at the top on Oct. 14, knocking it down to the #2 spot. Based on a 2018 article published in The Cut, The Watcher dramatizes the true story of a family who moved into their dream home only to be harassed by a stalker. It features a star-studded cast including Naomi Watts, Bobby Cavendale, Mia Farrow and the recent Emmy awardee Jennifer Coolidge. Elsewhere on the charts, Mike Flanagan's new horror anthology series The Midnight Club took the #3 spot, long-running crime thriller The Blacklist landed at #4 and Conversations With A Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes sat at #5, most likely buoyed by Dahmer's popularity.
Dahmer has been a massive hit for Netflix this year, racking up over 701 million hours of view time since its September launch and becoming the streamer's second-biggest English-language series of all time, just behind Stranger Things Season 4. The significant viewership figures come despite limited marketing by Netflix before Dahmer's release, with the series seeing only a single trailer in the weeks before its launch. However, the show received plenty of word-of-mouth promotion due to its numerous disturbing scenes depicting Dahmer's gruesome crimes, some of which caused much conversation online.
Netflix's Dahmer Adaptation
Prior to the release of Dahmer, the families of Jeffrey Dahmer's victims protested some scenes in the show, including one which recreates the expressive outburst made by Errol Lindsey's sister during Dahmer's trial. Crew members have also made accusations of mistreatment on set and decried Dahmer's lack of mental health coordinators, with one employee claiming she feared she had developed PTSD from the poor treatment. Some viewers leveled criticism at the show for seemingly trying to explain the reasons behind Dahmer's violent acts as opposed to focusing on the stories of his victims.
Dahmer is a biographical drama that documents the crimes of infamous serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, played by frequent Ryan Murphy collaborator Evan Peters. The show spans Dahmer's life, beginning with his unconventional childhood of cutting up dead animals, the murder of over 15 men, and ending with his capture, trial and eventual incarceration.
Both Dahmer and The Watcher are available to stream now on Netflix.
Source: Deadline