Netflix Knows You Sickos Like True Crime, Orders More Monster And The Watcher Season 2
When cartoonist Stan Kelly posted the comic "Painful Procedural" on The Onion in the spring of 2015, he likely had no idea that his depiction of a drug-loving and television detective-hating man stalking outside of honest viewers' houses would alter Internet lingo forever. However, his ironic creation has inspired many online to view themselves proudly as sickos for various reasons, whether they enjoy David Cronenberg films or a well-scripted sex scene. Unfortunately, there are also several subsections of people who view themselves as the good type of sicko for being desensitized to horrifying true crimes, and these are the subsections that Netflix is catering to with their latest renewals.
The streamer announced that they will be ordering two new "installments" of "Monster," a true-crime anthology series whose first season centered around the crimes of Jeffrey Dahmer (Evan Peters). It also renewed the gonzo thriller "The Watcher," which centers around a bizarre series of events involving an old New Jersey home and threatening letters. Both series were overseen by mega-producer Ryan Murphy, who worked with Ian Brennan on "Monster" and Eric Newman on "The Watcher."
"Audiences can't take their eyes off 'Monster' and 'The Watcher,'" said Netflix head of global TV, Bela Bajaria. "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."
Will enough ever be enough?
That last sentence alone should send chills up your spine, and not in a good way. My personal feelings about "Monster" and its cruel sidelining of Dahmer's victims have already been documented. While I am absolutely willing to give Netflix a chance at redeeming itself for these two new installments, it is also worth repeating that true crime series such as "Monster" only exist for entertainment. The show's drawn-out torturing of Dahmer's victims was not framed to inform the viewer of what happened to these innocent lives, but to elicit a powerful reaction from them so they can keep watching. Referring to these upcoming seasons of "Monster" as a universe, a term that is synonymous with franchises like the MCU, is pretty gross.
These complaints shouldn't necessarily be levied at "The Watcher," as its bizarre tonal shifts and absurd character moments signal that very little of its real-life origins made it to the screen. Not only that but nobody involved in the actual Watcher case was brutally murdered. An increase in home security sales and the house's real neighbors getting annoyed by tourists is far less tame than fan pages and memes being made thirsting over Dahmer or mocking his victims.
It is unknown when the new seasons of "Monster" and "The Watcher" will begin production. However, Netflix reports that the former is expected to reach one billion view hours on the platform "in the coming weeks."