The Watcher season 2 delayed until 2025, but do we even really need it anyway?

Say what you will about Ryan Murphy shows, but his work generates an audience. Take the 2022 thriller series The Watcher, co-created by Ian Brennan. The series, which follows the real-life mystery of a stalker in a suburban neighborhood, stars A-listers Naomi Watts, Bobby Cannavale, and Jennifer Coolidge, and unsurprisingly did numbers on the platform.

Released in Oct. 2022, The Watcher snagged the number one spot in Netflix's Top 10 for consecutive weeks, stealing the spot previously held by Murphy and Brennan's true crime drama Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. The gripping and chilling story of a person watching a family is no doubt addicting to binge, though I personally became frustrated by the final few episodes. All in all, the show is decent, and I totally understand why it was so popular on the platform. People want quick, entertaining series to binge through in a weekend, and The Watcher is definitely that.

Netflix renewed The Watcher for a second season just weeks after the show premiered, and the decision left viewers scratching their heads. The first season ends on a pretty definitive note, wrapping up the story of the Brannock family. So what would a second season cover? Just another person stalking a different family? I don't see the need. Well, we'll be waiting a little longer to find out what Murphy and Brennan have up their sleeves as it's just been confirmed The Watcher season 2 won't come out this year.

On Feb. 1, Netflix shared their slate of remaining shows and movies for 2024, including highly-anticipated releases such as Squid Game season 2, Cobra Kai season 6, Bridgerton season 3, and others. After that announcement, Deadline reported on the Netflix shows we won't be seeing this year, like Stranger Things season 5, Wednesday season 2, One Piece season 2, and yes, The Watcher season 2.

While The Watcher season 2 has never had a confirmed release date, we initially expected it to come out in 2024 — that is, before the writers' and actors' strikes pushed back production on a long list of shows and movies across the country.

The Watcher season 2 isn't necessary

At this point, the hype for The Watcher season 2 has very much died down. It's been over a year since the first season came out and there are no questions left that viewers want answered. Now, we could be waiting potentially over a year from today to see the new season, which doesn't help with anticipation.

As I mentioned, the show ends on a pretty conclusive note, and to dredge up anything else from the Brannock family would be boring. The most interesting part of their story is the stalker they face at 657 Boulevard. Don't get me wrong, their experience is very frightening. But it's been covered already! What else is there to say?

Of course, it is important to note that the stalker from The Watcher is never caught, but bringing back the same stalker for a second season would be so, so repetitive.

There's always a chance that Netflix is planning to turn The Watcher into an anthology series — similar to what they're doing with Monster, which was renewed at the same time. But while the Monster series has plenty of real-life murderers in history to choose from, the list is a little slimmer when it comes to famous stalker stories. Sure, they're absolutely out there. But does anyone care enough? I have a hard time believing they have anything worth at least another seven episodes, or additional seasons after that.

I don't understand the need for The Watcher season 2, but knowing how popular Netflix is, I'm sure people will watch it regardless of what it covers. Just don't count it to be released anytime this year.