Ryan Murphy says he offered to write 'The Watcher' for free because he 'deeply related' to the story behind Netflix series

• Ryan Murphy was willing to write "The Watcher" for free after discovering the rights had been sold.
• The showrunner told The Hollywood Reporter that he felt a connection to the story.

Ryan Murphy was willing to work on "The Watcher" free of charge after discovering the rights to the story had been sold because he felt a "personal" connection to the new Netflix true-crime drama.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Murphy said that after coming across the 2018 New York Magazine story about how mysterious and threatening letters from an anonymous stalker drove a family out of their dream home, he just knew he had to bring it to the small screen.

"I instantly thought of my own family and I think that idea of how we're living in a world now where everybody all over the world, I guess, seems under attack in some way and that idea of, 'How do I keep my family safe?' was something I was instantly motivated by," he said.

Murphy's connection to the story was so strong that when he discovered the rights had already been sold, he offered his services as showrunner and producer for nothing in return.

Fortunately for him, it was Netflix — with which he signed a $300 million deal in 2018 — that had acquired the rights after a bidding war with Universal, Warner Bros., Amazon Studios, and Paramount.

As a result, Murphy didn't have much difficulty getting involved in the production, which he said was initially developed by his friend, Eric Newman.

Murphy called the "Narcos" showrunner and shared how much of a fan he was of the story, convincing him to pass on the project. Newman is credited as an executive producer on the series.

"I said, 'I'm such a fan of this piece and I'm such a fan of this genre that I will write this for free; just let me write it.' And he said OK. And so that's how I got involved," he explained. "I got involved as a fan, just because I was very into the story and I deeply related. It was personal, I think it was personal to Ian Brennan, who cocreated it with me, as well."

The seven-part drama, which is available to stream on Netflix now, stars Naomi Watts and Bobby Cannavale as fictionalized versions of the real-life couple at the center of the eerie tale, Maria and Derek Broaddus. The real couple says they have no plans to tune in.