The Watchful Eye is an American drama mystery thriller television series created by Julie Durk that aired from January 30 to March 27, 2023, on Freeform. In June 2023, the series was cancelled after one season.
In addition, Elyse Maloway co-stars as Jocelyn Morrow, a nanny who worked for Iris and Alistair Greybourne.
On September 13, 2021, Freeform gave the series a pilot order. On June 30, 2022, The Watchful Eye was picked up to series by Freeform. The series is created by Julie Durk and executive produced by Emily Fox, Ryan Seacrest, Nina Wass, Andrea Shay, and Jeffrey Reiner. Fox also serves as the showrunner. Reiner directed the pilot. Ryan Seacrest Productions and ABC Signature are producing the series. On July 15, 2022, René G. Boscio was hired as the composer for the series. On June 30, 2023, Freeform cancelled the series after one season.
Upon the pilot order announcement, Andrea Londo, Warren Christie, Kelly Bishop, Amy Acker, Jon Ecker, Lex Lumpkin, Henry Joseph Samiri, and Aliyah Royale were cast to star. On June 30, 2022, it was reported that Mariel Molino replaced Londo in the lead role who was cast in the pilot.
Filming for the series began April 26, 2022 and concluded on September 1, 2022, in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.
The Watchful Eye premiered on Freeform on January 30, 2023, with two new episodes. It also simulcasted the two-episode premiere on ABC Spark in Canada the same day. The series later became available to stream on Hulu. The series was removed on Hulu on July 1, 2023.
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 67% approval rating with an average rating of 5.5/10, based on 6 critic reviews. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 57 out of 100 based on 4 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Judy Berman of Time stated, "The Watchful Eye has no highbrow aspirations. It's just a solidly built thriller, with a smartly assembled cast of characters and well-executed plot beats, whose brisk pace guarantees a consistently exhilarating watch. At a time when so many shows reach for prestige signifiers that exceed their grasp, that lack of pretense is as refreshing as it is fun." Anna Govert of Paste gave the show a grade of 8.4 out of 10, writing, "With a compelling cast of characters and an unending swath of secrets to uncover, The Watchful Eye is instantly addictive, and has all the potential to become your next TV obsession. As the walls begin to close in around Elena, itThe Watchful Eye absolutely worth keeping an eye out for."
The series won Best Drama/Action Poster for a TV/Streaming Series at the 2023 Golden Trailer Awards.