Stan’s latest thriller Watching You arrives with big expectations, being adapted from JP Pomare’s unsettling novel The Last Guests. The source material was a sharp, fast-paced story about dark secrets, hidden cameras, and a voyeuristic network that preyed on unsuspecting victims. Yet, the TV version takes a safer route, stepping away from the book’s most disturbing elements. What could have been a nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat drama unfortunately becomes a slow burn that struggles to hold attention—even with Aisha Dee delivering a compelling performance.
Story
Pomare’s book built its intensity around a married couple who discover their rental home is bugged with hidden cameras, connecting them to a sinister underground community of watchers. These dangerous voyeurs elevated the suspense and created truly shocking narrative turns.
The series, however, retools this concept. The voyeur network is stripped down, leaving a more conventional storyline centered on a smaller cast and a traditional antagonist. The plot follows Lina (Aisha Dee), a paramedic whose personal life begins unraveling after a roleplay twist with her fiancé Cain (Chai Hansen) leads to disastrous choices. A one-night stand with Dan (Josh Helman) throws her life into chaos, especially once she stumbles across a web of hidden cameras and a chilling message: “I’m watching you.”
Where the book escalated into an intense crescendo, the show meanders into soap opera territory with betrayals, shifting romances, and a murder subplot. Instead of tightening the suspense, the pacing drags, leaving viewers waiting too long for the narrative to kick back into gear.
Performances
If there’s a reason to tune in, it’s Aisha Dee. Having already impressed in Sissy and SBS’s Safe Home, Dee brings emotional nuance that makes Lina both sympathetic and unpredictable. Her performance captures the creeping sense of paranoia and fear the script struggles to generate. Chai Hansen and Josh Helman provide serviceable support, but their arcs don’t quite reach the tension the premise demands.
Behind the Scenes
Showrunners Alexei Mizin and Ryan van Dijk have reshaped Pomare’s story into something that feels more “loosely inspired by” rather than “faithfully adapted.” Their decision to scale back the voyeurism theme is puzzling, as it stripped away the unsettling uniqueness of the novel. Instead of exploring the disturbing psychology of being constantly watched, the series opts for conventional drama beats that dilute the suspense.
Visually, the show is sleek, with moody lighting and upscale settings, but the direction never really pushes the atmosphere into the chilling territory a thriller like this requires.
Final Verdict
Watching You had all the ingredients for a gripping psychological thriller, but its creative choices water down the intrigue of the original book. While Aisha Dee elevates almost every scene she’s in, the story never capitalizes on its strongest premise: the menace of an unseen audience lurking in the shadows.
For readers of The Last Guests, the omissions will feel like major missed opportunities. For newcomers, this series may come across as a stylish but sluggish drama that lacks the urgency its title promises.
Watching You, available in Australia on Stan, is worth watching only if you’re a fan of Aisha Dee, but don’t expect the dark, voyeuristic thrills of the novel.
