Jennifer Coolidge thinks her The Watcher character needs a "slap across the face" in season two
Jennifer Coolidge appears as the fake and cunning real estate agent Karen in The Watcher's first season
HBO’s The White Lotus is not the only buzzy series Jennifer Coolidge has on her plate at the moment. She also appears as a conniving real estate agent Karen in Ryan Murphy’s The Watcher on Netflix, which is currently the streamer’s top-performing English-language series. With the first season all wrapped up, Coolidge is looking forward to a potential second installment, and she’s got some self-inflicted revenge in mind.
“I think Karen needs a good slap across the face. I think Karen needs to be punished,” Coolidge said at a press event over the weekend, per Entertainment Weekly.
Coolidge’s Karen swoops in as a friend to Naomi Watts’ Nora, who just moved into 657 Boulevard with her husband and children, making themselves the target of The Watcher. It turns out Karen’s support comes with an ulterior motive, as she moves into the allegedly cursed home after encouraging Nora to leave the home—and her marriage.
“Nora’s gonna take care of Karen,” Watts added at the press event.
While Coolidge has built her career on ditsy, comedic roles, but with The Watcher, Murphy offered her something she’s always wanted in her career: playing the villain.
“You were very interested in the idea, that I find fascinating, of playing a darker ruthless character that you said nobody in a million years has thought to write for you,” Murphy told Coolidge. “I want you to play something like that, someone who is villainous. I think you can say Karen is villainous.”
While she certainly gets a little bit of what’s owed to her in the first season—with the death of her precious dog—it looks like Karen may have more karma coming her way (pending season two approval).
The Watcher is currently available to stream on Netflix.