The Watchful Eye Cast: Meet the Characters and Who Plays Who in Freeform's New Drama Thriller

Dynasties, secrets, haunted historic apartment buildings… Freeform's new drama series The Watchful Eye has it all. This is a show for fans of Only Murders in the Building, The White Lotus, and The Haunting of Bly Manor — one with twists around every corner.

The Watchful Eye centers on the The Greybourne, a storied Manhattan apartment building with more than its fair share of secrets. Early in the series, we watch as a woman dies by suicide at the hotel, a woman soon revealed to be Ms. Ward: late wife of Matthew Ward and mother to young Jasper, who now needs a nanny. Enter Elena Santos, a twenty something young woman who has come to apply for the gig. But her motivations might be as tangled and confusing as the inhabitants of The Greybourne, all of who seem to be hiding valuable information for their own aims.

The first two episodes of The Watchful Eye premiered on Freeform on Monday, Jan. 30, and if you've already tuned in, you might recognize some of the stacked cast of character actors, including Amy Acker (Angel, The Gifted) and the iconic Kelly Bishop, who played the Gilmore matriarch on Gilmore Girls. Others might be fresher faces to you, such as series star Mariel Molino, who plays Elena.

Below, meet The Watchful Eye cast and learn all about Freeform's new drama thriller.

Mariel Molino as Elena Santos

Mariel Molino plays Elena Santos, the central figure and plot catalyst in The Watchful Eye. She's a young nanny who seems to be going through financial hardship; she gets along immediately with Jasper, winning him over amidst his grief at his mother's death. She's also won over his father Matthew — though Matthew's sister-in-law Tori Ayres might not be so easily charmed…

“Elena is a woman with a complicated past who is trying to navigate the real world as she's thrown into this affluent society, where everything is not as it seems,” Mariel tells Teen Vogue. “She's trying to do the best with the tools she has. But yes, she has an objective. She might do some shady things to get there.”

Before The Watchful Eye, Mariel, who is Mexican American and grew up in San Diego, acted in a number of telenovelas, including Papis muy padres, and Mexican thrillers such as La Negociadora. She also starred in the 2022 series Promised Land.

Amy Acker as Tory Ayres

From the moment Tory Ayres steps on screen, you kind of dislike her — that's Amy Acker's power, creating a character who is quite venomous and having a good time being that way.

“Gosh, she's such a fun character to play,” Acker tells Teen Vogue. “She's got so many issues and she is super protective of her family, and also paranoid that everyone's wanting what she has and wanting to be her. She's also this ultra perfectionist who doesn't want anyone to see any flaws in her, and yet they do.” Meanwhile, she's also got an “evil stepmother vibe” toward her stepchildren Bennett and Darcy. “It goes to full Disney level at some points.”

You'll likely recognize Acker from her starring early-career roles on Angel and The Gifted, but the Texan also had a number of guest roles on shows as varied as Grey's Anatomy, Suits, Wishbone, and 911 Lone Star.

Kelly Bishop as Ms. Ivey

Kelly Bishop needs no introduction, but she played the iconic Emily Gilmore in Gilmore Girls, delivering one-liners so cutting and quick as to give you whiplash. More recently, she's acted in Halston, The Marvelous Ms. Maisel, and now, The Watchful Eye as she continues her storied career.

In The Watchful Eye, she plays Ms. Ivey, one of the longest Greybourne residents and by far the most knowledgeable about everyone in the hotel's comings and goings. It doesn't take long for her to meet Elena; she intervenes in an argument between Elena and Tory and lies to bolster Elena's side, saving her job. In return, Ms. Ivey wants her services to gather intel on Matthew and the Wards — she hypothesizes that Ms. Ward didn't die by suicide, but rather that Matthew killed her.

Warren Christie as Matthew Ward

Warren Christie's Matthew is an architect who made his own way in the world until he married into a powerful, wealthy family through his late wife. In the aftermath of her death, he's mysterious and grieving when Elena comes into his life, but is everything as it appears?

“He doesn't come from this world, but he has been entrenched in it for a little while,” Christie tells Teen Vogue. “What's really done well in this specifically is Elena is the eyes into this world. We talk about the haves and the have nots. She's coming from a different place, so she gets to bring the viewer in and be a fly on the wall and watch these things and watch these people. We love watching things, especially things we don't understand, like the uber rich, and the powerful. We want to know what's going on. But then each of these characters, there's so much duality to them, and you just don't know what someone's motive is and their agenda is.”

Warren Christie, who was born in Belfast, Ireland, is another familiar face — you might've seen him in Girlfriends Guide to Divorce, Chicago Fire, or Supernatural.

Lex Lumpkin as Elliott Schwartz 

Lex Lumpkin's Elliott is one of the first people Elena meets who feels more like a peer. He's a teen living at the Greybourne, with a secret hideout in the workers' quarters, where Elena sleeps. He's also an early source of gossip and intrigue about the apartment building's origins.

“I'd say Elliot, he's in his own lane,” Lex tells Teen Vogue. “He's chilling. He is vigilant. He does watch and he knows more than he lets on. But he's really just a cool kid and he's smart. Though he does seem to know a lot and he's quick on his feet, that's only until it comes to girls he likes. Elena gives him some sisterly advice.” The two begin to build that sibling bond, and Elliott seems like a rare safe place for Elena, alongside her fellow nanny Ginny Welles.

The Watchful Eye is his second major TV project, following his breakout on Nickelodeon's All That reboot. “I was ready to do something new, because all my career I'd done comedy and sketch comedy,” he shares. “So I really wanted to step out of the box and show more emotional depth as an actor.”

Aliyah Royale as Ginny Welles

Maryland native Aliyah Royale plays Ginny Welles, a rare bright spot in the dark world of the Greybourne. “Ginny is a style icon. She's fun. She's flirty,” Aliyah tells Teen Vogue. “I think she's the best friend that everyone needs, because she's real and she's genuine. She'll tell you like it is. But she can also help you relax, help you not take life too seriously.”

The character appears as sort of a jump scare near the end of the pilot, as it's revealed that who Elena thought was Ginny was actually seemingly a ghostly apparition. Aliyah, however, hints that the Ginny and Elena will bond as the show goes on. “Hopefully it turns into something beautiful and a sisterhood, because god I love a sisterhood.”

Before The Watchful Eye, Aliyah starred in The Walking Dead spinoff, The World Beyond, and has had a slew of smaller roles. “After doing The Walking Dead for two seasons, I knew that I wanted a job in which I could wear nail polish. A job in which I could not have to be covered in fake sweat and dirt on days end,” Aliyah jokes. “I got lucky with Ginny, because she's definitely ... I'm going to say it, the most stylish character. My favorite thing about her is that I wear, at least for the first half of the season, I wear mismatched earrings. I'm glad I got to be cute for a job. There's not a lot of room for cute in the apocalypse."

Jon Ecker as Scott Macedo

Jon Ecker's Scott Macedo is one of the most mysterious characters in The Watchful Eye. He's first revealed to us as Elena's boyfriend, and later, as someone she's in cahoots with to find the priceless ruby hidden in the building. But by the end of the pilot, Scott's layers only continue to be peeled back: he's also a cop in the NYPD, and his motivations are seemingly all over the place.

“He's trying to move up in life, trying to even the playing field a little bit, get some vengeance on some people, and trying to use his girlfriend to help do that,” Ecker tells Teen Vogue.

Ecker is an experienced actor who grew up in Texas and can be seen in Firefly Lane, Chicago Fire, and the Mexican version of Gossip Girl.

Henry Joseph Samiri as Jasper Ward

Jasper Ward is a young boy grieving the death of his mother, and he's described in the official synopsis as “an intelligent but withdrawn child.” Can Elena help break him out of his shell and help him process his grief?

Though Henry Joseph Samiri is only nine years old, he's already had several roles as a child actor, in American Horror Story, The Bold and the Beautiful, and Hacks.

Grace Kaufman and Megan Best as Bennet and Darcy Ayres

Bennet and Darcy — so named for the Jane Austen characters — are Tory Ayres's stepdaughters who live in the hotel and are up to their own brands of mischief and coming of age plots. Darcy might even have a budding romance with Elliott (I think they both like each other, but there are some outside forces that are separating them a little bit," Lex shares with Teen Vogue).

You might recognize this pair from their various previous roles each. Grace acted in 2022's The Sky Is Everywhere and has had numerous voice acting roles including in Doc McStuffins. Megan, meanwhile, has been in Bring It On: Cheer or Die,  and she'll also be in the forthcoming horror film Time Cut with Antonia Gentry and Madison Bailey.

The Watchful Eye is now streaming on Freeform and Hulu with new episodes airing on Mondays at 10 p.m. ET.