With shows like Pluribus, Severance, For All Mankind, Murderbot, and more, Apple TV has become a destination for sci-fi fans. And while the streamer also has a track record in comedy (Ted Lasso, Shrinking), it hasn’t dipped too deeply into horror. That’s about to change with horror comedy Widow’s Bay.
The new series from Katie Dippold (Parks and Recreation, Ghostbusters: Answer the Call) takes place on an island with a creepy secret in its past and plenty of endearingly offbeat characters in its present. Foremost among them is Mayor Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys), who’s balancing his civic duties—and his determination to turn Widow’s Bay, located 40 miles off the New England coast, into a Martha’s Vineyard-style tourist destination—with single-parenting his restless teenage son, Evan (Kingston Rumi Southwick).
We also meet Tom’s quirky support staff at the Widow’s Bay town hall—Patricia (Kate O’Flynn), Rosemary (Dale Dickey), Dale (Jeff Hiller), and Ruth (K Callan)—as well as the gruff chief of police, Bechir (Kevin Carroll), and a cranky fisherman named Wyck (Stephen Root).
Kate O’Flynn as Patricia. © Apple TV
More faces enter the narrative as Widow’s Bay gets going, but the main character, other than Tom, is the island itself. The series kicks off with a string of unusual occurrences (including an earthquake and a thick fog that would make John Carpenter nervous), and it’s soon clear that this chunk of land and the water that surrounds it are being monitored by certain malevolent forces.
Don’t let Tom hear you say that, though; he’s cheerfully, desperately in denial, despite being well aware that Widow’s Bay has a darkness clinging to it. When the show begins, he’s beside himself with delight when a New York Times writer arrives from the mainland—and things only get better when the article, a glowing portrait of the seaside town, starts luring new visitors to the island.
Well… until things get worse, that is. As Widow’s Bay progresses through its 10-episode season, we get a peek into the community’s origin story as well as all the ways a decision made over 300 years ago is still stubbornly reverberating.
The local history museum makes it clear that this is a place where natural disasters happen to include masked maniacs, witchcraft, and cannibalism—and that’s only scratching the surface, what with the menacing creatures, haunted houses, and other macabre elements that are part of the landscape. And it’s not just an aimless parade of spooky stuff; as we soon learn, there’s a ticking clock propelling the latest outbreak of paranormal unrest, and soon even Tom must face the surreal state of reality.
Kevin Carroll as Bechir. © Apple TV
Creator and showrunner Dippold finds just the right tone for Widow’s Bay, which could easily skew too goofy but instead stays balanced between tense and deadpan. The humor is very wry and dry, but the scares aim to be genuine. That’s helped along by Hiro Murai, who directed five of the 10 episodes and helps craft a visual language that makes the island feel rustic and charming—but also cloaked in the most sinister salt spray imaginable.
If the story hasn’t already lured you in, the performances are across-the-board excellent. There are aspects of Jaws’ Chief Brody, a well-meaning outsider who doesn’t fit in with the natives, in Tom, but Rhys also brings a depth that makes us feel for this guy’s misplaced ambitions, especially when we see what’s driving them and why that’s affected his bumpy relationship with Evan. Root’s Wyck is also surprisingly layered; as we come to realize, there’s way more to him than the boozy crackpot he seems at first.
O’Flynn is a particular standout as Patricia, a social misfit who deals with her own demons throughout the season and is a frequent source of Widow’s Bay’s off-kilter comedy. The show also has a lot of fun with the characters who populate its periphery. Cult-beloved actor Hiller continues his streak of elevating everything he appears in; his reaction shots are particularly golden here.
We also get amusing moments with a staunchly inept waitress; the former high school mean girls who still have it in for Patricia; the profit-driven innkeeper willing to overlook his establishment’s obvious ghost problem; and the crusty dive bar denizens who think Tom is a fraidy-cat and aren’t afraid to call him on it.
Jeff Hiller as Dale. © Apple TV
As Widow’s Bay pries into the eldritch horrors at its core, we discover more about why this island is so unusual. It finds its way to a conclusion that leaves the door open for more—but if we just get one season on its freaky, rocky shores, we’ll still be very glad we made the trip.
Widow’s Bay premieres its first two episodes April 29 on Apple TV. It will have a mostly weekly rollout after, though episodes six and seven will also double-drop on May 27.
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