Widow’s Bay: A 5-Star Stay
by Jasmine Edwards
Welcome to Widow’s Bay (2026), a supernaturally plagued small town of infinitely entertaining episodes! This Apple TV original is a smart and outlandishly funny horror comedy. Together, creator Katie Dippold and director Hiro Murai created a television series which honors the horror greats while still standing firmly on its own. Widow’s Bay pays its respects to Jaws (1975), Halloween (1978), and The Shining (1980), among many other films cemented in genre canon.
Yet Widow’s Bay still manages its own clever twists, carefully constructed characters, and laugh-out-loud funny moments in between the murder and mayhem. And although it has garnered criticism for an uneven tone, the straddling of its genre lines gives it a pass in every fan’s book. Plus, not a single episode out of all 10 could be considered a “weak link,” which is a massive testament to its production value, originality, performances, and overall appeal.
The show follows a bumbling mayor who is also an outsider to the New England island town he calls home. Welsh actor Matthew Rhys, an American accent expert at this point, plays Mayor Tom Loftis with total commitment. Tom himself is pathetic, pratfalling, and executing plans in poor judgment or dangerous denial. Rhys, embodying every molecule of the protagonist, becomes both the emotional heart and audience surrogate wrapped into one as he unwillingly uncovers centuries of evil. Perhaps worse is how he must handle political bureaucracy.
Tom does not believe in curses, of course. He’s superstitious. But curses don’t stop for nonbelievers. From board game boxes labeled “TEETH” with only a pair of pliers inside, to throwaway remarks about serial killer clowns and immortal devil-dealers, Tom and his allies have to handle it all. They do so with all the expected grace of their two genres—which is to say, with no grace whatsoever. That means there’s never a dull moment, though there’s plenty of tension. Widow’s Bay is unsettling precisely due to its strange script and thematic merger, carried by characters who are a little off-kilter such as the weird kids in high school who never quite got the hang of socializing.
Brilliantly cast and conceived, Widow’s Bay features an adorably awkward, wholly endearing ensemble. While comedy often functions on the use of stereotypes for quick laughs, Widow’s Bay serves up each small town horror trope with extra sauce. The typical Final Girl is in her 40s and vaguely off-putting (in the best way possible). The city council members are visually and emotionally distinct fools to balance their own king of fools himself, AKA Mayor Loftis. The teenagers, usually one-dimensional kill-count fodder, function as so much more, as do the crotchety fisherman and the forgetful elderly woman. Misunderstandings and hilarity ensue just as often as horror takes hold, gripping viewers with tales of witches and hinting at odd cults connected to the island itself. Forget haunted house stories; let’s put this entire piece of land inside a perimeter of uncharted spookiness.
Just before the season finale, Apple TV announced Widow’s Bay has already been renewed for Season 2. Fortunately, Season 1 did not end on a hokey cliffhanger. More wisely, it teased just enough, left the right questions unanswered, and built the suspense just right. So, get on the ferry, those of you who have yet to tune in. It’s time to weather the storm. And for anyone who watched it while airing, we hope you enjoyed your stay. We’ll all be back (hopefully) soon!