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Have you heard? Widow's Bay is the next Martha's Vineyard and definitely not cursed. At least, that's what the Mayor of this quaint island town has been telling anyone who will listen.
There is something a little odd about this sleepy haven, though. Read between the lines of the brochure and you'll pick up on stories about a mysterious fog or a man who was bit by an animal and apparently became that animal. What should we make of that time in '42 when all the train workers suddenly disappeared? Or locals indulging in a little spot of cannibalism back in the 1800s?
Still, Widow's Bay sure is charming. That's something everyone seems to agree on, whether they're visiting the fictional New England island or tuning into Apple TV's show of the same name.
There's a reason why industry stalwarts such as director Guillermo Del Toro have described Widow's Bay as "the best streaming series in a long time". Acting on his recommendation, video game legend Hideo Kojima gave it a go too before declaring, "It’s been a long time since a series pulled me in this completely." And he's not alone either.
[Note: full spoilers for Widow's Bay season 1 follow]
What lies beneath
Like so many of the best Apple TV shows, Widow's Bay arrived with little fanfare, only to grow each week via word of mouth. Like the unnatural fog that rolls through town in episode one, Katie Dippold's show has seeped into our collective consciousness, cementing this series as one of the year's best already.
Attempts to compare Widow's Bay to existing stories don't really do it justice. It's Twin Peaks, but funny? It's Parks and Recreation, but scary?
Eerie supernatural occurrences do evoke the small-town horrors of David Lynch's masterpiece and it's worth noting the show did actually start out as a spec script that helped Dippold get a job on Parks and Rec (the legendary sitcom which Dippold was writing for at the time). Still, Widow's Bay is very much its own thing, transcending the various influences in its DNA, from The Office to The X-Files, to become something entirely special in its own right.
Much of that is down to the show's unique tonal balance, which you might have picked up on already in those aforementioned comparisons.
Mayor Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys) is in denial when it comes to the paranormal, so desperate he is to boost local tourism and make Widow's Bay a place worth visiting. Never mind the ghostly killer clown or the Boogeyman serial killer who lurk in this town's darkest corners.
Loftis doesn't believe in any of it, not at first, but when a sea hag sits on his face at home one night, it's suddenly hard not to. How this scene unnerves as much as it amuses is a testament to the show at large (as is the decision to not drag out Tom's disbelief). Rather than tiptoe into the horror or throw some laughs in to break up the tension, Widow's Bay fully embraces both worlds, avoiding what could be spoofery in favour of a story that truly blends the two.
Frightfully funny
Widow's Bay is simultaneously the funniest and scariest show of the year, which is no easy feat. Most newcomers struggle to nail one, but Dippold and her team have knocked it out of the park on both fronts – and the secret to that success is how these two approaches work in tandem.
Much has been made of how laughing and crying are two sides of the same coin, how comedy and horror are both defined by timing. What makes Widow's Bay stand out, though, is how it treats them both as equally important. Punchlines and one-liners build and relieve tension throughout while grounding the show's genuinely quite horrific scares in a reality that's uncomfortably similar to our own.
Like the unnatural fog that rolls through town in episode one, Katie Dippold's show has seeped into our collective consciousness, cementing this series as one of the year's best already.
For example, when Tom's colleague Rosemary (Dale Dickey) charts how the island's curse has worked its way through a local bloodline, hearing her drolly tick off "Dead baby. Dead baby. Lesbian," is peak comedy, even if the words themselves might suggest otherwise.
It's as if the mundane oddballs who populate offices in the real world and sitcoms alike have just been dumped into a Stephen King novel, nonchalantly addressing the supernatural like they might explain planning permits or who brought biscuits into the staff room. Never mind the unknowable evil that's been hidden in the basement. There is a literal demonic force that exists right below the feet of these municipal office workers, which speaks to how embedded the supernatural is in the very foundations of Widow's Bay.
Taken at face value, each of these supernatural threats is actually quite familiar, deliberately so, for the writers to subvert these horrors, building lore that scaffolds and subverts the typical monster-of-the-week format that was once so familiar to TV viewers.
Island strife
Sitcom tropes are also utilised, such as in episode four when Patricia (Kate O'Flynn) throws a party to become more popular. So far, so standard, but the monstrous turns this takes hit harder precisely because of how the format lulls us in with awkwardness and heartbreak. What was once a simple sitcom premise suddenly becomes a vehicle for unsettling folk horror that also digs into something real. Namely, Patricia's desperate need to be understood and accepted.
In a lesser show, Patricia's weirdo assistant would be sidelined or reduced to the occasional one-liner. Instead, Widow's Bay puts her front and center, transforming the underdog into a TV icon who ends up leading two of the best episodes aired in any show this year.
The second of the two, where Patricia is chased by the literal Boogeyman that's haunted her for decades, also brings with it one of the funniest moments of the year. "Oh, she's the worst," Patricia deadpans right after she tases a high-school bully from yesteryear. It's moments like this that confirm O'Flynn to be a breakout star worth rooting for, and the same could be said for pretty much anyone else in the supporting cast.
Rosemary, Wyck (Stephen Root), Ruth (K Callan)... each is more eccentric than the last, yet Widow's Bay never punches down with its humour. Instead, the unique strangeness of each character is fully embraced, just as we embrace the no-holds-barred performances that bring them to life.
Chief among them is Matthew Rhys, The Americans star whose expressions are a force unto themselves in this show. With each successive horror that Loftis faces, Rhys finds new facial configurations hitherto unseen on a human visage before. The true haunting on this show resides in the looks that he gives each episode rather than Widow's Bay itself.
That’s why each tonal shift works as well as it does: because of the people at this show's heart, be it the actors or seasoned directors like Hiro Murai who establish a visual style distinct to this series, one that can handle whatever the writers' room throws their way. Even the production design hides countless jokes, little Easter eggs just as clever as they are creepy.
In short, there's plenty to see and do for the curious-minded in Widow's Bay. And with that early season two renewal, there's plenty more to come as well, especially given how the finale reshapes everything moving forward.
So what are you waiting for? Head on down to the next Martha's Vineyard – which is definitely not cursed – for a grand old time. You'll never want to leave. You know, just like the townsfolk who were born there.
Widow's Bay is streaming now on Apple TV. When you've caught up with that, check out our guide to the 25 best shows on Apple TV for more great streaming.
