Mayor Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys) has big aspirations for Widows Bay as a summer tourist destination.
Mayor Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys) has big aspirations for Widows Bay as a summer tourist destination.
Tom’s rebellious teenage son, Evan (Kingston Rumi Southwick), never leaves the island.
Tom’s rebellious teenage son, Evan (Kingston Rumi Southwick), never leaves the island.
Tom and Vic (Stephen Root) eventually become allies as supernatural events indicate an awakening island curse.
Tom and Vic (Stephen Root) eventually become allies as supernatural events indicate an awakening island curse.
Tom’s rebellious teenage son, Evan (Kingston Rumi Southwick), never leaves the island.
Tom and Vic (Stephen Root) eventually become allies as supernatural events indicate an awakening island curse.
Tom’s assistant, Patricia (Kate O’Flynn) tries to throw a “Sunset Cocktail” to boost her social status.
Dale (Jeff Hiller) sits in as DJ
Local Sheriff Bechir Clemons (Kevin Carroll) is concerned by strange occurrences.
Rosemary (Dale Dickey) may have some important information about the island.
Toad the Shaman (Chris Fleming), a town druggist, has a special local hallucinogenic mushroom to offer.
The actions of Widows Bay founder Richard Warren (Hamish Linklater) may be the source of all the mysterious events.
Apparently millions of viewers share Dippold’s weirdness. When the Patricia-centric fourth episode (“Beach Reads”) aired, viewership had tripled since its launch, and numbers continued to grow as positive word of mouth quickly spread.
The most impressive aspect of the series is its mastery of tone: a perfect balance between quirky humor and heartbreaking horror that is incredibly difficult to maintain consistently. “When I was younger I used to do all kinds of things, me and my friends would go check out an abandoned house and then run away,” Dippold said in the tone she wanted for the show. “It was almost a kind of dangerous excitement. And I love that feeling because you’re so scared, but you’re laughing so hard, and I just wanted to show that feeling on television.”
It also helps that Dippold has filled his fictional town with such well-drawn, unique characters; Even one-off characters like Toad the Shaman (Chris Fleming) feel fleshed out and fully realized. Of course, this is thanks to the show’s stellar cast, but the actors are given a lot to work with in the smart, snappy script. And the structure of the series is very well plotted: it’s somewhat monster of the week, somewhat long narrative arc. The show is warm and funny on the margins, and when the supernatural goings on it gets really scary. There is not a single wrong note in all ten episodes.
All episodes of the first season Widow’s Bay Now streaming on Apple TV. A second season is already in the works, so we’ll be seeing even more comedic horror adventures. Dippold wants the show to come back as soon as possible—and so do we. He jokingly told Deadline that S2 “will be about how everything is great on the island and there’s nothing to worry about.” Don’t you believe it?
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