It’s hard to watch Apple TV’s new horror comedy series Widow’s Bay and not think about 2016’s Ghostbusters. Maybe that’s not true for everyone (it was hard for me), but once you realize that the TV series comes from showrunner Katie Dippold, who wrote the much-lumped-on-but-actually-excellent feature, you get the sense that Widow’s Bay is at least in part revenge for the unfair shake that movie got. But whatever the genesis of Widow’s Bay, if it is a revenge bod show? Then revenge tastes so sweet, because the new 10-episode series (all 10 were provided for critics) is one of the most innovative mixes of horror and comedy seen on any screen, big or small, in a long time.
Just to belabour the opening point a little more, beyond Dippold there are other elements from Ghostbusters, like the very funny Neil Casey, who wrote on the show and appears as a hilariously caustic innkeeper on the small island town of the title. In fact, IMdB shows 46 crossovers between the two productions, including Dippold. But while Ghostbusters was broad and sketch comedy inspired, Widow’s Bay leans much farther into pure horror, while sneaking in moments of pure, unhinged comedy in the most surprising of ways.
The plot focuses on the town’s mayor, Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys), who grew up off the island, stumbled into being mayor, and hopes to turn the place into the next Martha’s Vineyard. He’s backed up in the mayor’s office by Patricia (Kate O’Flynn), the show’s comedic revelation (more on her in a second), and opposed by Wyck (Stephen Root), a local sailor who believes the island is cursed and that they need to keep tourists away for their own safety. Guess who is right, and who is very, very wrong?
Over the course of the episodes, Dippold expertly keeps the jokes and the scares flowing, with each half hour(ish) focusing on its own horror trope – killer clowns haunting crawlspaces, sea hags dragging men back to the ocean, even a near-immortal slasher – while pushing forward the overarching plot of why the island is cursed, and what they can do to try and reverse that curse. The season also effortlessly moves forward through plot, never dragging out the mysteries too long, or letting the audience get ahead of the action. Just when you start to feel like you have a handle on what the show is, it shakes things up by flipping the character dynamics, throwing in a jaw-dropping twist, or changing the setting and cast entirely.
But all that wouldn’t work if the main characters weren’t so expertly drawn. Rhys proves once again he can do anything, flipping from his terrifying snake-like billionaire on Netflix’s The Beast in Me, to a stumbly nebbish who desperately wants to please everyone while also grating on everyone’s nerves. Rhys broadly plays to the physical comedy of his character (one sequence finds him trapped for an extended period under a large painting, for example), while also playing the poignant pathos of a single father desperately trying to make a better life for his son, Evan (Kingston Rumi Southwick, whose clipped line delivery belies a sneakily wry performance).
Root is always excellent in everything, and crusty sailor is the sort of character he can play in his sleep. But Wyck also gets notes of pathos, particularly late in the season. And this is going to sound mildly insane to say about the guy probably best known for mumbling “give me my red stapler,” but Root has never been hotter than he has been on this show. Perhaps it’s Wyck’s command of the situation, or the fact that he occasionally is allowed to play the action hero in the series. But hey: on Widow’s Bay, Root can get it.
Objectification of Stephen Root aside, as mentioned earlier the real revelation of Widow’s Bay is O’Flynn. While this is far from her first role (she’s appeared in theater for decades, and recently on Prime Video’s My Lady Jane among other TV and film performances), Patricia is the stand-out in every scene, and that’s all down to how O’Flynn plays her. The actress stalks around the small town with a lurch in her step, shoulders forward and head down because she’s been shunned by everyone for – according to them – lying about being attacked by a masked killer called The Boogeyman when she was a kid. At the same time, O’Flynn delivers lines with an eye roll and a sigh; she might look like a large child loping around, but she knows who she is and what she wants. And Patricia is the center of the funniest moments and line deliveries on the show, stealing scenes from everyone from Rhys and Root, to Emmy winner Jeff Hiller (who appears in a recurring role as one of the workers in the mayor’s office) and the always excellent Toby Huss, who appears as the town’s priest.
At least part of the surprising look and feel of Widow’s Bay comes from director Hiro Murai, who tackles five of the 10 episodes. Murai worked heavily on FX’s Atlanta, as well as HBO’s Barry and FX/Hulu’s The Bear, which is likely why Widow’s Bay feels more like an FX series than one on Apple TV (inasmuch as Apple TV has a comedy feel). Those shows, too, had their moments of horror mixed in with the comedy, so while Widow’s Bay doesn’t ape the tone or the comedic rhythm of any of the series previously mentioned, Murai was likely able to help balance those elements, alongside other directors like X’s Ti West and The Chair Company’s Andrew DeYoung, other properties that share Widow’s Bay’s unique blend of scares and laughs.
But ultimately it’s unfair to compare Widow’s Bay to any of those, because the comedy is very much Dippold’s own. In fact, it’s probably unfair to bring up Ghostbusters, too, as what Dippold has created here is no reboot. It’s fresh, unique, laugh-out-loud funny, and drowning in dread, using the language of horror and the rhythms of comedy to deal with bigger themes of parenting and loss.
If that sounds morose… Well, occasionally it is. But for every dramatic moment expertly executed by the cast, it’s balanced out with a masterful moment of horror or skillfully silly line reading. Relentlessly entertaining, completely engrossing, Widow’s Bay may not be the next Martha’s Vineyard, but it is your next TV obsession. Hope you enjoy your stay.
Widow’s Bay premieres with two episodes on Apple TV on April 29, 2026.
Widow’s Bay Premiere Dates And Episode Guide:
New episodes of Widow’s Bay technically premiere Wednesdays on Apple TV, though given time zones in the United States new episodes will hit the service at 9pm ET / 6pm PT on Tuesdays. We’ve listed the Wednesday dates below, just for posterity.
Here’s what we expect from the full list of episodes in Widow’s Bay, with premiere dates.
- Wednesday, April 29, 2026: Widow’s Bay, Episode 1: “Welcome to Widow’s Bay!”
- Wednesday, April 29, 2026: Widow’s Bay, Episode 2: “Lodging”
- Wednesday, May 6, 2026: Widow’s Bay, Episode 3: “The Inaugural Swim”
- Wednesday, May 13, 2026: Widow’s Bay, Episode 4: “Beach Reads”
- Wednesday, May 20, 2026: Widow’s Bay, Episode 5: “What to Expect on Your Trip”
- Wednesday, May 27, 2026: Widow’s Bay, Episode 6: “Our History”
- Wednesday, May 27, 2026: Widow’s Bay, Episode 7: “Seasickness”
- Wednesday, June 3, 2026: Widow’s Bay, Episode 8: “Your Baggage”
- Wednesday, June 10, 2026: Widow’s Bay, Episode 9: “Emergency Shelter”
- Wednesday, June 17, 2026: Widow’s Bay, Episode 10: “We Hope You Enjoyed Your Time!” *Season Finale*
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