Review: Widow’s Bay is a boldly original take on comedic horror

Mayor Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys) has big aspirations for Widow’s Bay as a summer tourist destination.

Mayor Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys) has big aspirations for Widow’s Bay as a summer tourist destination.

Tom’s rebellious teenaged son, Evan (Kingston Rumi Southwick) has never left the island.

Tom’s rebellious teenaged son, Evan (Kingston Rumi Southwick) has never left the island.

Tom and Wyck (Stephen Root) eventually become allies as supernatural happenings hint at an awakening island curse.

Tom and Wyck (Stephen Root) eventually become allies as supernatural happenings hint at an awakening island curse.

Tom’s rebellious teenaged son, Evan (Kingston Rumi Southwick) has never left the island.

Tom and Wyck (Stephen Root) eventually become allies as supernatural happenings hint at an awakening island curse.

Tom’s assistant, Patricia (Kate O’Flynn) tries to throw a “sunset cocktails” shindig to boost her social status.

Dale (Jeff Hiller) sits in as DJ

Local sheriff Bechir Clemmons (Kevin Carroll) is increasingly alarmed at the odd occurrences.

Rosemary (Dale Dickey) might hold some key information about the island.

Todd the Shaman (Chris Fleming), a town drug dealer, has a particular local hallucinogenic mushroom to offer.

A flashback to Widow’s Bay founder Richard Warren’s (Hamish Linklater) actions might be the source of all the mysterious happenings.

Clearly millions of viewers share Dippold’s strangeness. By the time the Patricia-centric fourth episode (“Beach Reads”) aired, viewership numbers had tripled since the launch, and those numbers have kept growing as positive word of mouth rapidly spread.

The most impressive aspect of the series is its mastery of tone: a perfect balance between quirky humor and spine-tingling horror that is incredibly difficult to consistently maintain. “I used to get into all sorts of antics when I was young, me and my friends going to check out the abandoned house and then running off,” said Dippold of the tone she wanted for the show. “It was almost kind of a dangerous excitement. And I just love that feeling because you’re so scared, but you’re laughing so hard, and I just wanted to get that feeling on television.”

It also helps that Dippold has populated her fictional town with such well-drawn, unique characters; even one-off side characters, like Todd the Shaman (Chris Fleming) feel fleshed out and fully realized. That’s thanks to the show’s terrific cast, of course, but the actors are given a lot to work with in the smart, snappy scripts. And the series’ structure is very well plotted: it’s part monster of the week, part longer narrative arc. The show is warm and funny in the margins, and genuinely scary when the supernatural antics ramp up. There’s not a single false note across all ten episodes.

All episodes of the first season of Widow’s Bay are now streaming on Apple TV. A second season is already in the works so we’ll be getting even more comically horrific adventures. Dippold wants the show to come back as soon as possible—and so do we. She 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.