The following is a review of the complete first season of Apple TV’s WIDOW’S BAY — Show created by Katie Dippold.
Katie Dippold’s Widow’s Bay is a comedy-horror series that follows Tom Loftis (played by Matthew Rhys), the ambitious but nervous mayor of the titular island location, as he tries to get more tourists to visit the place that he and his troublesome son, Evan (played by Kingston Rumi Southwick), call home. Despite evidence to the contrary, Tom is skeptical of the locals who insist that the island is cursed. Chief among the local believers is Wyck Crawford (played by Stephen Root), who is a constant thorn in Loftis’ side. When Tom starts experiencing supernatural events firsthand, he, however, must team up with Wyck and his own assistant, Patricia (played by Kate O’Flynn), a spirited social outcast whose own prior history with the island’s legends becomes the focal point of some of the season’s best episodes.
In recent years, only a select few original series have cast a spell on me quite like the first season of Widow’s Bay did. Widow’s Bay is the brainchild of comedy writer Katie Dippold — known for writing Paul Feig’s The Heat and Ghostbusters, as well as episodes of both Mad TV and Parks and Recreation — and it is quite frankly the best thing she’s ever done. It is a comedy-horror series that strikes just the right tone needed to become a bewitching genre concoction, but which also features a capable cast full of character actors doing some of their best work in years. At the same time, it features obvious and loving references to multiple different horror stories, and the first season elegantly manages to both include a satisfying overarching narrative arc and a monster-of-the-week type of structure, which made it a really fun show to watch from week to week.
Not a single one of the ten episodes has an ounce of fat on it, rather they’re all perfectly paced and full of delightful genre touches, just as the comedy shines from start to finish. The series feels like a perfect blend of Parks and Recreation (what with the focus on a cast of comedic and awkward public officials thrown into wild situations), Twin Peaks, and Stephen King (with it often following particularly indebted to Kingverse premises). Atlanta-director Hiro Murai is behind five episodes this season, and you can definitely tell that kind of Teddy Perkins-esque influence on certain stories. Although it is a comedy show, it doesn’t skimp on the horror, as there are not only effective jump scares and compelling characters but also distinctly horror visuals and mood from time to time. Some of the best episodes are 1) Hiro Murai’s Lodging, which sees Tom take on a dare to stay in a supposedly haunted inn, 2) Sam Donovan’s Beach Reads, about Patricia’s desperate attempt to become popular, and 3) Andrew DeYoung’s Your Baggage, about a killer chasing one of our lead characters. The season features everything from direct references to Halloween and Jaws to Ti West’s distinctly different (but no less funny) flashback or historical period episode, Our History, set in the 1700s.
All of the character actors deliver great work, from K Callan’s surprisingly spry elderly secretary character to Dale Dickey’s blunt and curmudgeony character, whose summary of a family tree is laugh-out-loud funny. But it is the central trio that truly shines. Stephen Root is in top form as the stubborn believer, while Matthew Rhys delivers a performance over the course of the season that takes him through every emotion imaginable, all of which he handles fantastically. Rhys, in particular, handles the tonal balancing act well. The comedic choices he makes never make his more dramatic, vulnerable work feel anything less than very convincing, when it could’ve overwhelmed it. Then there’s the revelation that is Kate O’Flynn, who almost runs away with the show. It is a physical, audacious, and very funny central performance that made me a massive fan of her quickly. Although the industry doesn’t always award these types of actors with the boost they deserve, this is a performance at a star-making caliber.
Katie Dippold’s Widow’s Bay is a winner. It’s such a well-rounded total package of an opening season that manages to strike the right tone, nail the genre references, and earn both laughs and scares. The format of the series — i.e., monster-of-the-week as well as an overarching narrative — is handled expertly, with every episode-specific plot being entertaining, while the notes it ends on are both satisfying and universe-furthering. When you add to that masterwork of a genre concoction the fact that it is so well acted and paced, you have a genuine must-watch series that is sure to be one of the greatest discoveries of the year.
– Review written by Jeffrey Rex Bertelsen.
