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Apple TV’s Widow’s Bay is genuinely unlike anything else on television at the moment. The series deftly mixes elements from multiple genres, refusing to be confined to any particular box in terms of its tone or storytelling choices. From jumpscares and complicated historical lore to mysterious creatures and office politics, it’s all over the map, narratively speaking, and all the more interesting for it.
The story of a picture-perfect New England town that may or may not be cursed by some sort of dark entity, the series is frightening and absurd by turns, with plenty of spooky coastal vibes and a cast of oddball characters who run the gamut from well-meaning public servants and police officers to small-town gossips and unhinged cranks. Widow’s Bay is a show that contains multitudes and, to hear its creator talk, that’s on purpose.
“I love comedy. I also love horror. I think those two things can exist under the same umbrella. You just have to be very careful with how you use them because you don’t want the comedy to undercut the tension and the horror,” Katie Dippold tells Den of Geek. “It’s just a tonal tightrope. It’s an organic thing of following what feels right, but I really wanted us to serve both. I wanted the audience to watch the show and have an episode start, and you don’t know if this episode’s going to make you laugh or scare you. That was very exciting to me to have a show that would take you on a little bit of a rollercoaster, where you didn’t know what to expect.”
The show is well aware of its genre roots, featuring plenty of familiar horror tropes and visual nods to some of the most well-known properties that have come before it, such as Jaws, Halloween, and The Mist.
“There’s clear love for the horror genre in the show, but what I really liked about how we approached it is that we weren’t trying to make it too referential,” director Hiro Murai says. “I think we tried to tell the story as straight as possible in a weird way. Even though these ludicrous situations would happen — there’s a boogeyman trying to kill somebody with a knife — what would that feel like if you just saw it walking down the street? We tried to ground it as much as possible in the execution.”
There are plenty of visual cues that connect Widow’s Bay to the long history of horror properties that have come before it, but for Dippold, it was important to keep the show’s human stories at the forefront.
“I think we tried to show some restraint,” she says. “I love all the horror things in the world. I want to put them all in all the time, but by not doing too much of it, you’re focusing on the characters. The fun thing about a boogeyman coming is watching [someone] deal with it, you know?”
While the show’s titular town more than lives up to its spooky supernatural reputation, Widow’s Bay is more than just the things that go bump in the night. Its assortment of colorful, quirky residents is truly the show’s secret weapon, most notably the central trio of oblivious mayor Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys), his insecure assistant Patricia (Kate O’Flynn), and local town weirdo, Wyck (Stephen Root), a man who knows entirely too much about the island’s haunted history. The relationships that ultimately develop among the three of them — and their individual connections to the town in which they live— form the emotional center of Widow’s Bay.
“The dynamics between the characters are really important,” Kate O’Flynn says. “Tom’s relationship with Patricia is a funny one because I think they’re a little bit codependent. She likes having this friend, who’s the mayor, and she’s by his side all the time. Matthew and I once talked about how, God forbid, he ever forgot Patricia’s birthday. His life would be over. He couldn’t go to work for weeks because he [would] know she’s just waiting to be furious. For him, she’s someone that he can rant to. She’s all ears. She’ll listen. Always.”
Tom has his own complicated feelings about Widow’s Bay and many of its various residents, but his desire to serve the larger community is a genuine one, even if he can sometimes struggle to show it.
“He gets frustrated by the locals who deem him unfit for office or think he’s bringing in the wrong kind of business or other kinds of obstacles. But his goals aren’t selfish. To me, it’s his son that’s his North Star — everything he does, he does for him,” Matthew Rhys says. “[That’s what] keeps him on track. And, in relation to that, they’re [goals] for the good of the island as well. But ultimately, all he wants is for his son to grow up in a prosperous place, and the locals who live there, as well. He wants to do that, so there’s good in him.”
Stephen Root, who plays resident island conspiracy theorist, Wyck, says his character is similarly “frustrated: — but for very different reasons.
“I think he sees himself as a protector, as the island’s protector. He knows these things that other people don’t know. He’s known it all his life. And then this interloper, who came into town as a teenage kid that annoyed him, is trying to take over and be the head honcho on the island. He doesn’t feel like he can do it — in fact, he thinks he knows he can’t do it — and Wyck, as the protector, feels like he can. So I think he’s just frustrated by this person. And the fact that he’s the town drunk doesn’t help at all, because he’s got this inner embarrassment about things that have happened earlier in his life. He’s frustrated by a lot of things. But then finally we find a common purpose.”
The show’s actors are all quick to praise the “found family” relationship that develops between its three leads.
“It felt really lovely to play off Matthew and Stephen,” O’Flynn says. “I really enjoyed it. Every day it just felt like, oh, I’m with my buddies. But it’s the writing, it’s all in the writing, the building of that bond.”
“[Our characters] all have these flaws. We all have this journey to overcome. But what was incredible was getting to do it as a trio,” Rhys says. “I know we talk about the nods towards other films [in the show], but it also reminds me of those movies where there’s suddenly a united front, and there’s hope again,” Rhys adds. “There’s a nostalgic feeling to that. It’s a surprisingly hopeful show.”
And although Widow’s Bay may have its share of dark secrets, it’s still clearly a place that matters to those who live there.
“I think it’s about the people,” Rhys adds when asked about what makes Widow’s Bay a place worth fighting for in Tom’s eyes. “I always think it’s about the people. If you’re doing something for people, there’s nothing more noble. One of the things we realized – and certainly Tom comes to realize – is how much he loves and needs this community.”
“Because they’re all outsiders in their various ways, they don’t take it for granted when they find a community, and they appreciate what it means,” O’Flynn adds. “They’re not complacent about it. They look after each other.”
The first two episodes of Widow’s Bay are available to stream on Apple TV now. New episodes premiere Wednesdays, culminating with a finale on June 17.
The post Widow’s Bay: Matthew Rhys, Stephen Root, Hiro Murai On Apple TV’s Offbeat Horror Comedy appeared first on Den of Geek.
