Widow's Bay
Genre Comedy horror
Created by Katie Dippold
Starring
  • Matthew Rhys
  • Kate O'Flynn
  • Kevin Carroll
  • Dale Dickey
  • Kingston Rumi Southwick
  • Stephen Root
Music by David Fleming
Country of origin United States
Original language English
No. of seasons 1
No. of episodes 2
Production
Executive producers
  • Katie Dippold
  • Hiro Murai
  • Carver Karaszewski
  • Claudia Shin
  • Matthew Rhys
Cinematography Christian Sprenger
Editors
  • Kyle Reiter
  • Jen Bryson
Running time 37–41 minutes
Production companies
  • Chum Films
  • Spooky Tree Productions
  • Apple Studios
Original release
Network Apple TV
Release April 29, 2026 (2026-04-29) –
present

Widow's Bay is an American comedy horror television series created by Katie Dippold for Apple TV, starring Matthew Rhys, Kate O'Flynn, and Kevin Carroll. The series premiered on April 29, 2026.

Premise

A skeptical mayor of a New England town refuses to bow to the superstitions of the residents who claim that the place is cursed.[1]

Cast

Main

  • Matthew Rhys as Tom Loftis, mayor of Widow's Bay
  • Kate O'Flynn as Patricia, Tom's assistant
  • Kevin Carroll as Bechir, sheriff of Widow's Bay
  • Dale Dickey as Rosemary, worker in the mayor's office
  • Kingston Rumi Southwick as Evan, Tom's son
  • Stephen Root as Wyck, outspoken believer of the town's supernatural history

Guest

  • K Callan as Ruth
  • Christian Clemenson as Dr. Morgan
  • William Hill as Wayne
  • Jeff Hiller as Dale
  • Nancy Lenehan as Gerrie
  • Bashir Salahuddin as Arthur Lloyd
  • Tim Baltz as William
  • Neil Casey as Kurt
  • Olli Haaskivi as Ray
  • Toby Huss as Reverend Bryce
  • Sipiwe Moyo as Chelle
  • Connor Ratliff
  • Chris Fleming

Episodes

No. Title Directed by Written by [2] Original release date [3]
1 "Welcome to Widow's Bay" Hiro Murai Katie Dippold April 29, 2026 (2026-04-29)
Mayor Tom Loftis of Widow's Bay is determined to bring tourism to their New England town by impressing a visiting New York Times reporter. Many residents believe the island is cursed due to the many tragedies in its history, but Tom is skeptical. Tom clashes with Wyck, who insists that the arrival of a thick fog means the island is "waking up" and that Tom needs to shut everything down. A man named Shep Clark goes missing, and after he is found, his eyes go white and he attacks Tom before dying.
2 "Lodging" Hiro Murai Kelly Galuska April 29, 2026 (2026-04-29)
Widow's Bay prepares for tourists after the NYT article promoting the town is published. The church bell rings, which should be impossible, and this prompts Reverend Bryce to dig up old instructions of what to do if that happens. When Tom belittles Wyck for trying to close the "haunted" Breakwater Inn, angry residents dare Tom into staying there overnight. Tom brings a camcorder with him to record his stay at the hotel, during which he seems to have an encounter with Willy the killer clown. The next morning, there is no evidence Willy was there, but they find black mold in the suite. Wyck presses, but Tom refuses to close the town.
3 "The Inaugural Swim"[4] Hiro Murai Neil Casey May 6, 2026 (2026-05-06)
4 "Beach Reads"[5] Sam Donovan Mackenzie Dohr May 13, 2026 (2026-05-13)
5 "What to Expect on Your Trip"[6] Andrew DeYoung TBA May 20, 2026 (2026-05-20)
6 "Our History"[7] Ti West Alberto Roldán May 27, 2026 (2026-05-27)
7 "Seasickness"[8] Sam Donovan TBA May 27, 2026 (2026-05-27)
8 "Your Baggage"[9] Andrew DeYoung TBA June 3, 2026 (2026-06-03)
9 "Emergency Shelter"[10] Hiro Murai TBA June 10, 2026 (2026-06-10)
10 "We Hope You Enjoyed Your Time!"[11] Hiro Murai TBA June 17, 2026 (2026-06-17)

Production

The ten-part series is created by Katie Dippold, who is an executive producer and showrunner. The series was ordered by Apple TV+ in September 2024. Hiro Murai is a director and an executive producer, alongside Claudia Shin and Carver Karaszewski.[12] It is from Apple Studios. In February 2025, Matthew Rhys joined the project as an executive producer and leads the cast as Mayor Tom Loftis.[13] Hiro Murai directed five episodes of the series. Ti West, Sam Donovan and Andrew DeYoung served as directors of remaining episodes, alongside Murai.[14] Alongside Rhys, the cast includes Kate O'Flynn, Stephen Root, Kingston Rumi Southwick, Kevin Carroll and Dale Dickey.[14]

Filming took place in New England in 2025 with filming locations including Ayer, Massachusetts Worcester, Massachusetts in May, and then in Essex and Gloucester in Massachusetts, and Rockport, Massachusetts in June 2025.[15][16][17]

Release

The first two episodes were released on Apple TV on April 29, 2026, with further episodes being made available weekly.[18]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 95%, based on 44 reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Katie Dippold successfully continues to invest in eccentricity with this outlandish horror-comedy that stokes the genre's well-worn tropes to winning effect, bringing scares, laughs, and a game cast."[19] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 77 out of 100 based on 23 critics, indicating "generally favorable".[20]

Lucy Mangan of The Guardian gave the series 5 out of 5 stars, calling it "an absolute blast... rich and wonderful. Grownup, funny, scary, true – Mare of Easttown meets Schitt’s Creek, but with something else that makes it singular".[21]

References

  1. ^ Porter, Rick (February 11, 2025). "Matthew Rhys to Lead 'Widow's Bay' Series at Apple". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 12, 2025.
  2. ^ "Widow's Bay". Writers Guild of America. Retrieved December 16, 2025.
  3. ^ "Shows A-Z Widow's Bay on Apple TV". The Futon Critic. Retrieved December 16, 2025.
  4. ^ "Widow's Bay, Season 01, Episode 103, The Inaugural Swim". Australian Classification. Retrieved April 29, 2026.
  5. ^ "Widow's Bay, Season 01, Episode 104, Beach Reads". Australian Classification. Retrieved April 29, 2026.
  6. ^ "Widow's Bay, Season 01, Episode 105, What to Expect on Your Trip". Australian Classification. Retrieved April 29, 2026.
  7. ^ "Widow's Bay, Season 01, Episode 106, Our History". Australian Classification. Retrieved April 29, 2026.
  8. ^ "Widow's Bay, Season 01, Episode 107, Seasickness". Australian Classification. Retrieved April 29, 2026.
  9. ^ "Widow's Bay, Season 01, Episode 108, Your Baggage". Australian Classification. Retrieved April 29, 2026.
  10. ^ "Widow's Bay, Season 01, Episode 109, Emergency Shelter". Australian Classification. Retrieved April 29, 2026.
  11. ^ "Widow's Bay, Season 01, Episode 110, We Hope You Enjoyed Your Time!". Australian Classification. Retrieved April 29, 2026.
  12. ^ Cordero, Rosy (September 4, 2024). "Apple Sets Horror-Comedy Series 'Widow's Bay' From Katie Dippold & Hiro Murai". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 12, 2025.
  13. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (February 11, 2025). "Matthew Rhys To Headline Apple TV+ Series 'Widow's Bay'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 11, 2025.
  14. ^ a b Dunn, Jack (December 16, 2025). "Widow's Bay First Look: Matthew Rhys Is the Feeble Mayor of a Cursed Island Town in Apple TV's New Horror Comedy Series". Variety. Archived from the original on December 16, 2025. Retrieved December 16, 2025.
  15. ^ Meek, Trevor (June 15, 2025). "Apple TV Series Widow's Bay Films in Essex and Gloucester". The Local News. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  16. ^ Semon, Craig S. (May 29, 2025). "Film crews take over a Worcester bar. Here's what we know about Widow's Bay". Worcester Telegram & Gazette. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  17. ^ Buhl, Kendall (June 6, 2025). "Apple TV's Widow's Bay Begins Production In Rockport". WBZ (AM). Retrieved October 12, 2025.
  18. ^ Turkeltaub, Payton; Jacob, Arushi (April 1, 2026). "Starz Sets Premiere for Period Drama Amadeus, Starring Will Sharpe and Paul Bettany (TV News Roundup)". Variety. Retrieved April 5, 2026.
  19. ^ "Widow's Bay: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved April 29, 2026.
  20. ^ "Widow's Bay: Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved April 29, 2026.
  21. ^ Mangan, Lucy (April 29, 2026). "Widow's Bay review – Matthew Rhys' intoxicating comedy-horror is an absolute blast". The Guardian. Retrieved April 29, 2026.