THE STORY – A New England mayor trying to boost tourism on his island must navigate strange events suggesting it might be cursed.
THE CAST – Matthew Rhys, Kingston Rumi Southwick, Stephen Root, Kate O’Flynn, Kevin Carroll & Dale Dickey
THE TEAM – Katie Dippold (Creator)
There’s something in the water around Widow’s Bay. Or at least that’s what all the residents think. “Widow’s Bay,“ a new, eerie thriller by creator Katie Dippold, dares to ask, “What if everyone in town believes they live in a ghost story?“ Or better yet, “what if they’re right?“ A cursed island that no one can leave, unruly locals, and one mayor hell-bent on holding it all together set the stage for Apple TV+’s most unsettling new arrival.
Matthew Rhys plays Tom Loftis, our protagonist and the fish-out-of-water mayor of a dilapidated, tourist-lacking island so stuck in the past it doesn’t even have WiFi. He’s determined to build a better life for his disconnected teenage son (Kingston Rumi Southwick) and turn the island into a tourist destination. Loftis is one of the few non-believers in the island’s curse, probably because he’s one of the few people there not born on Widow’s Bay. A bit of a pariah-turned-mayor, Loftis struggles to get anyone to listen to him and anything done, mainly because these people have never stepped foot off of Widow’s Bay…because they can’t. The typical cast of characters that surrounds him is one that one would find in a small town – the quirky old lady, the clique of wine moms who gossip incessantly, and the townies who live at the only bar in town. He has a few somewhat reliable employees, namely Patricia, his lonely and friendless assistant, played by Kate O’Flynn, and Dale, who does very little around the mayor’s office but is somehow always there, played by Jeff Hiller. When the fog starts to roll in, the curse rears its ugly head and forces a reckoning for even the staunchest of non-believers.
The simple premise is enticing enough throughout the first few episodes, leaning heavily on the mystery and a few anticipatory, well-timed jump scares to lure you in. There’s an immediate sense of unease, relying less on outright terror and more on the slow, creeping dread of what might be lurking just out of view. By mid-season, however, the central mystery begins to lose momentum. Rather than peeling back layers of the mystery, it piles on new questions without offering the audience much footing.
The series is steeped in nods to classic ’70s and ’80s horror, evident in its cinematography, production design, and affectionate homages to the thrillers that shaped the genre. However, these touches occasionally tip into the hokey. When the story regains its focus toward the finale, it becomes genuinely gripping and suspenseful again. Unfortunately, the middle stretch feels overextended, with too many episodes drifting from the show’s original sense of purpose. But directors Hiro Murai and Andrew DeYoung counteract the pacing issues with interesting shots that evoke a looming sense of dread.
The performances are noteworthy, particularly those of veteran actors Matthew Rhys, Stephen Root, and Kate O’Flynn. Rhys portrays Loftis with his signature precision. A tightly controlled physicality that slowly unravels, Rhys is adept at conveying internal conflict without overplaying it, landing the emotional moments all the more heavily. One of the more impressive performances is Kate O’Flynn as Patricia, the lonely and determined local who’s led a quiet, somewhat sad life. In the season’s fourth episode, Patricia comes into focus with such masterful impact by O’Flynn that it’s impossible to look away. There’s a stacked lineup of Supporting Actress candidates from powerhouse shows like “The Pitt“ and “Pluribus“ at this year’s Emmys, but O’Flynn deserves praise and recognition for her performance.
The highlight of the season is the masterful Stephen Root. Root has always excelled at playing characters who are slightly “off,“ the straight man with a layered edge. In “Widow’s Bay,“ he portrays Wyck, the townie who cries wolf at the bane of Loftis’s existence. The ringleader in keeping the haunted town lore alive, Root plays Wyck with such conviction that you both trust him fully and laugh him off in the next breath. Root has quietly built one of the most prolific careers in character acting, from Milton in “Office Space“ to Fuches in “Barry,“ bringing credibility to projects for years. His character and performance ground “Widow’s Bay“ in the unbelievable, because when Stephen Root crafts a role, he dives in fully. He’s been nominated for one Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Emmy for his role in “Barry,“and it’s time he catches the attention of the Television Academy again.
Horror shows and movies typically, and famously, don’t perform well in the awards circuit. With a few notable exceptions, like “Widow’s Bay’s” most apt comparison “Twin Peaks,“ the Television Academy prefers to award less alienating dramas like “The Pitt“ (just kidding, we’ve seen way too much discourse about that this year) vs shows marketed as “scary.” It’s with this history and knowledge, and the fact that “The Pitt“ cleaned house last year, that I nervously predict “Widow’s Bay“ as a long shot in a few Emmys categories. But with a backer like Apple, anything’s possible.
“Widow’s Bay“ is an island whose residents are convinced no one can ever truly leave. The supernatural is treated as fact, and belief is so deeply ingrained that the lone outsider’s skepticism begins to feel like madness. Yet for those willing to stay, the island has a way of eroding doubt, turning even the most hardened skeptic into a believer. Just beware the fog.
THE GOOD – An intriguing mystery with compelling characters and even better performances, notably Matthew Rhys, Stephen Root, and Kate O’Flynn. The cinematography and production design harkening back to the classic thrillers of the 70s & 80s is well done without over-doing it.
THE BAD – There’s a few too many episodes in the middle that lose the series’s sense of identity. Some of the flashback scenes are dull.
THE EMMY PROSPECTS – Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series
THE FINAL SCORE – 7/10
