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Apple TV dropped a teaser for Widow’s Bay Earlier this month, the horror series looked predictably creepy with ominous music paired with terrifying sequences set in a New England island town. But there’s a moment at the end of the trailer that suggests the series isn’t a typical jump-start show.
“I don’t understand,” says Matthew Rhys, who plays the town’s mayor, Tom Loftis, who is mystified by the story of the sea hag killer. “How do you die?” Stephen Root’s character has a surprising answer: “She crawls into your bed and sits on your face.”
The final clip indicates the level of comedy that was instilled in creator Katie Dippold Widow’s Bay. The series takes place in Widow’s Bay, located 40 miles off the coast of New England. Mayor Tom Loftis (Reese) desperately seeks to revive his struggling community in the face of some difficult circumstances such as no Wi-Fi, spotty cell reception, and superstitious locals who believe the place is cursed. Loftis remains determined to build a better future for his teenage son and turn the island into a tourist destination. As he begins to achieve his goal, ancient stories that seemed so ridiculous begin to happen, sending shivers throughout the island. Rhys and Root star opposite Kate O’Flynn, Kingston’s Romy Southwick, Kevin Carroll and Dale Dickey.
“I’ve certainly never read anything like this,” Reese said during an Apple TV panel discussion at a press day in Santa Monica in February. “I grew up with things like Wicker Man and Jaws And things like that, and that was kind of all I always thought I would never do. When I knew it was this combination and coming together of these two, it just kind of happened in a split second. It has become a true dream job.
Murray, who is best known for his work Atlanta and Bearagreed about the unique tone of the show. “I’ve never read anything like this before,” he said of working with Diebold, who has experience mixing horror and comedy after writing features. “It felt like a TV show from the past but very modern at the same time. And to be completely honest, when I first read it, I didn’t know what this was yet, and that’s always the most exciting place to start.” The haunted mansion and Ghostbusters. “I’ve never read something that had so much tough comedy and a really creepy kind of gory horror while trying to be honest about the love lives of these characters. It felt like we were kind of like holding on to two sled dogs at the same time.”
Reese added that the laughs are not for fun. “There’s no conscious choice for anything comedic,” he said. “Everything is played true to the situation, and then what comes comes.” “Almost every script surprised me in a real sense, and just watching the visual world or the visual mind of Hiro Murai was a real treat and seeing how she brings things to life. I would often say oh my God, this is so dark. I was always surprised in the best way and obviously there was nothing I could say into the microphone.”
The 10-episode series will premiere globally on Wednesday, April 29, with the release of the first three episodes. New episodes will follow every Wednesday until June 17.
