Your next off-kilter binge is here!
Widow’s Bay (streaming now on Apple TV) stars Matthew Rhys (The Americans) as Tom, the skeptical mayor of the New England town Widow’s Bay, who would love nothing more than to see his seaside hamlet become the next great tourist destination.
The problem? Tom refuses to believe residents’ claims that the place is haunted. Then the weirdness starts… and he soon discovers that his offbeat townsfolk may be right.
Horror fans will be delighted to see so many of the genre’s tropes cleverly on display here, from a Cassandra figure (Barry’s Stephen Root) who metes out unheeded warnings, to spooky hotels where time is frozen and dark alleys full of jump scares.
The 10-episode horror-comedy, created by Katie Dippold (Parks and Recreation), is perfect for grown-up Strangers Things fans who don’t mind an unsettling tale but also appreciate oddball character work from a murderers’ row of talent. (A deadpan Kate O’Flynn is just one highlight.)
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Even better: Besides the thrills and genuine laughs, Widow’s Bay feels like a fully fleshed-out universe. It’s to the show’s great credit that we are never fully sure where the plot will go next: The sea! Underground! Back in time hundreds of years! Wherever it is, it’s a place worth dropping by.
Just be sure to look over your shoulder.
Here’s what other critics are saying about Apple TV’s Widow’s Bay, which will air new episodes weekly through June 17, 2026.
Roger Ebert: “The wonderfully demented Widow’s Bay plays out almost like an anthology of Stephen King short stories, shuffling supernatural urban legends in a small New England community with equal parts humor and horror. It is truly unlike anything else on TV, a wild swing of tonal shifts that works because it commits so fully to both halves of the equation.”
Variety: “The blend of horror and comedy — two genres driven by tension that culminates in a cathartic payoff — has thrived in recent years at the box office, championed by auteurs like Jordan Peele and Zach Cregger. With the droll, authentically creepy Apple TV series Widow’s Bay, creator Katie Dippold has successfully transplanted the hybrid to the small screen….[The series] sustains both heart-pounding suspense and wry humor for impressively long stretches of time.”
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AV Club: “Apple TV’s delightfully droll series refuses to be confined to a particular box or genre. Despite its mythological premise and frequent jump scares, it’s not straight fantasy or horror. Widow’s Bay‘s humor is less sitcom-like or slapstick and more absurd. The show meshes comedy and supernatural aspects with a confident ensemble and directors such as Friendship‘s Andrew DeYoung, Atlanta‘s Hiro Murai, Pearl‘s Ti West, and Severance‘s Samuel Donovan. Think Jaws or Midnight Mass but with ridiculous and well-earned moments of levity.”
