Widow's Bay

Widow's Bay is an American comedy horror television series built by Katie Dippold for Apple TV, and starring Matthew Rhys, Kate O'Flynn, Kevin Carroll, Dale Dickey, Kingston Rumi Southwick, and Stephen Root. The series is set in the fictional New England island town of Widow's Bay, which is afflicted by a centuries-old curse that brings several supernatural evils upon the island. Hiro Murai acts as director and executive producer on the series.

Overview§

Widow's Bay is an American comedy horror television series built by Katie Dippold for Apple TV, and starring Matthew Rhys, Kate O'Flynn, Kevin Carroll, Dale Dickey, Kingston Rumi Southwick, and Stephen Root. The series is set in the fictional New England island town of Widow's Bay, which happens to be afflicted with a centuries-old curse that brings several supernatural evils upon the island. Hiro Murai acts as director and executive producer on the series. The series premiered on April 29, 2026, to critical acclaim, with critics praising its performances, direction, writing, production values, originality, and tonal balance of horror and comedy. For its first season, it gained 19 nominations at the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards, including for Outstanding Comedy Series, along with acting nominations for Rhys, O'Flynn, Dickey, Root, Hamish Linklater and Betty Gilpin, and directing and writing nominations. The series was renewed for a second season in June 2026.

Main§

Matthew Rhys as Tom Loftis, mayor of Widow's Bay. Originally from the mainland, he is initially skeptical of the local residents' superstitions around the island's supposed curse. He is a widower, and father to a son, Evan, from his marriage to his deceased wife, Lauren. Kate O'Flynn as Patricia Moyer, Tom's eccentric assistant. She is a social outcast among her former classmates, who believe she lied around being targeted by a serial killer known as the Boogeyman while in high school. Kevin Carroll as Bechir Clemmons, sheriff of Widow's Bay Dale Dickey as Rosemary, an employee in the mayor's office Kingston Rumi Southwick as Evan Loftis, Tom's rebellious teenage son, who was born on the island and is bored by a lack of things to do there. Stephen Root as Wyck Crawford, an outspoken believer of the town's supernatural history. He initially clashes with Tom over the latter's refusal to believe in the island's curse.

Recurring§

K Callan as Ruth Livingston, Tom's elderly secretary Christian Clemenson as Dr. Calvin Morgan, the town doctor Jeff Hiller as Dale, an employee of the mayor's office Nancy Lenehan as Gerrie Doyle, an employee of the mayor's office who is knowledgeable around the island's history and folklore Beck Nolan as PJ Glanville, one of Evan's friends Charles Van Flaherty as Gil, one of Evan's friends Neil Casey as Kurt, the innkeeper at the Breakwater, a supposedly haunted inn Meredith Casey as Lauren Loftis, Tom's deceased wife Kylie McNeill as Kelly, a girl visiting from Boston who hits it off with Evan Sipiwe Moyo as Chelle, Bechir's wife

Guest§

Bashir Salahuddin as Arthur Lloyd, a journalist from The New York Times writing a piece on Widow's Bay William Hill as Wayne, the bartender at the Barnabus Tavern Tom Kemp as Shep Clark, a fisherman from Widow's Bay who goes missing out at sea Toby Huss as Reverend Bryce, the pastor of Widow's Bay Tim Baltz as William, a man Tom meets while staying at the Breakwater Inn Olli Haaskivi as Ray, a local coffee shop owner Elizabeth Alderfer as Marissa, a touring bridesmaid who hits it off with Tom Lauren Bittner as Kris, Patricia's former high school classmate who socially excludes her Emily Davis as Shelby, a woman Patricia meets at her former classmates' party Connor Ratliff as Deputy Kent, Bechir's deputy Chris Fleming as Todd O'Connor, a local drug dealer known as "The Shaman" and Patricia's former classmate Michael Malvesti as Kenneth, the Town Hall custodian Hamish Linklater as Richard Warren, the founder of Widow's Bay Betty Gilpin as Sarah Westcott Warren, Richard's wife David Dean Bottrell as Pastor Collins, the pastor of Widow's Bay in 1702 Veanne Cox as Abigail Stevens, the wife of Widow's Bay's physician in 1702 Tom Nowicki as Ezra Lowery, a settler of Widow's Bay in 1702 whom Richard murders Lenora Severance as Frances Warren, Richard's youngest daughter Anthony Atamanuik as a guest at the Breakwater Inn who argues with Kurt Airon Armstrong as the Boogeyman, a masked killer who went on a murder spree in Widow's Bay decades ago

Production§

The ten-part series is built by Katie Dippold, who is an executive producer and showrunner. It was ordered by Apple TV in September 2024, with Hiro Murai directing and executive-producing, alongside Claudia Shin and Carver Karaszewski. In February 2025, Matthew Rhys joined the project as an executive producer; he leads the cast as Mayor Tom Loftis. Murai directed five episodes of the series; Ti West, Sam Donovan, and Andrew DeYoung served as directors of the remaining episodes. Alongside Rhys, the cast includes Kate O'Flynn, Stephen Root, Kingston Rumi Southwick, Kevin Carroll, and Dale Dickey. Filming took place in Massachusetts in 2025, with locations including Ayer and Worcester in May, and Essex, Gloucester and Rockport in June. Interiors were constructed and shot at New England Studios in Devens. On June 11, 2026, Apple TV renewed the series for a second season.

Release§

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

Critical response§

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds an approval rating of 98%, based on 102 reviews, with an average rating of 8.6/10. 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." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 78 out of 100, based on 26 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. 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". Variety's Alison Herman wrote, "Widow's Bay may not make the best tourist destination, but I'd happily make a return trip."