If you haven’t visited “the next Martha’s Vineyard,” you’re missing out.
“Widow’s Bay” has become a huge hit through word of mouth. If you haven’t seen the AppleTV+ series yet, chances are your friend mentioned it or you found it on your social media feed.
“Heat Rivalry” was the last time a show suddenly appeared out of nowhere with this kind of buzz.
On the surface, “Widow’s Bay” seems like an unlikely candidate for a summer show.
Its biggest star is Matthew Rhys. The “Americans” actor is great, but he’s not a celebrity like Nicole Kidman or Steve Martin, nor is he a trendy A-lister who gets talked about every time he sneezes like Zendaya, Sidney Sweeney or Jacob Elordi.
The cast is modest compared to many other shows.
It’s also not as romantic or sexy as “Heat Rivalry” or the recent hit “Off Campus.” There are no large-scale action sets like in the “Game of Thrones” universe.
Nevertheless, there’s a good reason why “Widow’s Bay” became a phenomenon.
Cue Corona’s “The Rhythm of the Night.”
This horror comedy is set in the fictional New England island town of the same name. It has the feel of a Stephen King story, but it’s original. There’s a sprinkling of “Parks and Recreation” (creator Katie Dippold is a screenwriter for the latter).
The town is quaint. There is a lighthouse. There is a pub called The Salty Whale. It’s also cursed. The fog may kill you. There are ghosts at the inn. You might go to a party and go into a trance, almost drowning in a bizarre ritual led by a woman wearing an antler headdress.
Mayor Tom Loftis (Reese) is bent on attracting tourists and turning the place into a “second Martha’s Vineyard,” despite the dangers. The comparison to “Jaws” is powerful.
Other local residents, like Wick (Stephen Root), are determined to warn everyone about creepy supernatural happenings and are not keen on visitors. Tom tries to dismiss Wick as a scheming “bastard,” but Wick is often right.
“Widow’s Bay” perfectly traverses the line between horror and comedy. Many other shows have tried and failed to establish that balance.
The “American Horror Story” series tries to do that every once in a while and falls into a mess of nonsense.
“What We Do in the Shadows” was fun, but more than that, it was a comedy.
Epix’s show “From,” HBO’s “Welcome to Derry” and Mike Flanagan’s show are similar, but they all focus more on horror than humor.
It’s rare for a show to succeed with even splits. And since “Widow’s Bay” mixes genres, it doesn’t feel like it’s trying to do too many things at once. Each episode has a consistent vision. There are a lot of different elements, but “Widow’s Bay” isn’t like throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks. He throws darts with great precision and hits the target.
This show evokes genuine chills while still feeling cozy.
On a crisp fall night, you’ll want to have a drink at The Salty Whale (ignore the creepy old-fashioned torture chair in the basement!)
We get to know the eccentric locals, including the prickly Patricia (Kate O’Flynn), the surly Sheriff Bashir (Kevin Carroll), and Tom’s rebellious teenage son Evan (Kingston Rumi Southwick). Hamish Linklater plays the mysterious founder Richard Warren.
This town combines all the charm of Stars Hollow with elements of Twin Peaks. Fans of “Gilmore Girls” may not seem to overlap much with fans of David Lynch, but “Widow’s Bay” could appeal to those separate audiences.
Similar to “The X-Files,” it has a “paranormal phenomenon of the week” format, which makes it easy to understand.
It helps that the episodes are often 40 minutes (or less!) long.
In this era of bloated runtimes (the last episode of Euphoria was 93 minutes, the finale of Stranger Things was over two hours), each film feels light-hearted.
Even though all these elements cast a wide net to attract a wide variety of audiences, a small-town, “issue of the week” conspiracy show seems too small to appeal to the masses.
But “Widow’s Bay” is still amazing, unique, and artistic.
It’s not a feel-good, sentimental show like The World of Bill Lawrence (“Rooster,” “Ted Lasso,” “Shrinking”).
Despite the underlying fear, it never feels overly unsettling or disturbing (like in “Euphoria,” “Beef,” or the new “Cape Fear” series). Find the emotional place between those lines.
This show is smart, not a stilted show that requires a lot of brain power.
It’s not reinventing the wheel. “Widow’s Bay” includes several plots that have been done previously in other shows. There’s an episode about a drug trip. There are also episodes of “party gone wrong”, which put their own stamp on them.
Other times, they take unexpected detours, like flashback episodes of the island’s history.
For viewers who want to delve deeper into theory, the mythology offers a buffet – just as people born on the island cannot go to the mainland. Theory threads on Reddit and TikTok are booming.
But this is not “lost”. If you don’t want to make up theories and just want to watch the show and be swept away, you can watch it that way too.
“Widow’s Bay” is a reminder that small shows can be compelling without being too hectic, if the writing and performances are strong, the setting is specific, and the vision is clear.
We don’t need movie stars, explosions, explicit sex, or extravagant spectacle. It doesn’t have to be a sequel or spin-off. You never know what you’re going to get every time you watch a particular episode. But it’s guaranteed to be fascinating, interesting, scary, and fun.
“Widow’s Bay” is now streaming on AppleTV+.
