In a big year for horror, Widow’s Bay still stands apart

Horror is having a moment. In 2026, the genre is particularly well-represented: new humor is dominating the container agency done films for illustration Backrooms and Obsession, established names for illustration Sam Raimi and Damian McCarthy are astatine the apical of their game, and long-running franchises for illustration 28 Years Later and Resident Evil proceed to enactment relevant. But the astir awesome portion of scary this twelvemonth mightiness conscionable beryllium recovered successful the world of TV comedy: Widow’s Bay, a bid that manages the delicate equilibrium of mixing scares pinch laughs, while besides doubling arsenic a loving tribute to the genre. It’s the benignant of operation that often doesn’t work, which is portion of what makes the show truthful remarkable.

Widow’s Bay conscionable wrapped up its first play — a 2nd has already been confirmed — and it tells a communicative that astatine first sounds incredibly derivative. It takes spot connected an isolated land successful New England, which has a sordid history owed to what the locals judge is simply a curse. In the first episode, a terrifying fog rolls into town, suggesting that a powerful evil is waking up again. Cue the Stephen King comparisons.

But it’s not agelong earlier Widow’s Bay’s chopped marque of scary / drama makes itself clear. The show is mostly centered connected the island’s hapless mayor, Tom (Matthew Rhys), who has a misguided desire to move Widow’s Bay into a tourer destination that tin rival Martha’s Vineyard and Cape Cod. This, of course, runs antagonistic to the full curse thing. And the incoming fog is conscionable the first motion that things are not going to spell good for him and his plan, though Tom ignores the signs astatine each opportunity.

What makes the show activity is that, astatine its core, it’s conscionable a really scary and tense story. From the very first episode, erstwhile Tom is stressing retired astir a visiting recreation writer from The New York Times, there’s a steadily rising consciousness of dread: a circuit done the island’s history that’s afloat of stories of decease and, uh, cannibalism; a almanac astir wolves that for immoderate logic besides has car clang photos; a ferry skipper who says simply “bad things hap here.” The show makes you consciousness arsenic uneasy arsenic the island’s residents.

That sensation only grows complete the people of the season, arsenic each section explores a different scary genre while building connected the cursed lore of the island. The 2nd section takes spot successful a intelligibly haunted hotel, complete pinch a slayer clown; later there’s a demonic statement readying book that leads to a terrifying and unsettling formation gathering. Tom’s adjunct Patricia (Kate O’Flynn) gets hunted by a Jason Voorhees–style slasher villain, and there’s moreover a darkly inventive return connected a supplier travel sequence, complete pinch jarring clip skips.

It’s because it’s specified a well-crafted scary communicative that the drama successful Widow’s Bay hits truthful hard. It’s not the easiest genre operation to propulsion off, arsenic creator and showrunner Katie Dippold — who knows a point astir really funny scary tin be — told maine up of the show’s premiere successful April. “It tin beryllium a awesome combo, but it tin besides beryllium a bad combo,” she explained, noting that projects that successfully blend the 2 genres are “few and acold between.” As if to beryllium her point, the caller Scary Movie released this period was wholly toothless.

But dissimilar much overt attempts astatine infusing scary pinch comedy, astir of the gags successful Widow’s Bay are comparatively subtle — and scary successful their ain way. When Tom is looking done a postulation of committee games astatine the section inn, he finds 1 simply called Teeth; inside, there’s thing but a brace of pliers. When Patricia yet kills the “boogeyman” who has been stalking her, she keeps her shotgun trained connected his corpse astatine each times — from the ambulance to cremation — conscionable successful case. Even the section titles tin beryllium hilarious. The finale, wherever conscionable astir everything goes wrong, is called “We dream you enjoyed your time!”

This intends that the jokes not only fresh into the eerie quality of the world, they really heighten it. And that was the extremity each along. “I ne'er wanted to person a infinitesimal wherever thing scary happens and the characters don’t respond truthfully,” Dippold told me. “If you’re truthful, past yet you’ll find the comedy. That was the very difficult rule.”

This each comes to a caput arsenic the show wrapped up its first season. Leading into the finale, Tom was put successful an intolerable situation, forced to take whether to termination his adorably inept caput Ruth (K Callan) successful bid to extremity the curse for good, aliases punishment the land by not acting. In the past episode, pinch the town’s residents and visitors stuck successful a shelter owed to a destructive storm, Tom finds himself successful Ruth’s house, and it’s genuinely achy watching him effort to determine the correct path. But amidst each of this tension, location are still funny bits, for illustration Ruth casually noting that an aged fellow “got spot by an animal and became that animal,” aliases a cheerful instructional video connected ritual sacrifice. And this being Widow’s Bay, things are a spot much analyzable than they appear, leaving Tom pinch an moreover much difficult task successful beforehand of him.

You don’t conscionable person to return my connection for it. Guillermo del Toro recently called the series “hands down 1 of the astir mesmerizing acts of communicative prestidigitation successful horror.” That’s immoderate precocious praise. But truthful is the truth that Widow’s Bay has managed to declare its ain chopped lane successful specified a crowded moment. The finale title turned retired to beryllium incredibly accurate: I did, successful fact, bask my time.

The first play of Widow’s Bay is streaming now connected Apple TV.