Season 1 - 10 episodes (2026)
Rent Widow's Bay on Amazon Video (paid link)
Created by: Katie Dippold
Starring: Matthew Rhys, Kate O'Flynn, Kevin Carroll, Dale Dickey, Kingston Rumi Southwick, Stephen Root, Toby Huss, Hamish Linklater
Rated: TV-MA
Watch the trailer
Plot
A skeptical mayor leads the superstitious residents of a cursed New England island.
Verdict
The show strikes such a great balance between horror and comedy pitting a skeptic against believers. Native inhabitants accept the curse with indifference, which is funny on its own. We quickly realize the curse in this town is real. This show's writing and plotting is excellent, exemplified by all of the characters that manage to be unique and funny in their own ways. Episode four was my turning point. Initially it seemed like it was padding, but the episode takes a twist that makes the episode great. The next episode is even better. This show is so much fun as it balances horrors and silliness in a mundane town. Whenever I doubted the myths or legends, the show proved they were true with aplomb.
Watch It.
Review
The beleaguered mayor of a small New England town desperately wants to promote Widow's Bay. Tom (Matthew Rhys) admits to a reporter writing a feature that the town has a "lot of local color" as the town historian talks about the witch trials in the late 1600s, blithely stating they caught them and burned them. Tom plays damage control with the sordid history of the town, hoping this feature will be the first step in making the place a vacation destination.
This show is horror meets comedy as mayor Tom indirectly tries to convince us the town isn't haunted while the inhabitants worry about myths, legends, and ghost stories. They claim everyone born in Widow's Bay is cursed. After an incident at the hospital, even Tom grows paranoid.
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| E1: Matthew Rhys plays Tom Loftis |
Tom is an outsider, having not been born on the island. In episode two when he's challenged to spend the night in the haunted Breakwater Inn, he agrees if for no other reason than to shut up the locals. He spends the night drinking with a local only to be confronted with the fact that the guy doesn't exist. The show writes it off as a black mold infestation, but in this show could it be a ghost?
Episode three was the funniest yet. Tom's co-workers rib him for giving an attractive woman a ride when he's failed to get them rides several different times. He tries to excuse it to no avail. Anyone else would freak out, having encountered a strange creature at night, but Tom wants this town to become desirable, and he's willing to deny a lot of experiences. He ends up with a real hag situation. He's saved at the last moment by Wyck (Stephen Root), a stout believer in the island's lore.
Initially I didn't like episode four as it focused on Tom's assistant Patricia (Kate O'Flynn). It seemed to slow the narrative, delving into a side character at the expense of the plot which is typical of modern shows. It rarely works, but I shouldn't have doubted this show. Patricia wants to throw a party in the hopes of being accepted. This episode takes a turn that makes it so much better. It went from an episode that seemed like padding, to a shining example of how sharp this show is. Patricia just wanted to be accepted but her plight is complicated by an evil spell.
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| E4: Kate O'Flynn plays Patricia |
Through a series of events Tom takes hallucinogenic mushrooms in episode five. He keeps losing time as the episode cuts forward, leaving him bewildered. He keeps wondering how he got there and what's happened. It's funny and only gets better with each leap forward. I loved this episode. It exemplifies the great writing and a great take on Tom passing out that heightens the humor.
Tom, Wyck, and Patricia realize the town's curse goes all the way back to the founder. Of course, he's buried in town. I was curious where the show would go with that. I never expected Tom to be hanging out with the town's founder who never died.
Episode eight takes aim at the slasher genre. While Tom thinks the curse is over, Patricia is hunted by a serial killer she may or may not have known as a teen. The age of that relationship is finally revealed when she begs for help from old classmates that don't like her.
With a violent storm approaching the island forcing everyone to enter the bunker, the curse isn't over. Tom must consider what lengths he'll go to to save the town.
In the final episode, Tom struggles with his decision. He could save the town and do something reprehensible or do nothing and the curse remains. Tom tries to workshop the problem by arguing over the ethics of the Trolley Problem with his unsuspecting, potential victim. It doesn't help. He keeps trying to work up the nerve to carry out his crime, but his failed attempts yield interesting information.
What we thought was just a curse ends up being a whole new problem. Yet either way, people will die.
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