{"id":650332,"date":"2026-05-05T03:22:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T03:22:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/650332\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T03:22:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T03:22:13","slug":"this-must-watch-apple-tv-show-is-part-stephen-king-part-schitts-creek","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/650332\/","title":{"rendered":"This must-watch Apple TV show is part Stephen King, part Schitt\u2019s Creek"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Widow\u2019s Bay \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605<\/p>\n

In many ways, this new series is oddly familiar. It\u2019s a horror pastiche that will at times deliberately remind you of IT, The Shining, Halloween, Jaws and Carrie. It\u2019s also a sharp comedy about an isolated small town in the style of Schitt\u2019s Creek. And much like Parks and Recreation (which creator Katie Dippold also worked on), it\u2019s a workplace sitcom centred on the daggy world of local government. So why on earth does it feel so fresh?<\/p>\n

Against all odds, Widow\u2019s Bay is one of the innovative and thoroughly entertaining shows I\u2019ve watched this year. Scary enough for actual horror fans<\/a> and consistently layered with clever comedy throughout, this 10-part series transcends its influences to create something delightful and ambitious that will have you laughing and screaming in equal measure.<\/p>\n

\"MatthewMatthew Rhys plays Tom Loftis, the harried mayor of an island community in comedy-horror series Widow\u2019s Bay.<\/p>\n

Matthew Rhys (The Americans<\/a>, The Beast in Me<\/a>) is the glue that holds so much of this together. With bulging eyes and sweaty smiles, he (literally) shines as Tom Loftis, the harried mayor of the titular island community who is trying to revive his town through tourism. His main obstacle? Every other person in Widow\u2019s Bay who very casually insists the place is cursed.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll actually have the best viewing experience if you stop reading and go watch for yourself. The first few episodes of the series \u2013 two of which have already been released \u2013 are rich with tension and ambiguity about what we might expect and who we should believe. Local fisherman and alleged \u201cdumb hick\u201d Wyck (Stephen Root, Barry) emerges as an early antagonist for Tom, drunkenly warning that the island has \u201cawoken\u201d after a rare earthquake.<\/p>\n

Editor’s pick\"Anne<\/a><\/p>\n

And considering the ghouls and supernatural forces revealed in the trailer<\/a>, it\u2019s not exactly a spoiler to reveal he might have a point.<\/p>\n

Though the later episodes inevitably revolve around the question of why this is happening and what can be done to stop it, there\u2019s no dense mythology to unpack or predict on Reddit. The \u201ccurse\u201d that seems to afflict this place is just a larger umbrella to unveil random monsters-of-the-week<\/a> for Tom, Wyck and co to fight.<\/p>\n

Some critics<\/a> have interpreted that lack of specificity as a flaw, arguing Widow\u2019s Bay should have aspired towards the more clearly signposted symbolism and metaphor that defines our favourite horror stories. There\u2019s a good case to mount against that: what\u2019s more relevant today than a story about the slippery nature of truth<\/a> and the power of the stories we choose to believe?<\/a> But getting too deep into it would frankly undersell the comedy.<\/p>\n

The real joy of Widow\u2019s Bay isn\u2019t in how it depicts our anxieties, but how it undercuts them. Dippold has crafted a surprisingly effective horror story almost entirely occupied by surreal sitcom characters \u2013 small-town folk who barely blink an eye after being demonically possessed or conversing with an animated corpse. The funniest moments don\u2019t come from outright satire (although one slasher-inspired episode would absolutely qualify), but the bizarre situations these people are thrown into and the baffling ways they react.<\/p>\n

\"EmmyEmmy award-winner Jeff Hiller (Somebody Somewhere) and Kate O\u2019Flynn in Widow\u2019s Bay.Apple TV<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an extraordinary tonal balance to maintain, and the show is well-steered by directors who are at home in the absurd. Hiro Murai (Atlanta<\/a>) serves as executive producer and also directs five episodes, with the other half helmed by Andrew DeYoung (The Chair Company<\/a>, Friendship), Ti West (X, Pearl, Maxxine<\/a>) and Sam Donovan (Severance<\/a>).<\/p>\n

As that talent attests, this is not a show to watch while double-screening<\/a>. The funniest moments are often found in the set details and the awkward silences. But if you\u2019re a sook like me, it\u2019s OK to cover your eyes occasionally and hide from the odd jump scare.<\/p>\n

Widow\u2019s Bay is now streaming on Apple TV. <\/p>\n

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\"MegMeg Watson<\/a> is deputy TV editor at The Age and Sydney Morning HeraldConnect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":650333,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[64,63,134,427],"class_list":["post-650332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/650332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=650332"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/650332\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/650333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=650332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=650332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=650332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}