Three Reasons to Watch Widow’s Bay
Matthew Rhys as Mayor Tom Loftis in Widow's Bay (Photo: Courtesy Apple)
Do you need a little entertainment treat to tuck into after work is done, dinner is cooked and the stupid kitchen is cleaned? I know I do. Thank goodness for Widow's Bay, the darkly comic horror series that's been dubbed Stranger Things for adults.
Here are three reasons to watch the Apple TV series, which is streaming now.
The spooky, Jaws-like vibe grabs you from the start
Widow’s Bay, which is also the name of the fictional island in which the drama is set, has a solid sense of place and that richly developed setting gives spooky shape to the comic horror-mystery series from its opening seconds.
A mysterious island located just off mainland New England, Widow’s Bay is a place of legend where—according to the locals—bad things happen. Episode one reveals the island has a creepy fog problem that sees people go missing in the mist, as well as a dark history that's rife with “sea hags,” cannibals and priest-eating whales. There’s even an old wives tale that purports those born on the island can never leave for the mainland—and if they do, they perish.
It boasts a solid ensemble cast
The fog may set the tone, but it’s the town’s eccentric population—portrayed by a pitch-perfect ensemble cast that includes character actors like Stephen Root (Barry) and new discoveries like Kate O'Flynn, the quirky assistant to the town's frantic, misanthropic mayor Tom Loftis—that make the viewer feel like sticking around.
There are salty seafarers wracked by superstition, deadpan sheriffs and every kind of small-town oddball in between, but the series hangs together thanks to a grounded “normie” performance from series star Matthew Rhys (The Americans; a.k.a. Mr. Kerri Russell), who plays Loftis. Desperate to turn Widow's Bay into the next Martha's Vineyard, Rhys plays Mayor Tom as an angry skeptic Everyman who learns the lessons of the island the hard way.
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It’s funny and scary
Widow’s Bay balances horror and humour with near-cinematic flair. Series creator Katie Dippold—a former writer for Parks and Recreation who is no stranger to playing small-town life for laughs—told NPR that the series’ writer’s room was populated just as eccentrically as Widow's Bay. The result of that blend of creative temperaments is a well-tuned series that not only possesses a winningly wry sense of humour but that's also filled with enough jump-scare moments and troubling atmospherics to make you want to watch it with the lights on.
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Flannery Dean is a writer based in Hamilton, Ont. She’s written for The Narwhal, the Globe and Mail and The Guardian.
