Apple TV has delivered another standout original with “Widow’s Bay,” the new horror-comedy series starring Matthew Rhys as a determined mayor trying to transform a cursed New England island into a tourist hotspot. Created by Katie Dippold and featuring direction from Hiro Murai and others, the show blends quirky small-town charm with genuine scares and supernatural folklore. Early reviews are overwhelmingly positive, hailing it as a fresh, tonally ambitious gem that’s unlike anything else on television right now.
Critics praise the series for its perfect balance of laughs and chills, strong ensemble performances, and inventive storytelling that mixes episodic horror tales with an overarching mystery. With a Metacritic score in the high 70s and strong audience buzz, Widow’s Bay is shaping up to be one of 2026’s must-watch Apple TV offerings.
Here’s what the reviewers are saying:
“The wonderfully demented ‘Widow’s Bay’ plays out almost like an anthology of Stephen King short stories, shuffling supernatural urban legends in a small New England community with equal parts humor and horror. It is truly unlike anything else on TV, a wild swing of tonal shifts that works because it commits so fully to both halves of the equation.”
— Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com
“Mare of Easttown meets Schitt’s Creek in this rich, wonderful and laugh-out-loud series, in which a put-upon mayor tries to turn a cursed New England island into a tourist hotspot… In short, “Widow’s Bay” is rich and wonderful. Grownup, funny, scary, true.”
“‘Widow’s Bay’ Review: Matthew Rhys’ Inspired Island-Bound Horror-Comedy Is a Wicked Treat.”
“In a TV landscape dotted with quirky little hamlets, it’s the best reason to drop in on “Widow’s Bay,” Apple’s uneven but intriguing mashup of Pawnee-style coziness and Derry-esque chills… they do make “Widow’s Bay” a destination worth visiting — perhaps even again and again, for years and years to come.”
— Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter
“Apple TV’s delightfully oddball horror-comedy may have a few flaws, but it’s like almost nothing else on TV at the moment.”
Reviewers highlight standout performances from Rhys, Kate O’Flynn, Stephen Root, and the ensemble, along with the show’s confident navigation of horror tropes, character-driven comedy, and atmospheric island setting. While a few note minor pacing issues, the consensus is clear: Apple TV’s “Widow’s Bay” is a fresh, addictive, and highly entertaining series.
MacDailyNews Take: The first episodes are streaming now on Apple TV, with new installments dropping weekly. If you’re in the mood for something spooky, funny, and utterly original, clear your schedule and ferry over to “Widow’s Bay” — you won’t regret it.
MacDailyNews Note: Apple TV is available on the Apple TV app in over 100 countries and regions, on over 1 billion screens, including iPhone, iPad, Apple TV 4K, Apple Vision Pro, Mac, popular smart TVs from Samsung, LG, Sony, VIZIO, TCL and others, Roku and Amazon Fire TV devices, Chromecast with Google TV, PlayStation and Xbox gaming consoles, and at tv.apple.com, for $12.99 per month with a seven-day free trial for new subscribers. For a limited time, customers who purchase and activate a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV 4K or Mac can enjoy three months of Apple TV for free.
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Think of Michael, Scott and the office, merging with John Carpenter’s the fog and there you go.
Even in scary scenes I’m kind of laughing because I can’t find it funny. I highly doubt there’s going to be grotesque gruesome bloody scenes in the show. That’s not what this is about.
So what is it about? Well if you look at it from a worldview perspective, you have a mayor who is a pure material list and nothing more, being confronted with the fact that there is a. metaphysical world, and other dimensions that do work into ours on occasion sometimes for the worst…. And,, the longer he denies this the worst shape he’s gonna be..
And you’ve gotta love having the priest in town with a little Catholic Church… I love how horror movies always use the Catholic Church as the good that’s going to battle the evil, but of course it’s the Catholic Church and the evil always defeats the good it seems. In other words when you see the Catholic Church run because it’s always in the weaker position which I would also hold to! Ha!
It’s been kind of a fun ride in just two episodes.