Postmodern horror like “Scream” is defined by characters’ ability to understand the very tropes they are experiencing. In the 2020s, we’re firmly into post-postmodern horror, where characters are so aware of their situation that they have a smirk on their face.
The 10-episode “Widow’s Bay” Season 1 (Apple Plus) is the purest example. The actors make it clear that their characters know their titular island off the North Atlantic coast is haunted, and know that they and everyone around them are sort of pretending it isn’t (and lightly ostracizing those who take the situation at face value). Every island-born person stays there, believing/knowing they will die if they go beyond a radius marked by official buoys.
Scares sprinkled with a sitcom vibe
This is the same comedic approach as “Parks and Recreation” (2009-15), on which showrunner Katie Dippold was a co-producer. Except “Widow’s Bay” doesn’t aim to catch us off guard; Apple Plus openly bills it as a horror-comedy.
“Widow’s Bay” Season 1 (2026)
Apple Plus, 10 episodes
Creator: Kate Dippold
Stars: Matthew Rhys, Kate O’Flynn, Stephen Root
I generally want to be scared when watching horror, but “Widow’s Bay” lands for me anyway because it’s all about the percentage. The comedy comes at a steady drizzle, but the horror is not washed out. The stakes are lower than in pure horror, but there’s enough mood, and I appreciate that these people know they are playing by certain rules.
The main character is Mayor Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys), but getting a couple showcase episodes is the best character, his office assistant Patricia (Kate O’Flynn). Awkward just to the point that people notice it and she has to deal with the backlash – but not to the point that she gets any sympathy or can’t do social things – she’s the person the islanders are annoyed by and yet viewers love. She’s “24’s” Chloe with a dash of sunshine.
In “Beach Reads” (episode 4), we root for Patricia’s party out-class that of the middle-aged mean girls. Even better is “Your Baggage” (8), an unapologetic “Halloween” riff. Though the killer has all the dangerous traits of Michael Myers, Patricia reacts to him like we’ve always wanted a Final Girl to do, with smarts and persistence.
She’s annoyed to find herself running (with additional humor coming in that she’s in her 40s, and winded) through streets that are inexplicably deserted, her calls for help going unheeded. When she turns the tables, she never for a moment assumes it is over, keeping a high-powered shotgun trained on the corpse at every seemingly post-mortem step, through cremation.
‘Twin Peaks’ for our time
“Widow’s Bay” is like “Twin Peaks” for the 2020s. That show had an ongoing mystery but was cautious about it in the early days of serialization. This show is serialized in that all these adventures come about because the island is cursed, dating back to the 18th century. The early days are explored in “Our History” (6), directed by Ti West with a “The VVitch” vibe (but with occasional one-liners and gags).
Yet – until a two-part grand finale — each episode stands alone. This approach’s downside is ironically found in the excellent “The Inaugural Swim” (3). Loftis (understandably) fears that the flirty and attractive vacationer, Marissa (Elizabeth Alderfer), is actually The Hag Witch in supernatural disguise. Fitting the show’s humor, it turns out she is not. However, Loftis has kept Marissa at arm’s length, so she simply gives up and departs. With a bigger-picture view from the showrunners, Marissa could’ve been a recurring character.
It’s unfortunate that the narrative driving force – the vague sense that Tom and Co. will learn the curse’s rules and cancel it – is a placeholder more so than a mystery. The finale, an otherwise intense storm-shelter story, features frustratingly immoral behavior by Tom aimed at canceling the curse – and a great supporting turn by nonagenarian K Callas as Ruth.
Though the order in which characters – and we, the viewers – learn information does not always flow well, “Widow’s Bay’s” sense of horror-humor will pull me back for Season 2.