All posts tagged: Widows

Apple TV Earns Record 87 Emmy Nominations for 2026, Led by ‘Pluribus’ and ‘Widow’s Bay’

Apple TV Earns Record 87 Emmy Nominations for 2026, Led by ‘Pluribus’ and ‘Widow’s Bay’

Published by skeptic

Apple earned its highest number of Emmy nominations to date in 2026, with popular shows like Pluribus, Margo’s Got Money Troubles, Widow’s Bay, Shrinking, and Slow Horses earning the most nominations. New series Widow’s Bay received 19 nominations, while Pluribus was second with 18 nominations. The five most highly nominated shows are up for best series in their respective categories, and have also earned several lead actress and actor nominations. Pluribus Outstanding Drama Series Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series – Rhea Seehorn, Carol Sturka Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series – Carlos-Manuel Vesga, Manousos Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series – Karolina Wydra, Zosia Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series – Miriam Shor, Helen Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series – Jeff Hiller, Larry Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series Margo’s Got Money Troubles Outstanding Comedy Series Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series – Elle Fanning Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series – Nick Offerman, Jinx Millet Outstanding Supporting Actress in …

Every ‘Widow’s Bay’ Season 2 Question Currently Haunting Us

Every ‘Widow’s Bay’ Season 2 Question Currently Haunting Us

Published by Jenni Sidey

Warning: spoilers for the whole first season of Widow’s Bay Widow’s Bay, the Apple TV horror-comedy that has become one of the spring’s buzziest new shows, has just wrapped up its first season…but not with a bow. Now that we know the series has been renewed, it’s a good time to consider the questions we’d most like to see answered when the show returns for future seasons. Why is the island popping off now? Robert Clark/Courtesy of Apple TV Widow’s Bay is the name of both a fictional island off the coast of Massachusetts and the town that was founded on it centuries ago. It’s established in the series premiere that the place has been supernaturally cursed. Midway through the season—in the departure episode, “Our History,” set in 1702—we learn how and, sort of, why: when the first group of settlers were starving in a harsh winter, Richard Warren (Hamish Linklater), the island’s first “Reeve Prime and Lord Island Protector,” signed a pact for their salvation in his “own blood, feces, and semen.” As a …

The real “Widow’s Bay” curse is all-American

The real “Widow’s Bay” curse is all-American

Published by Sam Flores

If history truly is a harsh judge, Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys) has a much stronger chance of acquittal than most. As the mayor of Widow’s Bay, Tom only wants his quaint New England island community to get a little more recognition and, with that, a healthy influx of tourism revenue. He stands by that argument in the premiere of “Widow’s Bay,” ignoring warnings from the town crank, Wyck Crawford (Stephen Root). Most of the locals stand in the old guy’s corner, though. Wyck was born and raised there. Like everyone else, he knows all the local lore, including what would happen if the island were to wake up – or if any of its natural-born citizens try to escape it. Tom is a transplant who knows nothing. He rolls his eyes at the town’s unquestioning belief in ghost stories and grimaces at all the visible evidence of how behind the times the town is. Widow’s Bay is indeed a fusty place where everyone drives old cars, uses ancient computers and communicates on walkies and landlines …

‘Widow’s Bay’ finale: What do those bells mean?

‘Widow’s Bay’ finale: What do those bells mean?

Published by skeptic

Widow’s Bay ends not with a bang, but with a clang. Eight clangs, actually: those of the island’s pesky church bell. The bell rings out in the episode’s final moments, in the sudden aftermath of the storm that ravaged Widow’s Bay. But what do they mean, and what do they signal for the island’s future? The bells in Widow’s Bay are a call for sacrifice. While the town and its tourists weather out the storm in the shelter below City Hall, Dale (Jeff Hiller) stumbles upon a film reel labeled “For you.” In the video, a man urges viewers, “Be strong, honor the pact, and remember, their sacrifice is our survival.” The pact refers to Richard Warren’s (Hamish Linklater) deal with the island’s threatening entity. He wanted to ensure he and his fellow settlers survived their harsh first winter, and in exchange, the the island demanded (and still demands!) sacrifice. As long as Widow’s Bay’s residents keep feeding the island, they will keep surviving. Fail to honor the pact, though, and they can expect stormy …

‘Widow’s Bay’ Renewed for Season 2 at Apple TV

‘Widow’s Bay’ Renewed for Season 2 at Apple TV

Published by Daniella Wilson

Apple TV is booking a return trip to Widow’s Bay. The streamer has ordered a second season of the show, a horror comedy starring Matthew Rhys as the mayor of a New England town whose residents all — save for him — believe the town is cursed. The renewal comes six days before the show concludes its first season; the finale is scheduled for June 17. Apple TV has also signed Widow’s Bay creator Katie Dippold to a multi-year overall deal. She’ll continue to serve as showrunner of the series and also develop new projects. Widow’s Bay has earned critical praise (and some famous fans) over the course of its first season. Dippold told The Hollywood Reporter that she’s had the show in her head for nearly 20 years — and almost sold a version it to Amazon in 2013 before pulling it back. “I just had this bad feeling,” she said. “I put a pin in it. I just knew it wasn’t ready. I knew I hadn’t thought enough about the show or the world.” …

Why ‘Widow’s Bay’ is the Folk-Horror Comedy You Should Be Watching

Why ‘Widow’s Bay’ is the Folk-Horror Comedy You Should Be Watching

Published by Jenni Sidey

Tom’s function in Widow’s Bay is partly to stand in for the viewer, being gradually (but, crucially, not too gradually) convinced that the island is a locus of supernatural activity. This requires him to be the victim scary entities attack, as in the season’s third episode, “The Inaugural Swim.” When Tom sees an old woman on the road, not answering his offers of help before shuffling toward him at alarming speed and scratching his arm with her ragged nails, Tom’s town hall colleague Rosemary (Dale Dickey) is confident that he’s had an encounter with a sea hag: she scratches you to get your scent under her fingernails, then tracks you and waits to strike until you’re alone and weak. Tom is sufficiently convinced by Rosemary’s story to seek further lore from Wyck, who confirms Rosemary’s assessment, adding that the sea hag’s scratch paralyzes her victims such that Tom’s in imminent danger of death by hag: “She crawls into your bed and sits on your face.” Of course, once such a scenario has been mentioned, you …

Widow’s Bay star confirmed for “rollercoaster” true story BBC drama

Widow’s Bay star confirmed for “rollercoaster” true story BBC drama

Published by Daniella Wilson

Although Matthew Rhys can currently be seen in Apple TV’s Widow’s Bay, more recently starred in Netflix’s The Beast in Me and is set for a role in the second season of Presumed Innocent, the actor has now been confirmed for a brand new leading role in a BBC drama. Rhys is set to lead the cast of Dragon Slayers (and also serve as an executive producer) as Sir Harry Evans, an upcoming factual drama that will explore the work of the late former editor of The Sunday Times, “whose Insight team became a byword for investigative journalism and broke some of the biggest stories in UK history,” as per the official synopsis. The six-part series – of which one episode will be a feature-length 90 minutes – will be set in the ’70s and will dig into some of the biggest stories that Harry and his team covered, all grounded in research and insight from those closest to the British-American journalist, as well as his family and widow Tina Brown CBE. Evans was editor …

Widow’s Bay creator couldn’t imagine star Matthew Rhys in leading role

Widow’s Bay creator couldn’t imagine star Matthew Rhys in leading role

Published by Daniella Wilson

The Americans star Matthew Rhys is worlds away from his previous roles in new comedy-horror Widow’s Bay, with even the show’s creator admitting she couldn’t initially imagine him in the leading role. Katie Dippold (who previously wrote on Parks and Recreation) is the showrunner behind the new series, which follows Rhys’s sceptical mayor Tom Loftis, who is faced with a overwhelming superstition from the residents of his small town. But, as his attempts to bring in tourists are foiled by strange happenings, he might be forced to admit they’re right. Speaking exclusively to Radio Times, Dippold said: “I had no one in mind for the part, which was a good thing, but it was also very challenging to cast it. “Hiro Murai, the director of five of the episodes, we Zoomed with Matthew. I was huge fan of his. I love the Americans. I think he’s brilliant, but I still couldn’t quite imagine it or envision him for this. “Then we Zoomed with him, and he’s so lovely and charismatic and so funny. And we …

Widow’s Bay review: Parks and Rec meets Twin Peaks in comedy-horror gem

Widow’s Bay review: Parks and Rec meets Twin Peaks in comedy-horror gem

Published by Daniella Wilson

A star rating of 4 out of 5. Comedy-horror might be a genre that’s tricky to get right. Some lean too much into gore and jump-scares and forget about the laughter. Others put a stronger emphasis on the humour, and lose any sense of fear. Widow’s Bay, however, is a rare beast. This neat, off-beat offering from Apple TV gets that balance just right – and it’s largely thanks to Matthew Rhys. The Americans actor is try-hard Tom Loftis. He’s the mayor of a small, sleepy New England town that has a very superstitious population. And for good reason. New to the job, he wants to revitalise the tourism industry and bring trade back in. Yet his fellow residents repeatedly warn him that it’s a bad idea. And, soon enough, as strange forces start taking hold of the town, he starts to think that they might just be right…Showrunner Katie Dippold manages to consistently catch you off guard in the best way, as the series straddles suspense and comedy, giving us ludicrous characters that have …

Widow’s Bay to Should I Marry a Murderer? The seven best shows to stream this week | Television & radio

Widow’s Bay to Should I Marry a Murderer? The seven best shows to stream this week | Television & radio

Published by Sam Flores

Pick of the week Widow’s Bay Could island town Widow’s Bay be the next Martha’s Vineyard? Despite the non-existent wifi, the pervasive atmosphere of gloom and his teenage son’s brutal verdict (“like a prison”), Matthew Rhys’s mayor Tom Loftis thinks so. But there’s another problem: the island is so full of sinister myths, it risks being the new Salem instead. Is there a supernatural element to its frequent fogs? An absurd suggestion, but Tom’s attempts to turn Widow’s Bay into a tourist destination do seem cursed. Created by Parks & Recreation co-writer Katie Dippold, Widow’s Bay sustains an unusual tone. It’s comedic but not wacky: crucially, the horror elements retain just enough genuine creepiness to raise the stakes. Phil HarrisonApple TV, from Wednesday 29 April Should I Marry a Murderer? Dead end … Caroline Muirhead tells her agonising story in Should I Marry a Murderer? Photograph: Courtesy of Netflix © 2025 When Dr Caroline Muirhead said she was driving to the Scottish Highlands for a hill-walking date with a man she’d met online, her friends …