The upcoming Apple TV series Widow’s Bay is getting ready to welcome viewers to a remote New England island where the locals believe a curse lurks beneath the surface. The show mixes genuine scares with character-driven comedy, and its star, Matthew Rhys, is now sharing one of the biggest inspirations behind the project.
The 10-episode series comes from creator Katie Dippold, known for her work on Parks and Recreation and The Heat. It will debut on Wednesday, April 29, 2026, with the first three episodes dropping at once, followed by new episodes every Wednesday through June 17, 2026, on Apple TV.
Jaws Was a Big Reference Point for the Series
For Matthew Rhys, who plays Mayor Tom Loftis, the connection to the classic 1975 film Jaws was a major reason he was drawn to the project. The actor explained that the Steven Spielberg movie served as a key reference point for the tone and style of the show.
“The big reference we have in the series is Jaws, which was an enormous draw and attraction for me as it is truly one of my favorite films,” Rhys told TV Insider. “There are a number of horror movies that are nodded towards, referenced, and given a great ode. I’m wary to name them because I don’t want people anticipating them. I would like the viewer to experience, as I did upon reading it, the giggly glee of realizing that you are noticing these wonderful references from our past.”
The comparison makes sense. Jaws famously captured the tension between a town’s need for tourist money and the hidden danger threatening its waters. In Widow’s Bay, Mayor Loftis successfully turns the island into a tourist destination, only to discover that the locals’ old stories about a curse might actually be true.
What Widow’s Bay Is About
The series takes place on a small island located 40 miles off the coast of New England. The setting has no Wi-Fi and spotty cellular reception, leaving the community isolated. Mayor Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys) is a single parent who wants to build a better future for his teenage son. He is determined to bring tourists to the struggling town, even though the superstitious locals do not respect him and believe the island is cursed.
When tourists finally start arriving, it seems like Loftis has succeeded. But things take a dark turn when the old stories begin to happen again after decades of quiet. The show balances horror elements with comedy, creating a mix that Rhys describes as a “salty-sweet snack.”
The Creative Team Behind the Show
Widow’s Bay is created and showrun by Katie Dippold. The director lineup includes Hiro Murai, who won an Emmy for his work on Atlanta and The Bear. Murai directs five episodes of the season. Other directors attached to the project include Ti West (X, Pearl), Sam Donovan (Severance), and Andrew DeYoung.
The cast includes Kate O’Flynn, Stephen Root, Kingston Rumi Southwick, Kevin Carroll, and Dale Dickey. The series comes from Apple Studios, with Rhys also serving as an executive producer alongside Dippold and Murai.
Matthew Rhys Takes on Comedy for the First Time
For Rhys, who won an Emmy for his dramatic role in The Americans, Widow’s Bay marks his first venture into comedy. The actor admitted that stepping into a new genre brought its own challenges.
“The challenge and terror of that was immediate for me,” Rhys said. “But the piece itself is so unique.”
His co-star Stephen Root, who plays a local fisherman named Wyck, was impressed by Rhys’s range. Root sent him an email after filming wrapped.
“At the end of this series, I wrote him an email saying, ‘The most amazing thing I saw throughout this series was you doing every kind of acting, broad comedy, small comedy, devastating drama, and farce,’” Root shared. “It was watching a really good theater actor do everything that you can do. He has the chance to do every kind of thing in this show, and he gets to show it off, and it’s brilliant. I told him that it was just astonishing to watch that up close.”
Director Hiro Murai also noted how Rhys’s performance grounded the show’s mix of tones. Murai said that when the production felt tonally lost, they would look at what Rhys was playing to get back to an honest place. He described Rhys’s strength as playing discomfort and repressed fear through microexpressions.
What Fans Can Expect
Creator Katie Dippold described the show as her version of a passion project she has wanted to make for years. She first submitted the pilot script when interviewing for a writing job on Parks and Recreation Season 2. Over time, the project evolved from a more joke-focused concept into a series that takes both the horror and the character stakes seriously.
Dippold shared that a visit to a diner in Marblehead, Massachusetts, helped her fine-tune the show’s visual tone. She wanted to capture a cozy, lived-in feeling with something lurking beneath the surface. She also drew inspiration from a haunted house on the boardwalk in Long Branch, New Jersey, where she grew up.
“When I was a kid, I would go to the haunted house on the boardwalk in Long Branch, New Jersey. It was truly terrifying because they would chase you around,” Dippold said. “I would be excited all day. It was such a communal experience. We would all be screaming and laughing. That’s a feeling I have been trying to capture my whole life; the goal was to get that feeling on television.”
Also Read:
A Town Stuck in Time
The island setting of Widow’s Bay plays a key role in the story. With no modern technology like Wi-Fi and unreliable cell service, the town feels displaced in time. Residents use landlines to communicate with the mainland. Most of the lifelong residents have never left the island.
Mayor Loftis, however, spent his summers there as a child but did not become a full-time resident until adulthood. This background makes the locals view him as an outsider despite his long history with the town. His teenage son, Evan (Kingston Rumi Southwick), has never left the island and is the main reason Loftis wants to improve the community.
The first three episodes of Widow’s Bay will be available for streaming on Apple TV on April 29, 2026. The series will run weekly after that, with the season finale arriving on June 17, 2026.
Also Read: Widow’s Bay Release Date, Cast Details, and Streaming Info for Apple TV+ Comedy Horror
Stay connected with VvipTimes for more updates on the latest streaming releases and cast interviews from upcoming Apple TV series and other major platforms.
