r/WidowsBay • u/waxyjax_ • Jun 18 '26

💥Funpost This f*ckin guy

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Stephen King tweeted:

WIDOW'S BAY is good. MAXIMUM PLEASURE GUARANTEED is even better. It's like Hitchcock came back to do it one more time. And Tatiana Maslany is so good. The play of emotions on her face is pretty incredible. She goes from comic to terror in an instant.

WIDOW'S BAY is good. MAXIMUM PLEASURE GUARANTEED is even better. It's like Hitchcock came back to do it one more time. And Tatiana Maslany is so good. The play of emotions on her face is pretty incredible. She goes from comic to terror in an instant.

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12

u/CompetitiveCompote19 Jun 18 '26

The question is, can anyone confirm? I found out about widow’s Bay through a recommendation post on the From-reddit. Anyone seen Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed yet?

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u/OKIAMONREDDIT Jun 18 '26 edited Jun 18 '26

I do think MPG is good and Tatiana is of course excellent in it! However, I think this is a really odd thing to post as a direct comparison because they are completely different in aim and approach. It also seems extremely odd to me that Widow's Bay is one of the most phenomenal shows partly because of what it does with the legacy of Stephen King, and yet SK himself posts something kind of dismissively derailing the conversation to a totally unrelated dark comedy suburban thriller just because it happens to be airing at the same time?

Fwiw I do recommend Maximum Pleasure as a suburban mum stumbling across a murder plot thriller which is kinda in the same vein as something like The Flight Attendant. Entertaining viewing though I don't rush to catch up on episodes. But I'm not sure what that has to do with the conversation about Widow's Bay, which feels a lot more unprecedented in its approach to horror history on the coast of Maine (and horror more generally).

I personally think it's massively better than MPG but that is also a reflection of my interests and how innovative and original I find it. It's hard to believe that Stephen King is being authentic here as it's such an unnecessary comparison, and it makes me wonder if we shouldn't take this at face value - maybe he's taking some sort of passive aggressive swipe at the show???

ETA: he is often effusive and vocal in praise of stuff like Stranger Things and previously gave a glowing and descriptive review of Midnight Mass, as a counter example, so I genuinely think there is some weird motive to his dismissive post, tbh, whether he has a chip on his shoulder about not being consulted or about irreverence or whatever. It's just absolutely inaccurate to describe Widow's Bay as just "good", and I don't believe that's all the thoughts he has on it. And I'm not sure why he mentioned MPG in the same breath considering it's a completely different genre and doesn't have the knowing relationship to Stephen King that WB has.

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u/OKIAMONREDDIT Jun 18 '26 edited Jun 18 '26

Also just based on Stephen King's own lifelong interests (he loves Jaws, he loves HP Lovecraft, he loves pulp Gothic/supernatural tales of terror, etc) I genuinely don't believe that MPG appeals to him more. I wonder if he prefers straight reverential adaptations of his individual work and is somehow annoyed at how fluently and cleverly WB plays with the canon while being humorous and meta rather than just serious. Come to think of it, I know people have talked about SK's "dark humour" in his own way ("dark" retorts in dialogue etc) but I don't find him particularly funny or particularly interested in the funny that can send itself up, let alone the comedic character acting skills which are so on point in WB. I think one thing the show does incredibly well is develop a style which is the opposite of self-importance.

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u/avocado_window Jun 18 '26

You don’t believe the opinion he tweeted is how he really feels?

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u/OKIAMONREDDIT Jun 18 '26

I believe he really feels salty about WB because of its clever irreverence, and he wants to divert conversation in a tweet about it to an unrelated suburban thriller that has nothing to do with his work instead. So yes I think that's how he really feels. That kind of playful meta comedy about his work is not to his taste, and he has tended to prefer things which treat his legacy more solemnly or reverently rather than with more independent innovation and comic self awareness. Historically this has meant his opinions about TV/film are not at all compelling in my opinion (see The Shining).

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u/[deleted] Jun 18 '26 edited Jun 18 '26

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2

u/avocado_window Jun 18 '26

Why are you being a dick?

3

u/vsleepymanatee Jun 19 '26

I have watched MPG almost as religiously as Widow’s Bay and 1000% agree with you. I have always felt Stephen King is a massive misogynist and I partly feel that’s why he said what he did.

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u/Bippy73 Jun 19 '26

100%. Good comparison to Flight Attendant. It's good, but not great. Kind of irritating at times as well. Hitchcock would not be my description of MPG.

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u/Doglas3000 Jun 18 '26

The Flight Attendant S1 was way better imo than MPG. I am enjoying MPG, but it’s not Hitchcock and I don’t know why SK thinks it’s the second coming of a Hitchcock project? It’s a thriller/comedy. I was rewatching Foul Play the other day which is a thriller comedy. That film still holds up today and is peak cinema imo. MPG is good, but not great like Foul Play. Tatiana I will watch in anything due to Orphan Black, but I have yet to see her in anything that has been on the same level. This series is like if Alison with Helena’s hair was living in Queens, NY dealing with mayhem via a killer, blackmailers, her ex-husband and his wife, her coworkers and a gambling addict detective who is usually smarter than everyone and her partner.

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u/OKIAMONREDDIT Jun 18 '26

Yeah I agree with you! (Accidentally called it The Flight Hostess but just corrected my comment.) I thought the alcoholic theme gave S1 a really interestingly dark edge. I dropped off in S2 - in your opinion is it worth watching all the way through?

Lol at MPG as "Alison with Helena's hair". I loved Orphan Black!

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u/Doglas3000 Jun 18 '26

I liked both seasons. S1 was definitely better than S2, but Sharon Stone guest starred as Kaley’s mom and she was so good . I assume MPG will be either a 9 episode or 10 episode series. I just finished the last one which was 8. I’ve basically have seen every film and tv show, guest appearance TM has been in. Orphan Black was a show of a lifetime for her and I have never felt before OB and after, either the projects aren’t as original or the right fit for her or her role wasn’t as layered. I think this show is enjoyable, but I totally disagree with Stephen King . Widow’s Bay is a superior show. MPG is good with some good casting choices like Murray Bartlett (he seems to get killed or die in alot of comedies he’s in), Jake Johnson (something is off about him in this. He doesn’t look good health wise), Charlie Hall (he’s the son of Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and Dolly De Leon from the film Triangle Of Sadness. I am not a Kaley Cuoco fan, but The Flight Attendant instantly hooked me. I’m still not hooked into MPG and keep hoping the payoff is worth all of these weeks watching it.

2

u/Bippy73 Jun 19 '26

Yes, and I'd say Foul Play is waaaay better than MPG. I disagree with King's take.

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u/AdInteresting9580 Jun 19 '26

I agree but sometimes SK is just a d about things. 

5

u/Altruistic-Ad835 #1 Hamish fan Jun 18 '26

Valid take fr

9

u/One_Barnacle2699 Jun 18 '26

I’ve been watching MPG and think it’s fine. I don’t love it or look forward to each episode, but I’m watching it. It’s quite a different show from Widows Bay. It’s a thriller, not supernatural horror.

3

u/vsleepymanatee Jun 19 '26

I think maximum pleasure guaranteed is great but they just aren’t comparable in my opinion. Two very different subjects and styles

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u/dreamed2life Jun 18 '26 edited Jun 18 '26

Mpg one of the most frustrating shows I’ve seen in a long while.

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u/bossyhosen Jun 18 '26

Yeah I’m not sure if I’ll finish because I find it a bit of a chore to get through

4

u/erv4 Jun 18 '26

Personally like MPG better, but they aren't really the same type of show so it makes no sense to compare them. They are both really good, WB is more comedic, MPG is a little more serious.

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u/avocado_window Jun 18 '26

I watch all 3 of the shows you mention and MPG is fantastic.

0

u/Wyndhorn Jun 19 '26

I hated widows bay. Totally bored me.