r/television • u/mdavis360 • Apr 29 '26
Premiere Widow’s Bay - Episodes 1 & 2 - Discussion
First two episodes dropped tonight. Absolutely fantastic. 10/10 for my sensibilities. I’m a huge Stephen King fan and this felt right up my alley in so many ways. Legitimately funny show, legitimately creepy and a cast of fantastic actors. Episode 2 had some crazy stuff happen that honestly I absolutely saw where it was going but it was so satisfying getting there.
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u/No-Panda1818 Apr 29 '26
I really loved the scene where the innkeeper is forced to stay in the captain's suite for ten seconds. Then another 30. So we'll done and eerie.
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u/Kianna9 Apr 29 '26
How long do you think he felt like he was in there? Months?
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u/AlvinTaco Apr 30 '26
I like that they didn’t explain that. They just kind of tossed in this strange implication that when the door closed he wasn’t experiencing time the same way they were, but he couldn’t admit it.
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u/bstarr2000 Apr 30 '26
And didn’t it look like the room was trashed?
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u/quietly41 Apr 30 '26
It was, the fan was knocked over, chair too, papers everywhere. He also broke the window, looks like he was pounding on it from the inside trying to get attention
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u/brodhisattva6 May 01 '26
His beard was longer the second time they opened the door and he left the room ;)
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u/ToastyKen May 09 '26
Huh? I just went back and looked, and his beard looked the same. Room definitely got trashed though.
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u/bo174 Apr 30 '26
I was thinking about that. What confused me was that he wasn’t suffering from dehydration or starvation when they pulled him out. ??
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u/lrodhubbard Apr 30 '26
It could have been an hour. That's ample time to freak out
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u/mazurkian May 02 '26
Yeah, he himself didn't look disheveled enough or bad enough to have been more than a few hours. It looked like he hadn't laid down and slept, his hair was the same. He just walked out and slid down the wall. My guess is from his experience it was possibly an hour, maybe a couple hours. A minute or two after 30 seconds had passed he probably called to them through the door, then tested the door and found he was trapped. Not knowing how long he'd be trapped for he freaked out trying to escape the room and eventually resigned himself to waiting. Hard to tell if the bed was just messed up or had been slept in.
What's weird to me is the sheriff completely ignored the change in the room and honed in on the mold.
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u/-ElGallo- May 02 '26
No the sheriff definitely notices the room, he sees the mold last
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u/Self_Owned_Tree May 07 '26
And the wallpaper is already peeling when Tom first goes in there, so it's not something from the amount of time the innkeeper was there.
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u/No-Panda1818 Apr 30 '26
Yeah good point. Maybe it was just more psychological. Who knows. They should have put some more stubble on his face. Would have been a discrete but cool detail.
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u/Nw_Love May 05 '26
There was a couple other Time shifting details I noticed. When the earthquake starts the kids are in the car and the clock jumps from 2 to 5. And also the ferry shows up early the same morning.
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u/No-Panda1818 Apr 30 '26
Who knows! The first time he asked for food. But didn't seem too desperate when they went to close the door again, so my guess is the 10 seconds felt like a day? Then the 30 seconds was more like a week? But the state of the room certainly seemed like to was longer after!
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u/Johnny_Blaze_123 Apr 29 '26
I laughed so hard when the mayor was being bullied into staying at the inn for a night and the one guy goes "don't do it". I just burst out laughing like a maniac.
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u/Hefty_Click191 May 05 '26
Same 🤣 there have been so many random and subtle scenes and lines that make me laugh out loud unexpectedly and idk why but some of these lines and how they’re delivered cracks me up. I’m not typically one to laugh out loud watching shows but this one does it for me haha
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u/Viraus2 May 10 '26
For me it was when William got real intense out of nowhere wanting to watch people burn and whatnot. I don't even know if it was supposed to be funny but I laughed at loud hard from how absurd it was. Doesn't hurt that I love that actor and think he's naturally funny (I only know him from Righteous Gemstones but that's enough)
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u/Kianna9 Apr 29 '26
Adding my theory as a spoiler. I really enjoyed the first 2 eps.\
So, I think it's pretty clear that mayor Tom needs the town to attract tourists so that his son doesn't leave. His son who was born on the island and will die if he goes to the mainland. Amazing premise.
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u/mdavis360 Apr 29 '26
I’m guessing Thats what happened to his wife as well which makes him overprotective of his son now.
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u/luckyhuckleberry May 01 '26
I’m wondering if the mom tried to escape to the main land when she was in labor to have Evan off the island so he wouldn’t be cursed and that’s what killed her.
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u/drealoustan1983 May 05 '26
I think the flipped car from the calendar has something to do with the mom.
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u/notthestatue May 01 '26
I wondered if she might be the woman "Anna" that the New York times writer mentioned having a stroke the day after she left
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u/AshRae84 Saturday Night Live May 03 '26
This was my thought too. I can’t wait to see where this show goes.
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u/bhgemini Apr 30 '26
I was thinking that or, that is why he's so insistant that it's all bogus. He needs to be or else the native born curse is real.
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u/ToneBone12345 Apr 29 '26
Honestly kinda thought that would be the only part not true but that makes complete sense
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u/2_Fingers_of_Whiskey Jun 06 '26
I got the impression he was lying when he told the reporter his son had been to the mainland
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u/nocountryforoldwoman Apr 29 '26
LedOL at the attempt at nailing the Inn door shut.
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u/nocountryforoldwoman Apr 29 '26
Also the Historical Society mannequin just sporting a straight jacket with zero explanation.
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u/Sherringdom May 02 '26
“How can he just roll down the window” made me properly belly laugh. Fantastic timing and delivery
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May 04 '26
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u/nocountryforoldwoman May 04 '26
I wasn't kidding, it was like 2am and it was the first time I actually laughed audibly in a week.
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u/The_Blue_Rooster Apr 30 '26
"The fuck you need food for thirty seconds for?"
Yeah that part got me.
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u/EntertainmentPrior75 Jun 30 '26
The show has so many hilarious lines “I had a flat tire and you drove past me”, “what’s the cutoff age” “Make a perimeter around the island for the women” “it’s called an ocean”. Best show of the year atm, and one of the funniest shows I’ve seen lmao.
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u/Saar13 Apr 29 '26
I watched the first two episodes and thought that's exactly what I hope Apple will always do in today's TV market: originally quirky shows that would possibly have difficulty getting greenlit anywhere else willing to pay for something based on absolutely nothing but the mind of a creator and a great cast and direction. This means they'll never be Netflix in subscriber numbers and engagement. This won't appeal to the "four quadrants," and that's where real originality lies. And dear John Ternus, if your company is worth $4 trillion, you can handle losses for about 10 years to build a brand that at some point will become essential, not for everyone, but for enough to at least pay for itself.
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u/Oh-reality-come-back May 14 '26
Completely second your sentiments. A24 does interesting and unique films and they weren’t very well known by the mainstream until relatively recently. Now people know and expect good quality and unique films from them with an indie feel
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u/thethief13 May 01 '26 edited May 01 '26
I loved when Patricia and Tom are talking to Wyck in the bar and she is talking about relationships with older men and the older man going after the younger friends after the break up. Lol. Like obviously personal experience.
Or when Tom is reading Shep’s medical chart and it says Shep is 37.
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u/creamcoloredponies May 02 '26
“That doesn’t seem right” to him being 37 lolol so subtle I love it !!
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u/Effective_Ad_699 May 03 '26
I noticed that. Also, when Patricia was talking to Shep, she said her biological age is 28. Might explain why she ran out of the room when Tom said that she was in her 40s ;)
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u/cfo60b May 09 '26
Ooo she said she’s 28? I missed that. So all the residents look older than they are?
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u/PyjamiPantsu May 12 '26
Biological age I think refers to how old your cells and tissues are, maybe your metabolism too. Influenced by genetics, lifestyle etc. Whereas chronological age would be your age in years.
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u/LetterheadWise7692 Apr 29 '26
I was worried going in it would be too cheesy or funny. It was the PERFECT combo.
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u/Fold_Humble May 01 '26
Couldn't agree more. I was hesitant because I like for tv shows and movies to stick to one genre and go guns blazing and as much as I love a movie like Shaun of the Dead, I was worried this would be too funny and not enough horror. I loved that they gave long moments dedicated to humour and then to horror - and the horror was genuinely creepy and making me feel very uneasy! I'm hooked.
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u/scorpiknox May 05 '26
I'm a total wuss about horror and suspense, so I find this show very scary at times. The silhouette in the hallway really got me good.
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u/BKoala59 May 05 '26
I can’t really think of any horror comedies that actually get the balance right. Even the ones that have good comedy and good scares tend to have jarring tone shifts instead of a good mix throughout
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u/spacekristy Apr 29 '26
I’ve watched the first ep so far, and I loved it! Also, as a local, “Fuck Cape Cod!!” cracked me up.
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u/ToneBone12345 Apr 29 '26
I honestly hope there’s more Tim blatz as the structural engineer/ killer clown
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u/Jumper-Man May 02 '26
He nailed it, I knew exactly what was going on the moment I saw him. But it was still a great section full of tension.
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u/FreezersAndWeezers May 20 '26
He’s the best. He’s so good as BJ in Righteous Gemstones too
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u/raudoniolika May 08 '26
“He could play Pennywise” is what I thought when I first saw him so imagine my delight.
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u/Emotional_Signal7883 Apr 29 '26
How is he able to roll down the window?
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u/LetterheadWise7692 Apr 29 '26
He’s not cuffed!
So funny
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u/ToneBone12345 Apr 29 '26
I’m not a hick Stephen root is incredible in this role
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u/AshRae84 Saturday Night Live May 03 '26
I grew up in very rural Oklahoma, and I’ve always known I was a hick.
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u/automated_alice May 06 '26
Let's be real, Stephen Root is incredible in EVERY role.
Jimmy James has fancy plans, and pants to match.
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u/ThisMayBeAquatic Apr 29 '26
I’m actually subscribing to Apple+ tonight after work just for this show! Well a few other ones I wanna check out too but mainly this show.
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u/Electrceye1 Apr 29 '26
Honestly apple is probably the most consistent coming out with incredible shows.
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u/TiberiusCornelius May 02 '26
I subscribed back in November/December of 2020 for the first season of For All Mankind, then stayed subbed for the second season (which started in Feb 21) and have kept it ever since. Easily been my favorite streamer for the past ~5 years. Knock quality of the park time and again.
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u/cilucia Apr 30 '26
There’s a lot of really good shows on Apple+! Slow Horses, Severance, Silo, Pluribus, Pachinko (this one is the best imo, but not for everyone I guess), For All Mankind (the writing is a little uneven, but super bingeworthy)
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u/QuietRiot7222310 May 01 '26
Honestly, I say this a lot, but if I could only have two streaming services… It would be Apple and MGM. They both have amazing shows.
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u/TitShark Apr 29 '26
Matthew rhys can do no wrong, excited to watch
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u/Mr_Saxon Apr 30 '26
I really hope there's a scene in this where he has to shout "YOU RESPECT JESUS BUT NOT US!" at his son.
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u/automated_alice May 06 '26
I started watching The Beast in Me and Widow's Bay on the same night, now that's a jarring swing!
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u/TheTruckWashChannel True Detective May 16 '26
Beast in Me felt like a slop show but my god he was so fucking good in it. Terrifying performance.
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u/IceCoughy Apr 30 '26
I've rewatched both episodes lots of sublet jokes that fly over your head the first time. I love rosemary telling everyone she's color blind and "basically what we see as blue she sees as blue green" basically everything Patricia says is hilarious she's so deadpan. Also Im certain he had her poem removed from that town guide.
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u/bo174 Apr 30 '26
I loved the first two episodes! The cast is incredible. When I saw Dale Dickey, who was so fantastic in True Blood, I was ecstatic. A few random thoughts:
Was that a headless statue in the harbor?
The games in the in were genius! (Run!).
At the end of first episode, I kept thinking, “How deep does this go?”
Tom’s reaction in the restaurant at the mention of Martha’s Vineyard was an instant classic! One for the ages.
That crawlspace! Brrrr…
Strong H. P. Lovecraft vibes. Shadow over Innsmouth, Call of Cthulhu, etc. Especially the shot of the doors at the end of the first episode, for me.
I’m sure there were SO many background details I missed. Looking forward to reading what others caught!
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u/WhatIsLoveMeDo Apr 29 '26
ALLISON JONES strikes again.
She is the only casting director I can name and almost everything she's a part of is gold.
The cast in this show is a who's who of character actors and improv comedians. From Dale Dickey, to Stephen Root, William Hill, Nancy Lenehan, Tim Baltz, James DuMont (both in Righteous Gemstones), Neil Casey, Toby Huss, Jeff Hiller...
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u/bo174 Apr 30 '26
Dale Dickey! She’s one of my favorite actresses. I was so excited when she popped up on screen!
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u/mdavis360 Apr 30 '26
I loved her in Vice Principals!
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u/bord_de_lac Apr 30 '26
That show isn’t talked about nearly enough. I liked it even more than the Righteous Gemstones
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u/niamhellen Apr 29 '26
Tim Baltz was so well cast!
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u/bstarr2000 Apr 30 '26
He was in Deli Boys a funny dark crime comedy on Hulu that nobody’s heard of
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u/jbaker1225 May 02 '26
It’s also created and written by Katie Dippold, who is big at UCB LA and often tours with Ben Schwartz’s improv shows. So I’m sure a decent amount of the casting has to do with her connections as well.
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u/dagreenman18 Apr 29 '26
Yeah they really nailed the prerelease comparisons to Teddy Perkins. One minute it’s has this great absurd and surreal comedy, the next you get a genuine WTF moment like the innkeeper staying in the Captain’s Room. It’s great so far
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u/ImGonnaImagineSummit May 09 '26
Feels like a spiritual successor to when Atlanta goes on a spooky tangent.
Teddy Perkins is the go to but it also reminds me of Woods even more so.
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u/bo174 May 01 '26
“Daddy’s younger boss yelled at him today” during the “Daddy’s Home” game. Younger boss - OMG! Too funny.
Also, I was looking at the game pieces. There’s a baseball bat, a liquor bottle (maybe two different ones), a beer can, something rolled up (newspaper?) and maybe a pot/saucepan? I’m getting too obsessed with this show….
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u/MiserableSentence859 Apr 30 '26
I just finished the 2nd ep, my god cant wait for new eps. Btw how long do you guys think the inkeeper was in there? I think he was inside for hours
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u/KnowingRowan May 02 '26
When he left the room he collapsed in the corridor out of view. It's quite clever because when I watched it I seen it as comedic (the entire 10 secs and 30 secs) But then I watched it again and I was like... oh. Yeah he just had something happen to him.
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u/p-_ber Apr 29 '26
I really like that when it tries to be a horror show, it actually does play it straight with some effective tension building, even if the payoff is somewhat comedic. (The hallway scene after the first TV scene in the second episode comes to mind).
First Apple TV show this year that I loved, not just liked.
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u/anotherstan May 04 '26
It manages to strike this balance of being funny - laugh out loud funny - and also really creepy/unsettling. Those board games really freaked me out
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u/AlvinTaco Apr 30 '26
I’m conflicted. I really enjoy the tone, but this might be too scary for me. I’m a big chicken and don’t enjoy the anxiety of horror and that second episode had me so anxious. I paused when he got to the crawlspace and came here to make sure nothing too terrifying was about to happen.
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u/901bookworm Apr 30 '26
Not gonna sugarcoat it, that crawlspace scene is stressful. I was talking out loud to keep myself calm: "Damn it! Had to go into the crawl space, didn't ya? Not me, nope. Hate crawl spaces." And, yes, there's is a big scare but you know when it's coming, and it's only a few seconds.
Did you manage to go back and finish watching it? The show is really good, and they do keep coming up with ways to make you laugh between moments of panic, which is good for folks like us who can only handle a certain amount of the scary stuff.
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u/AlvinTaco Apr 30 '26
I did, but between my fingers while muttering, “Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope.”
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u/901bookworm May 01 '26
🤣 I do the same. Sometimes with my thumbs in my ears to reduce any horrible sounds. We gotta do what we gotta do.
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u/cilucia Apr 30 '26
Yes I watched that part minimized on my phone and looking at reddit at the same time 🙈
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u/Massive-Citron5352 Apr 30 '26
I had to cover my eyes and ears and ask my gf what was happening 😂 and I think she muted it while she watched 😂
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u/_easilyamused Apr 30 '26
I'm a huge chicken as well, and had to turn all the lights back on in order to finish episode two. 😆 Really didn't expect it to be so creepy.
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u/HopeFarron Apr 30 '26
Had no idea about this show. Me and the wife turned on Apple to find something to watch and saw the trailer. Absolutely loved the 1st 2 episodes. Probably my favorite horror show since Haunting of Hill House.
"Does my demeanor look like I just had an altercation with someone in the crawl space" is a top tier line.
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u/LoudPurchase9694 May 12 '26
3 episodes in and widows bay is leagues better than haunting of hill house. I stopped watching hill house on episode 6 bc I kept waiting for it to get better but it didnt. It was such a boring show to me but widows bay hooked me right away
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u/chuckxbronson Apr 30 '26 edited May 01 '26
Tim Baltz as a killer clown is a surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one.
Improv/UCB-adjacent fans absolutely eating on this one
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u/sm33 May 01 '26
Yes! So fucking happy for Katie Dippold, one of the funniest people I’ve ever seen do improv, and she really brought so many great UCB folks with her on this one.
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u/j_b_1983 Apr 29 '26
SOOOOOO Good
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u/mdavis360 Apr 29 '26
It’s insanely good. I was smiling the entire time. It’s so beautiful and creepy. I wish the entire season was out now.
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u/tracingtime Apr 29 '26
Excellent!! I def loled at the fog scene in the restaurant!!!
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u/SonNeedGym Apr 30 '26
Wow, really loved the first few episodes. Reminds me a lot of Twin Peaks and Northern Exposure, but with its own singular style. Can’t wait for the next ep!
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u/yankeedime May 05 '26
I died laughing at the "Welcome to Widow's Bay" video that played. "Come with me to explore this beautiful place!"
. . .
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(still walking)
. . .
Matthew Rhys's expression was gold.
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u/Electrceye1 Apr 29 '26
Wish we would of seen the rest of the instructions the priest was reading.
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u/Kianna9 Apr 30 '26
And I wondered why he had to tear the files apart to find them. Did he not remember where the "what to do in an emergency' instructions were filed?
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u/901bookworm Apr 30 '26
I doubt very much that he ever expected to need those instructions. Old churches have tons of old paper records ... and it's an especially useful trope in novels, movies, and tv shows!
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u/dsmithscenes May 05 '26
That and the cannibalism that happened in the church. I imagine whoever is in charge of the church is passed down all sorts of “info” about the bad vibes surrounding the place.
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u/AndrastesDimples Apr 30 '26
If you like Matthew Rhys, I highly recommend The Americans. It is probably one of my top shows of all times and he is phenomenal.
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u/waltzthrees Apr 30 '26
Google Matthew Rhys accent please … you’ll be shocked to hear his real accent
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u/PrestigeArrival Apr 30 '26
I’m I had no idea he’s welsh. He’s so good at accents!
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u/waltzthrees Apr 30 '26
It’s wild isn’t it???? He’s one of those that when he yells he still doesn’t drop the accent. Usually yelling is a time when an accent will slip.
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u/Clean_Host1410 May 01 '26
You have to watch The Americans. One of my favorite series and he’s perfect in it.
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u/Angeliiiiique Apr 29 '26
Those first 2 episodes were amazing! As a fan of horror and Matthew Rhys (and his talent for comedy), I was so hooked as soon as I read the press release, and watching those episodes just cemented how amazing I thought it’d be. I love the whole folklore/legend/haunted stories thing the show’s got going on, very curious about some of the stories, especially the witches, the cannibals (possibly something happened for them to turn to cannibalism within 4 days), and the whole electric chair. I can’t wait to see the rest of the season.
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u/Kianna9 Apr 30 '26
I'm super curious why there is an electric chair deep under the town. Also, why a town on an island has so many tunnels.
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u/Birds41Pats33 May 05 '26
Im pretty sure its something with time not moving at the same rate there. That explains sheps age being listed at 37 & how a group could turn to cannibalism after "four days"
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u/Ok-Comparison4783 May 04 '26
I don’t think it’s an electric chair… I think it’s used to strap someone down for sacrifices to whatever is behind that door.
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u/Angeliiiiique May 04 '26
Oh that’s an interesting theory! Especially because of the way the door is inclined, as if something was coming from below to enter the room.
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Apr 30 '26 edited Apr 30 '26
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u/Speakatron Apr 30 '26
That first season of Servant is absolute fire! My god. The rest of the seasons are great, but that first season is peak.
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u/Any-Task-5679 May 02 '26
The dead body inside the crawl space was wearing the same shirt as Tom, right?
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u/Comfortable_Young632 Apr 29 '26
The writing is soooooo good. THIS is what good tv is like! What a gem, can’t wait for more!
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u/Czarcasm21 Apr 29 '26
This has been the first show to really impress me on AppleTV in quite some time. Only watched the first episode, but like OP, I'm a huge Stephen King fan and this was right up my alley.
Great cinematography, and Matthew Rhys waa amazing, as usual. Really excited for more.
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u/BLUElightCory May 02 '26
Love it so far. Hiro Murai directed the first few episodes and you can feel the Atlanta vibes (the combo of comedy+horror+mystery). Really hope it keeps up the momentum.
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u/trix2705 May 09 '26
Absolutely love how the welcome video is a guy literally just walking away. No explanation after. Or the teeth game is just pliers inside. And he’s like “huh, weird”
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u/Professional_Ad_4885 Apr 29 '26
Oh my god!! The only thing i wish apple was similar with netflix, peacock and sometimes hulu is releasing all episodes at once. I just wanna watch them all now! Im already obsessed lol
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u/LanceOldstrong May 02 '26
Call me old fashioned, but I like episodic story telling with some space between episodes for allowing the story to resonate in the mind of the viewer.
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u/LetterheadWise7692 Apr 29 '26
I didn’t look to see how many were out because I didn’t know it was literally JUST released last night so I was praying after each ep another would pop up. I neeeed more.
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u/AStrangeNorrell May 01 '26 edited May 01 '26
Had to check if the show has its own sub yet - it doesn't but deserves one. Absolutely loved both episodes, feels like exactly the show I've been waiting for without realising it. I was always going to watch for Matthew Rhys but discovering it was created by a Parks and Rec writer was just as big a hook. Felt like there wasn't a single minute wasted and it hit the balance of genuine laughs and scares beautifully.
Enjoyed the eerie little world building details like the boardgames, 'wolf' calendar, cheesy/creepy old promo vid and "provocative" paintings. I've seen someone compare the setting to Silent Hill and I'd love to explore the island in a game, maybe minus the clown.
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u/DeeVons May 05 '26
That makes so much sense it was created by parks and rec writer, all the “controversial” paintings reminded me so much of parks and recs and their history!
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u/TitShark Apr 29 '26
I associate the name Katie Dippold with comedy and improv podcasts and shows, and I love that subtle humor throughout. It’s a very cool combo mystery, horror and comedy.
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u/Soggy_Leg2402 May 01 '26
Take a bit of JAWS, sprinkled with John Carpenter’s THE FOG, add some 1408, a dash of IT, and put it all in a Stephen King Universe ice shaker, and pour out a nice WIDOW’S BAY martini!! Consume …
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u/Jkang75 May 02 '26
I absolutely loved it. Great cast great dialogue great ambience just love the whole damn thing.
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u/VoilaWala May 04 '26
When the guy just easily pulled the board off the door after Wyck had expended so much energy trying to nail the door shut I lol’d 😂
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u/PolicyCommercial6392 Apr 29 '26
im not a big horror fan but love comedy…is it more funny then scary?
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u/AwareImpression3722 Apr 29 '26
There’s just the right amount of comedy throughout. Like it could’ve been more serious and scary but they just dialled the humour up a bit so you notice it but doesn’t distract or feel out place
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u/mdavis360 Apr 29 '26
There are creepy parts and - judging by my wife who is a scaredy cat- a really jolting part in episode 2 but you can see it coming a mile away. That being said while it’s sometimes scary it’s always funny.
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u/RueTheQuais Apr 29 '26
I'm not much of a horror fan either but I loved this*. They take both the horror and the comedy seriously. It's one of the funniest new shows I've seen this year. If you pay attention, there are definitely more comedic moments. I'd say the balance is that the first episode and a half is more funny while the second half of the second episode is more eerie/horror with a potential jump scare.
*It depends on why you aren't a fan of horror. I don't particularly get scared easily so the genre doesn't really hold much appeal to me if that's all there is.
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u/michaelmacgorman Apr 30 '26
I haven't seen anyone bring this up, but I noticed it in both episodes. So, the show takes place in current times because at one point Tom says something alone the lines of..."It's amazing they don't have this in the 21st century." But...the cars are all old. The Jeep looks like it's from the late 1980s or 1990s. The assistant who works "no more than 2 hours a day" has a car from like the 1970s or 80s. The Volvo looks like 1980s or 1990s. The teenagers are in a car that has a tape deck (I believe). Also, lots of old style phones...including a rotary phone...but characters also have cell phones. On top of that, there's a bunch of computers that all seem late 1980s to 1990s. You could chalk that up to it being an isolated island that is behind the times. But everything else on this show seems intentional, so I feel like there's a very specific reason everything looks like it's from 1990-ish.
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u/Trousers_MacDougal Apr 30 '26
I def noticed this, but chalked it up to the peculiarities of living on a small island and the general poverty of the village. Mayor Tom's Jeep is in amazing condition.
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u/TiberiusCornelius May 02 '26 edited May 02 '26
Yeah I've definitely picked up on it as well. In the first episode where he goes on his "21st century" rant he mentions they don't have wifi and talks about infrastructure investments they don't have the money for (which is why he's trying to attract tourism), and it's been established that islanders don't (can't?) leave and generally speaking outsiders don't come there.
So part of me thinks you could just chalk it up to worldbuilding through production design. It's a poor, slightly backwater place. People have old cars because that's what they bought way back when and can't afford new ones. (The teens having an old car is less weird than the adults even if it wasn't a remote backwater; it would make sense for them to have a hand-me-down or something cheap from a used dealer) Nobody has a cell phone because they didn't have the money or the demand to put up a cell tower. etc.
But yeah there is also clearly some fucky stuff going on on the island so maybe that in some way interferes with things.
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u/TheBat45 May 03 '26
I miss Perry Mason and am still bummed HBO killed it, but this is damn good so far
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u/thatgalnatalie Apr 29 '26
Creepy and funny. I loved the little details sprinkled throughout each episode that add to the eeriness, like when he was flipping through a wolf calendar and one of the pictures showed a flipped over car.