A few months ago, no one had heard of “Widow’s Bay.” But the Apple TV horror comedy, which follows the efforts of a mayor (played by Matthew Rhys of “The Americans”) to attract tourists and combat ghouls in a fictional New England island town, became one of the buzziest shows of the spring.
The series, which Apple TV renewed for a second season last month, parlayed that enthusiasm into an Emmys nominations haul, landing 19 overall, including one for best comedy.
The show also picked up comedy acting nods for best actor, for Rhys; actress for Kate O’Flynn; supporting actor for Stephen Root; supporting actress for Dale Dickey; and guest actor and actress for Hamish Linklater and Betty Gilpin, who play the long-dead (or is he?) town founder and his intrepid wife.
James Poniewozik, chief TV critic for The New York Times, called “Widow’s Bay” the season’s best new show, writing that, despite being plagued by unnatural fog and storms, serial killings and a generations-old curse, the island was “the most delightful place I have visited this year.”
“A laugh and a scare are different outcomes of the same achievement, a good surprise,” he wrote in his review of the series. “And ‘Widow’s Bay’ has more of those than there are fish in the sea.”
Celebrity fans include the filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, a master of horror himself, who called the series “one of the most mesmerizing acts of narrative prestidigitation in Horror” and potentially “the best streaming series in a long time.”
Rhys told The Times he took the role because of the show’s bonkers tone and because “Widow’s Bay” reminded him of the Welsh town Fishguard, home to “a long line of mariners” on his mother’s side.
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