‘Widow’s Bay’
Widow’s Bay (Season 1) is a horror comedy set on the fictional New England island of Widow’s Bay. The show has similarities to Lost – it features people who are stuck on an island that appears to be a focus for supernatural forces beyond their control.
Matthew Rhys is well cast as the town’s Mayer along Kate O’Flynn as his assistant. There is a charming quirkiness in the first four episodes where the comedy horror is played straight. The audience is unsure if the ‘dark forces’ are real or imagined.
The production values, performances and writing has been great in Season 1. Personally, I was hoping for more of the nuanced and surreal tone of the first four episodes. Mixing ordinary lives with horror that could be passed off as either real or imagined. The full blown horror of the season’s second half included a trip into the Island’s dark past and a Halloween meets It Follows chase episode along Widow Bay’s dark streets. It will be interesting to see where the writers take Widow’s Bay in Season 2. I can see it turning into a quirky Stranger Things for adults.