The glitz and glamour of award season is finally upon us! With the 78th Emmy Awards ceremony officially kicking off award season a couple of weeks ago, audiences are saying goodbye to their full-time jobs and instead focusing on predictions about who will win. For the Emmys specifically, a very popular choice to sweep was the medical drama, The Pitt, and my prediction was no different. With 25 nominations, I was extremely confident that The Pitt would sweep. However, expectations did not meet reality. Instead of The Pitt winning every award, it was…Widow’s Bay?
Sweeping the Emmys, Widow’s Bay won a whopping 14 awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series, Best Directing, Best Writing, and many more. However, audiences were left with a lot of questions: What is Widow’s Bay? Why did it win so much? Why have I never heard of it before?
What is ‘widow’s bay’?
Apple TV’s Widow’s Bay follows Tom Loftis, a New England mayor, who stubbornly tries to promote tourism on his small island, despite strange, supernatural events that suggest an underlying curse on the town. Throughout the 10 episodes, Loftis and other townspeople experience a variety of mysterious events that ultimately reveal the island’s ominous history. While this show is marketed primarily as a horror, Widow’s Bay is also a comedy.
I found Widow’s Bay on a whim one night and randomly hit play. The plot and atmosphere drew me in, but what kept me tuned in every week was the unexpected yet lovable characters and the witty dialogue that balanced the comedy and horror aspects of the show. These feelings were universal, which is exactly why Widow’s Bay won so many awards at the Emmys.
Let’s dive deeper into why Widow’s Bay was so good…
perfect mix between comedy & horror
I mentioned before that Widow’s Bay is mainly a horror, but almost right away the audience experiences the wonderful humor of the series. The dialogue is sharp and deadpan, which contrasts with the content of the show, creating an ironic atmosphere. One of the most memorable examples is when Loftis shows a journalist around the town’s historical center and has to blatantly deny the cannibalistic past of the island, while a newspaper article describing the past cannibalism hangs directly behind him. The ironic details in the show were one of the most pleasantly surprising things about Widow’s Bay for me. I remember watching the first episode and laughing out loud at a line. For me, the mark of a really great TV show is that it makes me laugh, and Widow’s Bay did just that.
summer show with a twist
A constant desire of mine is a great summer show. One that has the ultimate East Coast summer vibes. One that reminds me of my childhood summers, constantly at the beach and on the lake, surrounded by my friends and family. Don’t get me wrong, I have found many of these shows, like The Summer I Turned Pretty, Outer Banks, and even Sterling Point, which came out last summer. What sets Widow’s Bay apart is that it not only fills this desire but also gives it a little twist. Widow’s Bay is set in a small New England island town, so as you can imagine, there are a lot of coastal themes and images throughout the show. But what stands out about Widow’s Bay is that the horror component of the show bleeds through into the mood and tone. You don’t just get the beach and the ocean; you also get a deadly sea hag. You don’t just get the summer sunset and hot dogs on the grill; you also get a secret underground room with an electric chair. Why is the electric chair there, you ask? Well, you’ll just have to watch the show to find out.
With the spooky coastal mood of Widow’s Bay, you almost feel more of a “summerween” vibe, rather than just a casual summer show. If you have ever seen Gravity Falls, then you will be familiar with the tone of Widow’s Bay.
Personally, I really enjoyed this component of Widow’s Bay. It made it interesting and different. Widow’s Bay wasn’t your usual summer watch; in fact, I used to wait until the sun set to watch Widow’s Bay because I knew that the dark and ominous tones of the show wouldn’t work during the bright summer day. The unique blending of genres made the show something to look forward to every night, and this made Widow’s Bay all the more memorable.
The directing & cinematography
Something about Widow’s Bay that really drew me in was the cinematography of the show. Most of the shots throughout the episodes are pretty dark to enhance the horror side of the series. Even when the show shoots during daylight hours, Widow’s Bay is almost always gloomy and rainy. However, this doesn’t mean that there aren’t beautiful shots throughout the show. One episode that I found particularly beautiful was when they covered the history of the island. In this episode, the show flashes back to the 1700s, when the town is just starting to establish itself. Because of the time period, candlelight is the main method of illumination, allowing for some beautiful, warm shots.
Another component of the cinematography that I really admire is how it ties in with the plot of the show. For example, one of the main conflicts with Mayor Loftis and his son, Evan, is that Evan really wants to leave the island and “start” his life. The cinematography is able to tie in this conflict by shooting Widow’s Bay in an old-fashioned, grainy movie look, kind of like movies from the 70s. Even though Widow’s Bay is technically set in the present day, this choice was made to make the island look removed from reality, mirroring how Evan feels removed from the real world.
So…Why haven’t you heard of it?
Simply put, Apple TV’s marketing sucks. The only way I discovered Widow’s Bay before it won a bunch of Emmys is because I was bored, in bed, and browsing one night. It’s interesting because Apple is a huge company with a budget to match, but for some reason, their marketing falls flat. Or really, I should say it doesn’t exist. I never see Apple TV shows on billboards or as commercials, never hear about them on the radio, and never see any ads on social media platforms.
However, just because Apple TV’s marketing sucks doesn’t mean their shows do too. I mean, Widow’s Bay won 14 Emmys, after all. So, take this as your sign to click play on a random TV show that you’ve never heard of before. Who knows? It might just sweep the next Emmys.