Widow’s Bay is one of the biggest hits of the year. The TV show, created by Katie Dippold, wrapped its first season last week. Apple TV has greenlit the series for a second season. In fact, the show has been so well received that its renewal was announced before it’s finale even aired.
The series follows mayor Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys) as he struggles to revive the community of Widow’s Bay, a New England island town whose residents believe is haunted by a centuries’ old curse. As the series progresses and Loftis tries to get the Wi-Fi to work and tourists to visit, his skepticism begins to be challenged, with some of the town’s stories and myths appearing to come true.
Widow’s Bay season 2
Matt Cherniss, head of programming at Apple TV, shared the renewal news of the series renewal last week. “From the moment audiences arrived in Widow’s Bay, they’ve been hooked on every eerie mystery, unexpected laughs, and cursed secret that Katie, Hiro Murai, Matthew, and the entire team have created,” he said. “It’s become one of those shows everyone’s talking about, and we’re thrilled to see audiences continue to embrace it. We can’t wait to return for another season.”
Dippold, who’s the series’ showrunner and creator, previously worked on Parks & Rec, flexing her comedy and horror skills episode by episode. “Season two is about how everything is great on the island and there’s nothing to worry about,” she said in a statement, via Deadline. She also signed a multiyear deal with the company.
Widow’s Bay marks another success for Apple TV, a company that’s delivering some of the best genre television right now, with shows like For All Mankind, Pluribus, Severance, Silo, and more.
Widow’s Bay is produced by Hiro Murai, who also directed five episodes this season. It stars Rhys, Kate O’Flynn, Stephen Root, Dale Dickey, Kevin Carroll, and Kingston Rumi Southwick.
“I tend to gravitate towards stories about people who are sort of at odds with their environment, who are feeling kind of displaced or disconnected,” Murai told Polygon, “and a lot of the surreal terror that comes out of that disconnection.”
Some of Murai’s other work includes Atlanta, Station Eleven, and Mr. and Mrs. Smith.
He shared that one of the reasons he decided to sign on to Widow’s Bay was the challenge of balancing its different tones.
“There were a lot of questions about whether this could be pulled off, which was really exciting,” he said. “The tonal balance felt really difficult to execute. The ambition of trying to be both felt really exciting and sort of new. I tend to gravitate towards things that are trying to do something I can’t pull references for.”
When discussing season 2, Murai teased a character he’d like to see get his own episode.
“I’m sort of obsessed with Garrett, the lighthouse keeper,” he said. “I don’t know if he can sustain an episode or what I want out of an episode with Garrett, but I am very curious to learn more about him.”
Widow’s Bay season 1 is streaming on Apple TV.