Widow's Bay has been the surprise TV hit of the spring. The New England-set horror comedy has alternately tickled and terrified Apple TV viewers over the course of its first nine episodes. Now, with the season finale looming over next week like an ominous fog bank, one question has been on every fan's mind: will Widow's Bay return?
Editor's note: The below contains spoilers for the For All Mankind Season 5 finale.
Few movie stars have had as successful of a career as Tom Hanks, and although he’s now almost 70 years old, he’s showing no signs of slowing down. Hanks can be seen narrating the new WWII series, World War II with Tom Hanks, which is blowing up on streaming around the world after a successful premiere. Hanks also executive produces the show, which he also did for the Apple TV World War II series, Masters of the Air (co-starring Austin Butler and Barry Keoghan). Hanks has plenty of experience with the World War II genre, and not just with the obvious Steven Spielberg collaboration, Saving Private Ryan. Back in 2020, Hanks headlined one of the biggest Apple TV movies of all time in Greyhound, which was such a success that the studio is hard at work on a sequel.
Widow's Baypremiered on Apple TV back in April and has already quickly become one of the streamer's most talked-about shows. The incredibly unique series is a blend of both horror and comedy, so you'll find yourself covering your eyes in between hysterically laughing. Created by Katie Dippold, the show follows the story of a New England town called Widow's Bay that just so happens to be cursed. Each episode dives further into an aspect of the curse, offering new terrifying horror elements. Matthew Rhysplays Tom Loftis, the mayor of Widow's Bay, who is desperately trying to make the island a tourist destination — that is, before he starts becoming a target of the curse himself. Critics and viewers alike have been lauding Widow's Bay as a must-watch, but now one horror legend has deemed the show worthy of a shout-out.
With a library full of acclaimed, high-quality content, Apple TV (formerly known as Apple TV+) has established itself as a major player in the world of streaming. The service has produced a steady stream of celebrated, award-winning shows and movies, including several that easily rank among the best of recent years. And some of the best, most exciting stuff you could watch on the service are its gripping thriller shows.
Last December, John Travolta told Thierry Frémaux, the general delegate of Cannes, that he had finished his first film as a director, Propeller One-Way Night Coach, which premieres on Apple TV on May 29. “But I don’t know…,” he hesitated. “Send it to me,” the Frenchman shot back. A few days later, Frémaux called him and said: “For the first time in the history of Cannes, I’m going to do this. I’m selecting it for the festival myself — and don’t touch it. It’s perfect. But let me protect it.”
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In the last few years, Apple TV has done more than enough to establish itself as one of the premiere homes for original sci-fi programming. Many fans first flocked to the platform for more wholesome hits like Ted Lasso (starring Jason Sudeikis), but it was more dystopian thrillers like Severance (starring Adam Scott) that got subscribers to re-up their deal and hang around for the long haul. Severance was the most-watched Apple TV show in platform history until last year brought on the arrival of Pluribus, which was written and created for TV by Breaking Bad scribe Vince Gilligan. Both Severance and Pluribus have been renewed for new seasons, but neither will return before the end of this year. There is another Apple TV sci-fi show you may have forgotten about that’s set to return for a new season sooner than you realize.
Apple TV has dabbled in plenty of thrillers over the years. Shows like Presumed Innocent and The Last Thing He Told Me have offered intriguing mysteries to solve, while Slow Horses and The Last Frontier offer a variation on modern-day spies. Each thriller has, of course, provided jaw-dropping twists and compelling plotlines, but all of these shows tend to embrace a similar aesthetic. Apple TV's newest psychological thriller, however, looks far different than anything else it's produced so far.
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