I hate to be that person, but I loved Widow’s Bay before everybody loved Widow’s Bay. For a few weeks in spring, the Apple TV series was my little secret, a show that I begged my friends to watch but one that in actual fact, I enjoyed hoarding all to myself, the way one clings to an underground indie band right before they explode onto the charts. Insufferable, I know.
Well, the secret is officially out. Last night, Widow’s Bay swept the Emmys, winning 14 of its 19 nominations, including Best Comedy Series and all the top acting gongs. Star Matthew Rhys also made history as the first person to win two best lead actor awards in one night. (He won the other for the Netflix thriller The Beast In Me). The only category Widow’s Bay didn’t win was Best Actress, in which it didn’t even have a candidate.
All this for a show that had barely registered on anyone’s awards radar until it was almost too late. Widow’s Bay began in very late April, just one month before the closure of the Emmys eligibility window – and it wasn’t until June that it really picked up steam, popularised through good ol’ word of mouth. And memes. Lots and lots of memes. So it’s safe to say that we’re firmly out of hidden gem/gatekeeping territory. And if the bajillion Emmys and Rhys’s charming red carpet interviews weren’t enough, here’s my hard sell to make Widow’s Bay your next binge-watch.
The show stars Welsh actor Matthew Rhys as Tom, the beleaguered mayor of a small and scruffy coastal town with one nice restaurant, no WiFi, and a spotty history of cannibalism. His attempts to turn Widow’s Bay into the next Martha’s Vineyard are waylaid by an ancient curse that rumbles to life just as his PR push gets going. It’s tough trying to entice tourists to your island when there’s a sea hag on the loose.
The synopsis alone is a nifty indicator of the show’s tone: a horror-comedy that gets both sides of that hyphen just right. Tonally, it is off-kilter and experimental, while never trying too hard to be either of those things. It feels fresh in a way that nothing really does anymore. The last time I remember being caught so wonderfully off-guard by TV was the first season of Beef two years ago.
Still, people like to poke holes in things. And every awards season brings the same chatter: what is a comedy? Sheryl Lee Ralph of Abbott Elementary fame brought that conversation to this year’s Emmys red carpet when she claimed that her series was the “only real comedy” in this year’s Best Comedy category. While that discourse is appropriate for a show like, say, The Bear – a bonafide drama in which I laughed a grand total of zero times across four seasons – it feels totally wrong for Widow’s Bay.
The show is laugh-out-loud funny – as funny as you would expect a show by screenwriter Katie Dippold, who started out as a writer on the Amy Poehler series Parks and Recreation. Funnier, even. Yes, the show is scary in parts, but mostly it is scary in the same way that Scary Movie is scary. Even the most frightening moments – that aforementioned sea hag bobbing around in the water, or a clown speed-crawling in the basement – are offset by humour. More often than not, it manifests in the facial expressions of Tom himself, aghast and befuddled, memed to oblivion online.
For no one am I more happy than Matthew Rhys: a man who is the human embodiment of charisma. Rizz, as the kids call it, is more than just a phonetic similarity when it comes to the Welshman. Just look at his red carpet interviews. He probably could’ve charmed his way to that Best Actor Emmy had his performance alone not secured it. (I said it then and I’ll say it again now: we were robbed when Rhys wasn’t cast as 007 back when he auditioned for James Bond back in the early 2000s.)
I interviewed Rhys in March of last year for a separate project, during which he admitted he was nervous to take on a comedic role, having made his name on dramatic shows like The Americans. Obviously, he needn’t have worried. As Tom, he is the ultimate straight man reacting believably and hilariously to the hauntings happening around him. He does not hide anything; it is all there, etched on his face in high-definition. (Not for nothing, Widow’s Bay also looks fantastic – directed mostly by Hiro Murai, the man behind the camera of similarly good looking shows like Atlanta and Barry.)
In addition to Rhys’s dual triumph last night was a win for Kate O’Flynn, who I also had the pleasure of speaking with this summer to discuss her brilliant turn as Tom’s eccentric assistant and the town’s local pariah. As Patricia, O’Flynn – who, like Rhys, is known for drama – is a true-blue weirdo, with shades (and eyes) of Shelley Duvall and that same tortured vulnerability. Equally deft is her handling of the show’s unique humour, slippery as an eel and equally hard to wrangle.
Stephen Root, guest star extraordinaire, also won Best Supporting Actor, and for good reason. His scoundrelly fisherman Wyck is someone to root for, a conspiracy nut done good – a role with enough comedic material to flex what Root has always been good at, as well as an equal amount of dramatic gravitas to show a different side to the character actor.
All this to say, the Widow’s Bay Emmy sweep was well-deserved – also deserved is a wider audience than the show’s admittedly limited Apple TV subscriber base can offer. But with Severance and (bleugh) Ted Lasso under the Apple banner, Widow’s Bay could very well be the thing that finally convinces people to purchase yet another streaming package. And that is a feat perhaps even more impressive than all the awards.
Read MoreMatthew Rhys reveals partner Keri Russell’s brutal response to his two Emmy wins
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Kate O’Flynn on winning everyone over as Widow’s Bay’s true blue weirdo
