Widow’s Bay
Credit: Apple TV
Widow’s Bay is not only one of the best TV shows currently streaming, it’s one of the best shows of 2026. It’s also one of my favorite horror-comedy series of all time, with one banger of an episode after another. While most of these hover around half an hour, the show is so smartly written and cleverly crafted, more than enough story is packed into each short installment. It’s brilliant, and that makes Apple’s announcement today all the sweeter: Widow’s Bay will return for a second season.
“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, Matthew, and the entire team have created,” said Matt Cherniss, head of programming, Apple TV, in a statement. “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.”
Showrunner and EP, Katie Dippold, added, “Season two is about how everything is great on the island and there’s nothing to worry about,” which is rather cheeky. Nothing to see here folks! Martha’s Vineyard also has knife-wielding men in masks and creepy sea hags!
Widow’s Bay tells the story of a remote island village off the coast of New England that is haunted by a mysterious evil. We’ve seen this evil manifest in various shapes, from demonic self-help books to terrifying clowns, and we’ve even traveled back into the island’s sordid past and its founder, Richard Warren (Hamish Linklater).
The first season has focused largely on the story of mayor Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys) as he attempts to transform the town into a tourist destination, but keeps finding himself confronted with inexplicable terrors and a deeper mystery about the island’s curse.
Patricia (Kate O’Flynn) has had some standout moments as well, including two of my favorite episodes of the season. Stephen Root plays Wyck, a true believer in the town’s supernatural perils, who serves as something of a foil for Tom before they become unlikely allies. The entire cast is phenomenal, from Dale Dickey (who plays the hilarious genealogy expert, Rosemary) to Kevin Carroll (who plays the town’s much-beleaguered sheriff).
So what’s the bad news? We only have one more episode left of Season 1 and it’s only half an hour long! Then we’ll have to wait who knows how long for Season 2. With the renewal just announced, there’s no release date for us to look forward to yet, either. I just don’t want this show to end, even though I’m happily rewatching it as it releases each week.
On the bright side, Apple TV and Dippold have signed a multi-year deal, so hopefully we get more than just one more season. And if this show is anything to go by, hopefully Dippold’s future work is just as entertaining.
My one concern is the Season 2 Effect. I can’t even count the number of shows that begin with a really, really strong season and then either come out with a dreadful second season or just a . . . not nearly as good second season. Sometimes these are genuinely bad, like the second season of Yellowjackets.
Often, they just feel rushed or sloppier (Deadloch) or lose a bit of their lustre (Severance) or like the show should have been an anthology series instead (Stranger Things) or just tonally all wrong (True Detective). Many times, it’s as though the first season has been planned out really carefully and then the creators and writers flounder with the second.
Here’s hoping that this curse, at least, is lifted for Widow’s Bay.
