Widow's Bay

[Matt]

Just putting in a plug here for Apple TV's "Widow's Bay." I haven't seen comedy and horror juggled as well outside of a Sam Raimi film. Hiro Murai (who was the off-screen MVP of "Atlanta") directed half the episodes and really set the tone for the series in the first few. I didn't even know this show existed until a friend with questionable taste recommended it to me. I like Matthew Rhys ("The Americans") a lot, so I gave it a shot. He's absolutely fantastic in it, as is everyone else in the cast.

And now it's ended up with 19 Emmy nominations. If you don't have Apple TV, it's worth getting it for a month to binge this and Pluribus.

[beamish14]

Just putting in a plug here for Apple TV's "Widow's Bay." I haven't seen comedy and horror juggled as well outside of a Sam Raimi film. Hiro Murai (who was the off-screen MVP of "Atlanta") directed half the episodes and really set the tone for the series in the first few. I didn't even know this show existed until a friend with questionable taste recommended it to me. I like Matthew Rhys ("The Americans") a lot, so I gave it a shot. He's absolutely fantastic in it, as is everyone else in the cast.

And now it's ended up with 19 Emmy nominations. If you don't have Apple TV, it's worth getting it for a month to binge this and Pluribus.

It’s a truly incredible show. The episode with the “Boogeyman” that basically does a 25 minute speed-run through virtually every iconic American horror film of the last 50 years is one for the ages

[swo17]

Hiro Murai (who was the off-screen MVP of "Atlanta")

He also did several episodes of Barry and the This Is America video. Plus Andrew DeYoung (Friendship, The Chair Company) and Ti West. I'll have to check this out!

[The Curious Sofa]

Another big thumbs-up for Widow's Bay! The comedy didn't detract from the horror elements, it's a horror show with quirky characters, not a spoof. I'm glad it's doing so well, and I can't wait for season two.

[therewillbeblus]

Just putting in a plug here for Apple TV's "Widow's Bay."

It’s a truly incredible show. The episode with the “Boogeyman” that basically does a 25 minute speed-run through virtually every iconic American horror film of the last 50 years is one for the ages

I enjoyed it for the most part - but this episode was the clear highlight, along with episode four, the other "Patricia"-centered ep. Kate O'Flynn is the MVP of the show, I hope she blows up from this

[aox]

Another vote for Widow's Bay. It's an incredible piece of work.

My partner is leaving for work, and I think I am going to start For All Mankind (she doesn't have an interest in counter-factuals). What piqued my interest is a friend telling me about an episode called "Rules of Engagement," (I think) where half of the episode is the father and daughter arguing about how she wants to join the military. It apparently takes place in a single location, and the camera work is supposed to be mindblowing in how it maintains the tension. I'm currently working on a project that takes place in a boardroom for a single discussion, so I am very curious as to how this works.

I might have the episode title wrong.

[therewillbeblus]

I hope Jeff Hiller gets a beefier role next season. He was so wonderful in Somebody Somewhere, and his talents felt wasted in Widow's Bay. Same with Dale Dickey, for the most part

[The Curious Sofa]

I thought Dale Dickey was great, her bluntness was hilarious. My only complaint about this show was the surly teenage son, I've seen more than enough of those. Everytime he was being a dick to his dad, I couldn't wait for the scene to be over.

[Roger Ryan]

I hope Jeff Hiller gets a beefier role next season. He was so wonderful in Somebody Somewhere, and his talents felt wasted in Widow's Bay...

And, yet, his facial reactions and the delivery of his one line in the climatic moment of the season's final episode may have been my favorite part (so far) of this charming series.

[Jean-Luc Garbo]

My only complaint about this show was the surly teenage son, I've seen more than enough of those. Everytime he was being a dick to his dad, I couldn't wait for the scene to be over.

I felt completely the same. Hopefully the characters grows a bit in then next season but I guess we'll have to see given what that will entail. Really loved his and Rhys's interactions tho. It never felt like an artificially antagonistic relationship at least. Rhys was immensely amusing and true to life to me because one of my old bosses who was a parent was as equally harried and flummoxed. Honestly, casting O'Flynn and Root alongside Rhys really pushes this season to one of my favorite tv viewings ever. The way things handed off amongst them story and character-wise was really well-executed.

[therewillbeblus]

The son was certainly annoying but it felt authentic for a dynamic of avoidant attachment - the father was a passive parent which doesn't make a child feel safe and often leads to acting out, and seemingly the only strictness that was actually enforced was trapping the child on the island, which is going to make any teenager feel oppressed. I dunno, as much as I felt tired during some of those scenes due to overexposure of this kind of thing, it felt earnest and true to the characters. I liked how they made the son out to be a kind of 'follower' within his friend group, floating through a banal life but having clear morals at heart that he wants to express and grow in the larger world outside of Widow's Bay, but just can't access that element of his self within his current social context