Widow's Bay (Season 1)

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⭐8/10

This was the TV sensation of the year, and it just so happens to be a perfect spooky pick. It's about the residents of a little Eastern American island who are convinced that the island is cursed, but the mayor wants to change the narrative because he thinks it could be a successful tourist destination. 

Well, that's what the start of the show is, because one thing I'm not sure I really liked is that the show shifts narratives quite quickly. In fact, it's almost like 10 seperate mini movies, each one utilizing a different horror trope, only somewhat related to the others. I like that in theory, but I feel like they moved on from interesting ideas too quickly and the show shifted tonally faster than felt natural. 

I'll quickly add that I also didn't love some of the acting and writing, and for a horror comedy, I didn't actually think this show was very funny. I remember it being marketed as Parks and Rec but with horror, but they only try a few jokes per episode and they aren't very good. I actually kinda blame the performances, and the whiplash often feels more jarring than entertaining. 

But I'll move onto what I liked because there was a lot of it. By the end I was pretty sold by the scary moments, all pretty cliche, but that's almost the point. This island has every problem ever heard of, so it's no surprise when you see a Michael Myers type killer, or a clown in a basement. I liked seeing this rogues gallery of classic horror baddies one by one. Nothing too surprising, no shocking, disturbing stuff, just good ol' classics. 

This show also oddly asks some pretty compelling questions by the end. Nothing too wild, but enough to get the wheels turning. The relationships were never too convincing to me, but they become front and centre and the show becomes less about if the protagonist will do the brave thing, but almost about if he will inflict the horror himself. A cool choice. 

So that's kinda it? I dunno, this felt a little amateur to me almost, a B tier show at times, but I think my standards are too high when it comes to TV. It was entertaining and we got through it pretty quickly, always quite willing to get back to it. I wouldn't call it cozy necessarily, but this is the type of spooky show I would have an easy time recommending to most. 

But for next season, the mayor needs to market the island as a spooky Island! People will come! That advice is free, all yours Apple. 


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