Matthew Rhys is going to be back on TV – and working with Emmy Award-winner Hiro Murai. Apple TV announced a new 10-part series Widow’s Bay on December 15, a suspense-filled horror drama from creator Katie Dippold.
Emmy-winning actor Matthew will be directed by Hiro, who is best-known for music videos for Childish Gambino and Earl Sweatshirt, and winning an Emmy Award for his work as an executive producer on the Hulu series The Bear. His distinctive, often surreal and thematic style, lends itself to a suspense series set in an isolated, cursed fishing village, where The Americans actor Matthew will star as Mayor Tom Loftis, a man “desperate to revive his struggling community” but with “no wifi and spotty cellular reception, must contend with superstitious locals who believe their island is cursed”.
Determined to build a better future for his teenage son, Tom throws his focus into turning he island into a tourist destination – and he succeeds, until the “old stories that seemed too ludicrous to be true start happening again”.
Katie Dippold was a writer for comedy Parks and Recreation as well as the Melissa McCarthy films The Heat and Ghostbusters, and it will be interesting to see how her comedic background might influence the horror drama.
The first trailer is more of a snippet, introducing viewers to the small fishing village at night as two locals walk out of the pub, the Shady Whale. Inside, Mayor Tom sits in the corner as the lights flicker in and out, but the Mayor sits by himself staring into nothing.
© Rex“Matthew Rhys looking depressed at night alone? Yeah, this going to be a banger,” commented one follower on social media, referencing Matthew’s critically acclaimed, complex performance as Philip Jennings in The Americans, while Liz Meriweather, the writer behind New Girl, The Dropout, and Dying For Sex added: “Oh this looks so good.”
“Is it just Matthew Rhys reading out the items on the menu of that diner? Because I will absolutely watch it if so,” joked another.
Widow’s Bay will premiere globally on Wednesday, April 29, 2026.
© Matt Baron/BEI/ShutterstockThe horror-mystery-thriller genre has become hugely popular in recent years with the rise of the cozy murder mystery in books, while the BBC in particular has become an expert at crime dramas on TV, such as Shetland and Happy Valley, available on Britbox.
Stephen King’s It: Welcome to Derry has also been a smash hit on HBO Max, coming to a gruesome conclusion in December, while Apple TV has also been placing a strategic focus on heist thrillers, with Hijack season two recently dropping a trailer.
© ITV Studios / Robert Pereira Hind / BBCHowever, if you’re still in the mood for spooks, then the King of Horror himself, Stephen King, has the perfect recommendation: Dark, a three-season German-language drama revolving around four families attempting to discover the truth after a child disappears.
Set in a small town, with a ‘curse’ that follows different generations of the same families as well as a tension that keeps you on your toes, a time travel conspiracy is unearthed as the series progresses, with many of the characters seen at several points of their lives.
“DARK (Netflix) is dark and complex…and…well…very German. Terrific show. If you get confused, go to MetaWitches and check out Metacrone’s recaps. Detailed and helpful,” tweeted Stephen in 2020.
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