Fans of Twin Peaks and Stephen King should enjoy Widow's Bay - an atmospheric new horror series from Apple TV starring Emmy Award winner Matthew Rhys. Blending frights with character-driven comedy, this quirky show has a fantastic cast and a heavyweight creative team behind it.
The fictional Widow's Bay is a quaint island town 40 miles off the New England coast. Mayor Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys) moved there some time ago, but the locals have never allowed him to fully fit in. He's desperately trying to inject a little modernity into the struggling economy with the aim of bringing tourists to the town, but ominous old stories about a curse suggest that the island itself might have other ideas.
Who stars in Widow's Bay?
Matthew Rhys as Mayor Tom Loftis
Mayor Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys) has lived in Widow's Bay for years, but he's still treated as an outsider. Determined to build a better life for his son Evan (Kingston Rumi Southwick), he plans to revive the island by modernising the town and encouraging tourism.
'Loftis lives a life of great fear,' Matthew Rhys explains. 'Some of those fears manifest physically, while others are deeply introspective or even meta. For Loftis, the journey is about overcoming these real, deep-seated fears. He is a person in constant conflict, where the internal and external are in opposition. He is forced to wear these masks as the public persona of the town, projecting an image of everything being fine when he knows deep down that it is not.'
Welsh actor Matthew Rhys is probably best known for his Emmy Award-winning turn on The Americans (2013-2018), which he starred in alongside his partner Keri Russell. He played Dylan Thomas in The Edge Of Love (2008), Fitzwilliam Darcy in Death Comes To Pemberley (2013), and from 2006-2011 starred as Kevin Walker on Brothers & Sisters.
Since The Americans ended he's starred in numerous Hollywood films, including The Report (2019), A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood (2019), Cocaine Bear (2023) and Saturday Night (2024), as well as Nile Jarvis on The Beast In Me (2025).
Kate O'Flynn as Patricia
Patricia (Kate O'Flynn) is a colleague of Loftis' (Matthew Rhys). She marches to the beat of her own drum, but she really wants to help the community, and she has a close, sibling-like relationship with Loftis.
'In high school, [Patricia] was purposely ignored and excluded, which was devastating to her,' Kate O'Flynn says. 'In her quest for attention, she can be perceived as overly sensitive. When you first meet her, there is this impression that her colleagues are managing her. Patricia is also not aware that she's funny. She’s not making jokes, ever. I think she has a sense of humour, but Patricia being funny is totally unintentional.'
This is British actress Kate O'Flynn's first American role, but she's been in many UK productions. She was nominated for a BAFTA for her performance as Fiona in Everyone Else Burns (2023-2024), and has held smaller roles in three Mike Leigh films: Happy-Go-Lucky (2008), Mr Turner (2014) and Peterloo (2018). She also played Alice in Bridget Jones's Baby (2016) and featured in three episodes of Death In Paradise in 2022.
Stephen Root as Wyck
Wyck (Stephen Root) has an acrimonious relationship with Loftis (Matthew Rhys). He's holding onto a lot of guilt from a traumatic event in his past, and he desperately tries to persuade Loftis not to bring tourists to the island.
'He is the town busybody, as it were,' shares Stephen Root. 'He's the guy who is trusted by the whole town to know what’s going on around the island because he knows the history of what happened there. But his character must go through the arc of being believed by Loftis because he is the town drunk. As we go through the odd and terrifying things that happen on the island, Loftis becomes more of a believer.'
Stephen Root shot to fame after his inspired turn as Milton Waddams in Office Space (1999). More recently, he was nominated for an Emmy for his work on Barry (2018-2023) as Monroe Fuches, the handler of Bill Hader's title character.
A prolific character actor, Stephen has over 300 credits to his name, including working with the Coen brothers five times on O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), The Ladykillers (2004), No Country For Old Men (2007), The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs (2018) and The Tragedy Of Macbeth (2021).
Kingston Rumi Southwick as Evan Loftis
Evan Loftis (Kingston Rumi Southwick) is the son of Mayor Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys). Unlike his dad, he's spent his whole life on the island, and he's desperate to step out on his own and have the experiences he's missed.
Kingston Rumi Southwick is a young actor with only a few credits to his name so far. He played Kyle Sabich, the son of Jake Gyllenhaal and Ruth Nega's characters on Presumed Innocent (2024). His other credits include 56 Days (2026) and Based On A True Story (2024).
Dale Dickey as Rosemary
Rosemary (Dale Dickey) works in the records office with Dale (Jeff Hiller), and she loves to gossip.
'Rosemary is a mixture of grumpy, sarcastic, and quips, which is not really me,' laughs Dale Dickey. 'That’s an interesting element for me to investigate. I was drawn to the character first, just because of the story. When I read it, I hadn’t laughed out loud at something in a very long time. I instantly fell in love with the characters. It was a fun role in a great story, with a fine ensemble, and I loved being part of that.'
Dale Dickey is a prolific and legendary character actor, having worked in movies and TV for three decades. Most recently, she played Ma June on Fallout (2024-2026), Bonnie on The Lowdown (2025), Zelda Moffitt on The Hunting Wives (2025), and Beverly on A League Of Their Own (2022). She also featured alongside fellow Widow's Bay cast member Kevin Carroll on a couple of episodes of Let The Right One In (2022).
Her film credits include Winter's Bone (2010), Leave No Trace (2018), Iron Man 3 (2013) and Hell Or High Water (2016).
Kevin Carroll as Bechir
Bechir (Kevin Carroll) is the town's sheriff. An outsider like Loftis (Matthew Rhys), he moved to the island with his wife in search of a quieter existence. Struggling with the stubborn locals, he's decided to move back to the mainland - though he promises Loftis he'll stick around through the summer season.
'You watch Bechir's survival instinct kick in to be a provider and a protector,' says Kevin Carroll. 'You begin to understand that, beyond the role of being a function of law and order for a small island, the man underneath is driven by a deep desire to be a protector, a father, and to leave a lasting legacy.'
Kevin Carroll has held a wide variety of supporting roles since his career began in the mid-1990s. In recent years, he played Zeke Dawes on Let The Right One In (2022), Virgil on The Walking Dead (2019-2021), Alton Williams on Snowfall (2017-2022) and John Murphy on The Leftovers (2015-2017). He's also featured in movies including Road House (2024), Till (2022), Blindspotting (2018) and Being John Malkovich (1999).
Jeff Hiller as Dale
Dale (Jeff Hiller) is close friends with Rosemary (Dale Dickey), and works with her in the records office. The pair of them are constantly getting on Loftis' (Matthew Rhys) nerves.
'Dale is a little dysfunctional,' admits Jeff Hiller. 'Or maybe not one of the highest-functioning employees. But it's hard to get fired as the employment pool is not large on the island.'
Jeff Hiller and the show's creator, Katie Dippold, met two decades ago doing improvisational comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade. He will be most familiar to viewers for his Emmy Award winning turn on Somebody Somewhere (2022-2024), and for popping up in smaller roles in shows including Pluribus (2025), American Horror Story (2022), Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (2019) and Broad City (2017).
Who created Widow's Bay?
Widow's Bay was created by Katie Dippold, who wrote the script for the pilot years ago, using it in her application to write for Parks And Recreation. She worked on 54 episodes of MadTV from 2006-2009 and has written four feature films: The Heat (2013), Ghostbusters (2016), Snatched (2017) and Haunted Mansion (2023).
The show was executive produced and partly directed by Hiro Murai, who has worked on acclaimed series including Atlanta (2016-2022) and Barry (2018-2023). Other episodes were directed by Ti West (Pearl), Sam Donovan (Severance, Down Cemetery Road) and Andrew DeYoung (Friendship).
Where was Widow's Bay filmed?
While the show was mostly shot on constructed sets, the atmospheric exteriors were filmed along the east coast of Massachusetts, in Gloucester, Rockport and the North Shore.
Where can I watch Widow's Bay?
The first episode of Widow's Bay will land on Apple TV on 29 April, with subsequent episodes arriving weekly until 27 June.
Madeline Pritchard has been a writer for TV Choice and its sister publication Total TV Guide for four years. Madeline mainly covers film for the magazines, but she has a soft spot for American prestige TV and anarchic Channel 4 comedy shows.