Guillermo del Toro Just Called This Apple TV Horror-Comedy One of the Best Streaming Series in Years, and He’s Not Wrong
When one of cinema’s most celebrated architects of dread takes a moment to champion a television series, the genre community listens. Guillermo del Toro, the filmmaker behind ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ and ‘The Shape of Water,’ has built a reputation over decades as a devoted custodian of horror, someone whose enthusiasm for the form runs genuinely deep rather than serving as a promotional exercise. That context matters when considering his latest, entirely unsolicited endorsement.
Del Toro has previously turned his spotlight onto projects like M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Servant’ and Alex Hirsch’s ‘Gravity Falls,’ praising both in glowing terms. Those recommendations carried weight among horror audiences, and his latest is arguably his most effusive yet. The director took to social media over the weekend to call Apple TV’s new horror-comedy ‘Widow’s Bay‘ one of the best streaming shows in recent memory, calling it “one of the most mesmerizing acts of narrative prestidigitation in Horror.”
The series earning that praise is a ten-episode miniseries that has been quietly building momentum since it debuted in late April. Created by Katie Dippold, who wrote the ‘Ghostbusters’ remake and countless episodes of ‘Parks and Recreation,’ ‘Widow’s Bay’ follows Matthew Rhys as Mayor Tom Loftis, a widower determined to transform a small, cozy-seeming New England island into a tourist destination. His ambitions are thwarted by superstitious locals who believe their island is cursed, and when tourists finally do arrive, the old stories that seemed too ludicrous to be true start happening again.
The series riffs on a different sub-branch of horror with each subsequent half-hour episode, touching on slasher territory in the vein of ‘Halloween,’ a haunted hotel reminiscent of ‘The Shining,’ and even a Puritan-era flashback directed by ‘X’ filmmaker Ti West. The supporting cast includes Kate O’Flynn, Dale Dickey, recent Emmy winner Jeff Hiller, and Stephen Root, all playing quirky residents who thwart Mayor Loftis’s agenda at every turn. The result is a show that demands both hands on the remote, one to fast-forward through the scary parts and one to rewind the jokes.
The critical response has matched del Toro’s enthusiasm, with ‘Widow’s Bay’ currently holding a Certified Fresh score of 97 percent from 74 critic reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, alongside a 92 percent audience score. Screen Rant awarded it a near-perfect nine out of ten stars, comparing it favorably to ‘Severance.’ Beyond the reviews, the show is performing as a genuine streaming hit, sitting in second place on Apple TV’s U.S. chart and third place worldwide, with three episodes still to come.
For a streamer that has carved out a reputation for restrained, prestige fare, landing a genre hybrid with this kind of crossover appeal feels like a meaningful moment. Del Toro’s stamp of approval may be the nudge that finally sends the uninitiated straight to their remote.
Whether you are a longtime horror devotee or someone who simply loved the slow-burn weirdness of ‘Severance,’ ‘Widow’s Bay’ seems to have something for you, and now that del Toro has weighed in so passionately, the only real question is what took everyone so long to find it.
