Commentary: ‘Widow’s Bay’ Combines The Best Of Two Formats
by Frank Martin
As far as television structuring goes, there are two big formats. There’s the long-form narrative and the monster of the week. Traditionally, television has followed a monster of the week kind of formula, where every episode is its own plot. However, as the stories on television become more complex, they have begun to adapt a longer format, stretching plots across whole seasons and even the series at large. This has become especially true in the age of streaming. The vast majority of narrative shows on streaming networks have some form of long-form storytelling. But given the horror homage style of Widow’s Bay, it’s great to see the first season utilize a combination of the two.
The show is about a cursed island called Widow’s Bay. The island’s mayor, Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys), tries to revitalize the community with a tourism campaign. Unfortunately, the curse causes bizarre phenomenon to occur on the island such as a mysterious fog that takes people, an unkillable slasher, witchcraft, and creepy cryptids. Realizing the island will never be safe from these terrors, Mayor Loftis seeks to end the founder’s bloodline to break the curse.
It’s easy to see Widow’s Bay as a love letter and homage to classic horror tropes. Every episode focuses on a different archetype and explores it in fun, horror-filled fashion. In this way, the show operates as a monster of the week type format. However, the overarching storyline about the island’s curse is always present in the background and periodically as the driving plot of the episode. Having Widow’s Bay utilize both these storytelling formats allows it to tell a comprehensive tale about the island while also giving due time to each horror trope tormenting the islanders. As television continues to evolve, more shows should utilize this hybrid format that features the best of both storytelling styles.
Widow’s Bay is now streaming on AppleTV.
