The Prestige TV Podcast - ‘Widow’s Bay’ Episodes 1-3: The Island Wakes Up

Episode Date: May 6, 2026

Joanna Robinson and Rob Mahoney stay at the local inn to recap the first three episodes of ‘Widow’s Bay,’ an Apple TV comedy horror starring Matthew Rhys. (0:00) Intro (2:24) Why we love the show so far (11:50) Cottage horror (18:31) The incredible lineup of directors (29:31) Best bit of lore (35:34) Favorite city employee (38:09) Favorite jokes (42:18) Favorite horror movie reference (43:28) Best scare (44:22) Most alluring thing about Widow’s Bay (46:10) Best Matthew Rhys moment (48:01) Best Stephen Root moment (48:43) Kingston Rumi Southwick's standout performance Email us! [e-mail] Follow us on IG and TikTok! Subscribe to the Ringer TV YouTube channel here for full episodes of ‘The Prestige TV Podcast’ and so much more! Hosts: Joanna Robinson and Rob Mahoney Producers: Kai Grady and Devon Renaldo Additional Production Support: Justin Sayles and Jacob Cornett Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Hello, welcome back to the Prestige TV podcast, I'm Joanna Robinson. I'm Rob Mahoney. And we're here not to cover the top secret episode of The Bear that just dropped mere, I don't know, moments ago on Hulu. Why didn't anyone tell us? That's what his secrets are for. I guess.

We're here to cover Widows Bay, episodes one through three. We asked, y'all answered, you wanted us to cover Widows Bay. We were, of course, covering Euphoria all month. We were like, what else should we be watching? And Widows Bay is just a fun show, a comedy horror show,

if you haven't seen it on good old Apple. And we're going to be checking in sporadically, I will say. That's what I want to commit to. That's the plan. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But I mean, can I tell you and our listeners a secret, Joe? Please. Even if they hadn't emailed us in spades and they did,

I think I would have demanded that we cover the show in some form. But instead I demanded. You preempted my demand with your demand. Yes. So we like to give people the illusion of power, right? Like, this is a democracy, but let's be real about it. We want to go to Widows Bay. Rob, I'm so excited that when I, like, texted you last week, you're like,

but what if we record, like, tomorrow? I was like, let's come down. I was proposing, frankly, irresponsible recording schedules, but the show has me very jazzed. I'm really loving it so far. When did you? So, spoilers, I guess, up through episode three, if you guys haven't watched up through episode three, that's what we're going to be talking about. We're kind of, you know, it's a 30-minute-plus comedy horror show.

It's not necessarily our usual prestige TV fan. So there isn't, I don't know, as much thematic density or something like that as some of the other shows we've covered. Sure. So we're going to do some of our, what we do sometimes on these little like binge drop check-ins is we're going to have some categories that we're going to go through towards the end. But we did want to have a general discussion. Press TGV at Spotify.com is how you can email us for this show. We're not creating a special email for the show yet. Those are the rules.

But press Tadstvv at Spotify.com, if you have suggestions for categories, we should do. I would love to hear those. are really, really good at those. So if you guys have categories that we should check in on the future, check-ins for Widows Bay, let us know. When did you, Rob Mahoney,

other than me texting you being like, I regret to him for you, Wittos Bay Slaps? When did you know you were in on Widows Bay? I mean, the opening of episode one is like appropriately spooky. And frankly, like,

doing horror on TV is such a tough enterprise. And it's so difficult, I think, just to get people in their living rooms to feel it, to feel the tension. And so I was on board with that.

But I think it's when Tom gets to City Hall for the first time. And we start seeing the cast of characters who are working there. It's like, oh, this is like on, like, the patter is like on a rhythm that I'm like really resonating with. And so even if the show turns out not to be spooky and scary in the ways I might like or that it's trying to be, it's at least going to be really funny. I do want to give our producer Kai Grady some credit because he's been on The Widows Baby like, hey, did you guys see this trailer? Hey, what do you guys think of this show? So shout out Kai. I will say, I feel like starring Matthew Reese is where they really got me.

That's where they really got me. Co-starring Stephen Rood. Yeah, oh my gosh. But this is from Kitty Dippold who worked on Parks and Recreation. You can really tell. And that's a compliment inside of this show, as you said, the city hall. The people who work at City Hall are just like extremely fun characters. And like to, I don't know what your experience was, freeze frame Mahoney, but like all of the chalkboards

in the background just sort of like zooming in on what is on there. I didn't see anything unusual. It's all straight business. It was like repair the curb and like paint this and move the tree. Wi-Fi was one of the agenda items. Actually, this is one of the strengths of the show, though. It's like they play everything so straight for the most part. And I think it walks this really delicate balance between there's people at City Hall.

There's all these townspeople. They are regularly saying insane shit about what happens in this town. Yes. Of course, we learn over the course these three episodes, some of it's not so insane. It seems like actually quite real and hum. wanted, but like Tom, he's so clearly dismissive of it, but he doesn't stop to like dress everybody down. It's just like they say the crazy thing, we keep it moving, we're back to business. It's like it manages to be horror and comedy because it never really has jokes at

the expense of the horror that much. Like it doesn't feel like a spoof or a parody. It just feels like a very funny horror show. And even when it gets like, all right, walks right up to the edge, like, I would say when Stephen Root's character Wick is like explaining the lore of the sea hag in episode three and he's like, she comes in. to your bed and sits on your face. Yeah. Like that's right up at the edge of like, you know, I think it's worth applying some of the lessons I feel like we learned when we did our hooked series where we were looking at pilots

versus other episodes that really get you into a show. And I would say for Widows Bay, the pilot is the hooked episode because this is one of the best pilots I've ever seen. And some of the tactics that are used here is we have a newcomer to this location in the New York Times writer Arthur, right? So we're explaining things to Arthur. We have to go to the historical society. You know, there's just like a lot to explain to him.

We explain to him that cell phones don't work here. We don't have Wi-Fi, all this stuff. And all of that. And this is the like rewatchables category. I keep trying to make a thing, which is like a cell phone would ruin this movie. Like cell phones and Wi-Fi and the connected nature of our society now would ruin the premise of this.

Oh, for sure. If Tom could snap a photo of the Seahag and, like, text it to someone, that's, you know. know her? Have you seen this woman? Like, that's a completely different thing. Also, it deflates just the classic horror problem.

In addition, there's the TV issue and then there's the horror issue and this is kind of resolving both in one fell swoop. So we have all of that. That's clever. And then there's the momentum of the first episode because

Tom is in this like manic stadle episode and he's just kind of like running from one location to the other, frantically trying to like be a dad to his son, be a mayor to this town. But he hates the town. But then we kind of realize

why he's there. and we can talk about that a bit, trying to impress this writer. And so there's just so much energy inside of a lot of exposition, inside of just like some fun, spooky fog, Revenant stuff that is just like, I was so deeply impressed by this pilot.

I think it's so spot on, Joe, and draw like the point of view of having the New York Times writer parachute in and explain, have things explained to him is so helpful for us as an audience. I also think having Tom as an inherent skeptic, and us as an inherent skeptic. Yes. And us as an inherent skeptic.

Yes. Like the first time we see Wick, it's like all, it plays for comedy. But everything he's saying turns out to be true. Yeah. You know, by and large. And so. Full kook. Full kook.

Until he unfortunately is 100% right. And so. Is he more of a kook or more of a koot? Like, what do you think? What's the distinction? I don't know. Koot I think probably implies like an old kut is like older. I try to never say the word kut.

Yeah, it's just too tough. We're walking a line that I don't think is comfortable for anybody involved. It sort of irresistibly rhymes with root. and I'm sort of drawn to it. We can stick with poop. That's fine. Sorry, you were saying, I interrupted you.

Just that similarly as we're introduced to the town. I mean, genuinely, who knows. But as we're introduced to the town and all its mysteries, we're also anchored in our own pessimism of like, clearly all this stuff is fake, but then we're shown piece by piece by piece. Oh, wait. This fog is messed up.

Oh, wait. It is going to turn this guy's eyes white and give him delirium and presumably impair his boner. It's tough to hear. Tough. Tough for that guy. Shep. Poor Shep.

37-year-old shop. That doesn't seem right. Okay, so these are the facts that help explain why a character like Tom is here, character who seems to hate this place. Straight up. We found out he ran unopposed for the office of mayor. Are we too intuitive by this point? Is your assumption the same as mine that Wick is the former mayor of the town?

Oh, I don't know. Interesting. There's a lot of allusions to like Wick has been through a lot. Yeah. And when Tom and Wick start getting into it at first, there's the implication like, oh, this is a personal thing between them. And so I'm kind of wondering if Wick suffered some kind of tragedy, resigned or left as mayor, and Tom then ran unopposed. Did you have a theory for a second that Wick might be his dad?

No. Okay. Does that even make sense? No. Well, it doesn't make sense when after we hear Wick tell the doorbell ditching story. Well, sure. But before that, I was just sort of like, this could be his dad. Like, when people are estranged from their parents, they might call them by their first name.

How old is Stephen Root? Oh, I don't know. But I'm willing to consider it. We can look at it right now. Hold on. Let's do a little real-time fact-checking. Okay. Stephen Root, he's older. An older gentleman. He's 74. Okay. I mean, Matthew Ace is 51.

Okay. So I honestly spot on. But Stephen Root, looking great for 74. Come on. Spray. So Tom, we learned in the first episode, you know, this idea that if you're born on the island and you leave the island, you die. And even though Tom sort of brushes. that off. We find out later that Evan has never left the island. Not even for Boston.

Not even for Boston. So is he, is Tom, does Tomfield trapped on this island? Because he cannot, he is a single dad, a widower raising his son. Yep. Cannot leave the island because he cannot leave with his son. And so might as well try to turn the island into the next Cape Cod. The next Martha's Vineyard. The next Martha's Vineyard. The next Bar Harbor perhaps. Oh, yeah, fancy. Ooh, you know? So, like, that seems to be the premise. And I love that as, like, we get these, you know, one might sit at home and say,

why would this guy be on this island if he hates it so much? Or why would this guy be mayor if he hates it so much? And he's like, this is the only way I can figure out how to improve my, like, life experience on this island if I'm trapped here because I love my son and I can't abandon him here and I can't risk taking him to shore because I don't know what's going to happen to him. Because, and the key part is that that that, that even. Even some part of Tom believes that, right? When it comes to Evan, he's not willing, like, it's like he's not willing to risk it.

Not willing to risk it. But also we do learn that he came back to the island to take care of his sick father. Right. Who did, it seemed like, by a lot of the lore and the mystery and the curse of the island. And so there's that, like, what if my dad was a little bit right? I mean, there's just a lot of fathers and sons happening. Also, his wife died from complications from childbirth, but, like, do we know that full story? I don't know.

We certainly don't. I don't know if we do. A lot of ghouls and creeps to come. So all of these are questions that are running around. On the whole, you know, something that I thought was really interesting is like, you watch the first episode, you're like, there's a lot of comedy here. There's some horror here, obviously. When Shep goes full revenant, it is a little scary. Yeah.

But it's not until we're in the crawl space in episode two and there's a clown like bearing down upon us that I was like, oh, no, this is for real scary. They're doing real horror on their show. These aren't fucking around ours. So what's your level of comfort with horror? Have we talked about this? I don't know that we really have. I think part of the reason we probably haven't talked about it is it's not like my go-to genre. Is it yours?

No. But I don't, I'm not opposed to it in any way. I would say I usually get backdoored into it. Like, I'm not particularly drawn to horror, but I love sci-fi. And so that gets you into like alien and the thing and stuff like that.

And I'm not like seeking out horror, but I love suspense and I love a thriller. And so then you're into Halloween and stuff like that. And I think I need that kind of like side door appeal often with a horror movie, whether it's like quote unquote elevated horror or some theme or some idea or some actor I really love. This has a lot of that. It also has what I'm dubbing cottage horror. Like a particular brand I don't think is quite robust.

We're adjacent to cabin horror for sure. This is not that. This is not purely in the woods. We're by the sea. It's kind of cozy. It's kind of quaint. Okay. But also a little horrific.

Okay. A little like, yeah, cozy, foggy. horror. The one cop I could think of was, and I have very different feelings watching these two things, because this is what I'm about to say is nowhere near as funny as this show is,

but men. Did you see the movie men? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Just that kind of like sweaters off on your own. It's chill in the air. It's lore horror. For sure. You know, it's like.

Like a little Lovecraftian almost. Yeah, absolutely. I would say Lovecraftian is in the mix here, the sea hag, here she is, from the sea. But yeah, like it's. That's where they come. from. It's very, um, like, mythic, folk horror. That's what, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's the term I'm circling. And that's the term I think that got used a lot when men came out was this

idea of folk horror. And so, um, I, I'm not a huge, like, I'm not, you know, horror itself is not going to get me to the theater. Uh, the first it movie was a challenge for me. But in general, I don't think I'm that squeamish in general. And, you know, I have a lot of people in my life who cannot handle horror at all. I don't love, like, torture horror. Like, Saw or The Hills Have Eyes and stuff like that. Like, that's not for me. It's not like, that's not the thrill or the chill that I'm seeking.

You're not going to be on the martyrs rewatchables? No, it's not me. It's not me. But I did spend a summer when I was in college, like a bunch of us did summer session. So we were there all summer. And we watched, like, all of the 70s. classic horror just every week we watched another one. And so it's like a fun project. Just be like, what's the omen about? What's the exorcist about? What's, you know, what's the shining about?

Like, just sort of knock it all out. And I would say that 70s horror is most apparently influential here. We've got Widows Bay. The font is a very Stephen King adjacent font. And the person that I'm thinking about most when watching this is Mike Flanagan, who's done a lot of horror series for Netflix. done some great Stephen King adaptations. Dr. Sleep was criminally underrated. Like, one of the best Stephen King adapters, I would say, is Mike Flanagan. And he did a show that I know I've talked to you about, which is Midnight Mass. And the reason Midnight Mass keeps coming up is that it is an island-based story where something

happens at this community. But the question of like, are the ferries running? Is the fog visible? We are trapped on this island when things go to shit. the electricity's out. There's like one guy who can fix it. All of that stuff is so present in that story and so present here. And it is such a good framework for a horror setting to just be like, we're trapped here if something goes wrong, you know?

I mean, it taps into so many elemental horror tropes in that way. Like all of it, like you're really not that far from a summer camp horror movie when you're on an island that needs to be separated by water where you need the fairies where you need all these mechanisms. like you just need those strictures a little bit to start putting us into a place where we actually feel as modern people with all of our modern devices like genuinely backed into a corner. Yeah, I love that. Very Jurassic Park, you know. Of course. You know, the boats aren't running. Someone turned the electricity on.

What are we going to do? Any other influences you were thinking about when you're watching this? I mean, I think Jaws is a huge one. The Amity Island stuff is like right there. The structure of episode one in a lot of ways is Jaws, right? someone shows up warning you like this terrible thing is coming or happening, but we couldn't possibly because we need, you know, the tourists to come to the beach. Like that is the fundamental tension of Jaws and the fundamental tension of this show.

I think maybe the difference is like Widows Bay is maybe even more desperate than Amity Island is. Like it, this is a town that needs saving. And so there's like an existential threat beyond all the ghosts out there. Yeah, I think the sort of log line that a lot I saw floating around a lot of people are like, what if the mayor from Jaws, like, definitely knew about the shark, you know what he made, and just sort of like kept the beaches over,

yeah, exactly. Which I kind of think the mayor from Jaws also knew. You might have. Yeah, so the first episode, very, very Jaws adjacent. Second episode, very shining, right? We're in a haunted hotel of some kind. Yep. I think the New Year's Eve party noise especially is like invoking a shining.

Seahag, on the Seahag front, any sort of specific inspo that you can think of? Maybe I'm just not fluent enough in Seahag horror. Maybe you need to get up on, brush up on your hags. But you know what? The hag was refreshing because of it. I also love the way that it plays with our expectations.

Like, I really like the way that they put the haunted hotel and the sea hag back to back. Because when Tim Balls, who's a great comedic actor, shows up as William in episode two. I was like, that's a ghost. Yeah. Right. Clearly a ghost. He shows up with a short sleeve white button out.

I'm like, that guy's from the 50s. Like, that's a ghost, right? 50s or 60s. But then he says, the thing about the cappuccino machine. So they're like, oh, but wait, is that not a ghost? And they played enough. I was like, but no, but that's, that's a ghost.

You know, they played enough with your expectations there. But then you get to episode three and you're like, that's the C-Hag, man. Be careful. And he's like, right. And then he's like, I love the moment where he feels like he's figured it out and he does it at the dinner. Like, but he's just like, I got to, I got to go. And he doesn't like, he doesn't overplay it.

But he's just sort of like, I'm with you audience. I too think this is the C-Hag. Yeah. And then it's not. And that's just like a really fun sort of. But I was also doing this mental calculus where I was like, they wouldn't do that two episodes in a row. So like maybe she's not the sea hag.

But like that's what they want you to think. But like that's the constant game of Widows Bay, it seems. I do think part of what I'm enjoying so much about these first three episodes is there is that every turn, every development, every new introduction of a potential scary thing. Right. Or even just like on a line delivery level, there's always like one layer below. It's, it's, I'm sure there's some surface level stuff will bump into along the way. Like it's a long season.

Yeah. to keep moving on their chains. But I think a lot about, like, Wick having contempt for Tom, not because of the doorbell ditching, but because he was too much of a coward to actually doorbell ditch. And it's like, as that line is being delivered,

you are so much with Tom? Like, are you kidding me? That's like about this thing when he was a kid. Yeah. And it, I feel like every element of the story has that, where there's always, like, one thing to subvert, to challenge, to put you, like, on your back foot a little bit as far as, like,

even what these characters are, where it's like, you're turning a joke into something real or you're turning something scary into a joke. And I think that's part of why the show can balance those so well. Yeah, I'll be curious to see how those tones are balanced throughout the rest of the season. These first three episodes are directed by

Hiramurai, which is like an incredible get. Is there anything you want to say specifically about Hiramurai before we, I'd talk about some of the directors this season? Only within the context of these three episodes, I want to say like, I think directing horror is such a specific skill set, and it's so clear that

not everyone can do it. And it's so clear, like, the tension building and holding is, I just think immensely challenging to do on television, as we talked about up top. And so the fact that these, especially two and three, do have moments of like real genuine horror and tension on the edge of your seat, kind of watching. Yeah. I'm just, I'm blown away by that execution as much as anything. Were you an Atlanta guy? I actually have not seen it all the way through.

Okay. So, I mean, look, added to the list of blind spots, we got to do some catching up. But I do think that, like, unusual balance of, like, comedy, the comedy tone where you're sort of like, should I be laughing right now? I'm not sure. And all the other things that Atlanta had to offer that Huramari did such great work on. Tai West is also directing an episode this season.

And Andrew DeYoung, who our flag means death, the chair company, friendship. So like, that's a comedy guy, Andrew DeYoung. Ty West, a horror guy. The chair company is not a pure comedy. Okay, you're right. I don't watch the chair company. But like...

It may have more in common with this than you think. But like... But more comedy than not, like, associated with our flag means death and, like, things that are thought of as comedic. And then Ty West is, like, a horror horror director. So, like, are those two episodes going to be more comedic and more horror adjacent or something like that? I don't know. I can't wait to find out. I'm really excited to find out.

Anything else you want to say sort of in a big picture way about the show? I mean, I guess, like, where are you on ghosts? Where are you on hags? Like, are you a superstitious person in these respects at all? It's tough because I have a lot of friends who believe in ghosts. and I don't really, but I believe, I don't know. Wow, this is really holding your feet to the fire. It's tough.

Well, it's like, it's like when someone talks to you about their religion and you're like, I don't want to like, like, whenever they talk to me about, I have a couple really close friends who are like, I can sense that someone died here or I can sense this or the other thing. And it's not something I believe, but I've never like, that's bullshit. I'm always like, tell me what that feels. You know what I mean? Like, I just sort of like listen to.

curious, you're open-minded. Yeah, but it's not something I've ever experienced, nor, and given my approach towards religion in general, like, I guess I'm kind of out on ghosts. Where are you on ghosts? I mean, I think we're all out on ghosts. No one is in on ghosts. But I guess what I'm wondering is like on, you know, if you're home alone at night and there's a creek on the other side of your place, is there any part of you that seemingly like Tom is like, even though I am a grounded, skeptical person? What if that isn't a creek in the floorboard? What if that isn't even someone breaking into my house?

What if that is something supernatural? One time I was living in a place where the garage was sort of like underneath the apartments, right? And so I drove into the garage, the garage door closed. I was sitting in my car and there was like windows on the garage door. So I could see, sitting in my car, I could see what was outside the window. And I saw a like diaphanous white floating figure. and I like froze. And I was like, there, I cannot in my brain anywhere concoct an explanation for this that is not

ghost. Like, how is this anything but a ghost? And I literally was just frozen in my car for a while because I was like, I didn't know what to do. And eventually I like mustered up the courage to run upstairs, the person I was living with at the time, I started like babbling to her about what I saw. And she was like, oh, did it look like this? And she went and she got from her balcony this like long to end. And she was a belly dancer.

And she's like, it's my belly dancing veil that I was air drying. And I was like, oh my God. In that moment, I did believe in ghosts. Because I could not, my brain just could not figure out, nothing has ever looked gauzyer and ghostier in its life than that thing in that moment. Have you ever had a moment where you're like, maybe? I've never had that moment. But I will say, like, maybe this is the effect that horror movies do have on me.

I'm not a security cat. But after watching, like, wreck for the first. first time or something like that that's like truly unsettling. Yeah. I need like a decompression watch. Like otherwise if I'm like looking at every dark corner, I'm like every time I pan to look into a mirror, I fully expect a jump scare in my own reflection. It's like I am impressionable in that way from this sort of media.

But in life, I can't say I've ever sensed a ghost. There are there are things that I prefer to watch at home during the day. Yeah. That's that's sort of my level of, you know, if there was a horror movie that was extremely popular and people are like, you got to see hereditary. I'm like, great. Sure. I want to see it at home with the daylight streaming in. See, that's what I thought when I watched It Follows at Home Alone during the Day, which is a horror movie that is almost exclusively at like during the day, creepy things following year around.

I do wonder with Widows Bay, are we ever going to get any spooky, scary stuff during daylight hours? It seems like it's more of a haunting thing at night right now. Oh, interesting. I know we're going to go through like some of our favorite characters or whatever, but was there other than Matthew Reese and Stephen Root, an actor that popped up here that you're like, oh, I love this actor. I'm so excited. This is a leading question. Do you want me just give my answer? Let's just do it.

Toby Huss, who's playing the priest. Yeah. I'm Reverend Bryce. I'm a huge Toby Huss fan. I don't know if they call themselves Hussies or not, but they should. They absolutely do. But like, Toby Huss is so, like, such an incredible character actor guy. When he showed up, I'm like, they got Huss.

They got Huss to do Reverend Bryce, and he's like 12th. down the list of cats. So where do you know him from? I know him best from, like, he's like a long time, like he worked on Beavis and Butthead Adventures of Pete and Pete, but Hall and Catch Fire is like, got you. And I like, he was, he was actually the first time I ever interviewed a celebrity in person. Have I told you this story? Was at South by Southwest when Hall and Catch Fire had its first season. And I did like a roundtable interview with Lee Pace, McKenzie Davis, and Toby Huss. that was the first time interviewing, like, actors in person. But I was already, like, all in on Lee Pace.

And Leepace, the way that I, like, laughed in response to Lee Pace is, unfortunately, forever on tape because I recorded that conversation. Do you listen back to it? So embarrassing to me. And I forever appreciate that Toby Huss was just like, I feel like really seeing me in that moment and just being like, it's okay. Whatever's happening to you right now. It's going to be.

Okay. We need those spirit guides. In these interview circumstances, it's tough. So I feel like emotionally attached to him because he was just like really holding it down. That was 2014. That was a very good bonding experience for me. I'm glad you had that moment together. I too love Toby Huss, but for very different reasons.

What's your Toby Huss? I mean, for me, he will always be the whiz on Seinfeld. Are you familiar with this episode? Remind me. So Elaine starts dating this guy who has like this undeniable charm, like this glint in his eye that has this like power over her and she can't place why it's happening or where it's coming from. It turns out it's because he is like the cartoonish mascot for like a furniture store

called The Wiz because he's like creating magical prices or whatever. And so the slow realization over the course of this episode that he's not just this like dashing, interesting man, but also this cartoonish buffoon on TV. So great. And I think like he gets to play both sides of that here where he's both like the severe priest and the priest who's like making the Bible, blah, blah, blah, blah. There's evil in these words. and I'm going to walk off into the darkness.

Like, he's so good and so funny and so little screen time. I'm delighted that he's here. And this is, like, to take us back to sort of the Parks and Rec influence, it just seems, you know, it seems like the kind of project that people who are quite funny want to be a part of. You know what I mean? And Toby Hess is not like the funniest guy that has ever existed. But like, it's very funny in this show.

But like, you know, Neil Casey's here, Neil Casey, S&L writer. was in Katie's Ghostbusters movie for better for worse et cetera et cetera just like the people Tim Balsu shows up like all these like

this is just like the right tier of comedic actor that I just like am so excited to see and like and the whole crew that's at City Hall is just like incredibly good stuff and they get to play so fun

and so broad and I mean it does feel like a Parks and Rec like Citizens Rokes Gallery that's developing the one except being it's like, Wic is a character who he is one of those stereotypes,

but he's also like not so insane as he seems. I mean... I guess he's still insane. He's just also correct about the hauntings. Rosemary is also the one who has like some hag lore and she's right about that too, so you know. He should crawl into the crawl space all the way. Great suggestions

from Rosemary. Before we get into our categories, we got an email, we got a lot of emails from people saying please cover Widows Bay. We love it. We will not be reading all of those emails out, but thank you so much for writing them. We got an email from our listener, Carolyn, who wanted to point out that Katie Dippold is from New Jersey, where Carolyn's from. And that was used as an inspo for this. This is an interview that Kitty Dippold gave New Jersey monthly. Quote, there used to be a haunted house on the boardwalk and long branch. It was terrifying and I was way too young for it. I would be so scared, but I would be so excited and giddy. And that's actually a huge inspiration for the show I'm doing because I want to capture that feeling again where something is tense and terrifying, but then you still laugh at the end. And then Carolyn, our listener, also sent in the URL, WeirdNJ.com. Are you familiar with this? No.

There is a website WeirdNJ where it's just like your travel guide to New Jersey's local legends and best kept secrets. So it's just like, I guess the New Jersey devil would be like one of the things. Like all of the weird stuff, the X-Files-esque stuff that have ever happened in New Jersey are, you know, collected here on this website. So shout out WeirdNJ.com. If you have a weird New Jersey story that you've experienced listeners and would like to send it to us.

Please do. I would like to hear them. I would also love to hear those. Prestige TV at Spotify.com. Yeah, I think... Slightly better than our maggot story collection from the pit. Perhaps. One hopes.

I got to say I enjoyed those two in their way. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think there is something about places like New Jersey, though, that are like just normal and boring enough where they create this sort of legend. And places like this, two places like Widows Bay, where it's like just kind of a quiet seaside town that doesn't have a lot going for it, but then all of a sudden has this history of, like, cannibal. and all of these things in its past

that can't ever go away because people keep drumming them up. Rob, it took them four whole days to turn to cannibalism. Like, let's calm down. How long would it take you? I simply would not eat another person. Wow, you're going to malivate me? Are you one of those media strategy people

clicking through slides, scrolling spreadsheets? Yes? Good. This is for you. Because on Spotify, there's an audience that's different. Locked in. Loyal, invested. They're called fans.

Fans don't just listen to music. They feel seen by it like it belongs to them. So when your brand shows up on Spotify, that's who you're talking to. And you're right next to artists like me, Lizzo. So, are you ready to talk to fans? Spotify advertising. You're among fans. I'm sorry, do you want to get to our categories?

Let's do it. Okay. First category, best bit of lore. There's a well in the woods. I love a dark well. There's a rusty hatch with a scary chair at the end of episode one. That one's real scary. Very losty to end with a literal hatch.

Love that for me. What do you want to shout out lore-wise? I have some other options here. I want to go comedy-wise on the lore. I think one of the things that made me and laugh hardest in these three episodes is when I'm totally blank on her name, but the woman who is doing the historical society tour. Specifically, we just talking about the witch trial being a great source of pride. We caught him. We burned them.

Jerry. Jerry, thank you. Jerry's doing three work. And I want to say I did do the Zoom in and Jerry does. get an extensive shoutout in the New York Times article that is published. So I'm glad she's getting her. Thank you, Arthur. Thank you so much.

This show feels made for you to pause and zoom in. It took me a long time. I watched these episodes through and then I rewatched them for this. And it took me, I did a lot of pausing and scrutinizing of, like, lists and articles and, like, maps and book titles and whatever the case may be. There's so much great stuff. Back in my, like, lost era. Now, Arthur's lead writing, I think we could have a conversation with,

with him and his editor about that. The text is good. Everything that they read from the article in the car is like straight up there in the prop, but I think we can do better. You want you to jizz it up a bit more? I mean, it's just a little bland. You don't think you would get these many crowds coming to.

I don't think so. But also, you know what? The New York Times editors notoriously kind of stingy with this stuff. It's true. They don't want you to get too spicy about it. But yeah, like we're enormously proud of our witch trial work. Like, we caught them, we burned them. It's so good.

It's like so good. Her delivery too. I will say the island is waking. Wick saying the island is waking up. Oh, yeah. Incredible. Again, lost. You are with us always.

We get a boogie man reference. We do. Excited to see that pay off, hopefully. That seems to be very Patricia. Patricia's just 40 now. When that comes back in like episode three, when she's like, he was like an elderly woman, was she 40?

This woman does not forget. Patricia, we will get to you. We will give you your flowers. 1846, the fog that stole souls. Yep. great stuff. The shipwreck painting in the inn. I do love the shipwreck painting and the drowning child.

Yeah, the drowning child. The captain's suite, the innkeeper kicking the suitcase in because he refuses to cross the threshold, then the later like pay off with the 10 seconds, 30 seconds. Ungrateful Hortense, Miss Gerald. Ugly Hortense. Should the bell toll, there are steps you must take. I love a tolling bell. I love a mysteriously tolling bell.

The second we see that bell chained up, Joe, I'm like, we're cooking with gas. Because you're like, oh, this is definitely Evan shenanigans. Then we're like, uh-uh, not even Evan. Dusty ladder, chained bell. Yeah. Whatever, like, subplot and side quest that the priest is going on, I just, I think it's like a great runner undercutting a lot of the season. Yeah.

I think you need it too, right? Like, you need the comedic undercutting at times. But you also need just like the, we are slowly building the stakes of something increasingly scary happening beyond just your sea hags. There's a well in the woods. I don't like a, the second he looked, do not lean over. And I feel like there was like, like, eerie. owing coming from a public service announcement.

If you find a dark well in the woods, do not under any circumstances lean over the well. I don't know how many times we have to say this. What if someone's holding your ankles for you while you do it? Like you do the buddy system. Only lean over a well if you're using the buddy system and someone has a firm grasp on your ankles while you're doing it. I would like to propose a trust exercise for you and I and Kai. In which we all do this for each other. We go find an abandoned well out in the woods.

Rob, would you trust us to hold your ankles? I trust Kai. I don't know that I trust you. You know what, honestly fair. I can't even argue it. The video guy, is there a body bag on the shore in that video where the guy just like walks away?

There's like a dark object on the shore. I mean, there's a lot happening in that video. We haven't mentioned Twin Peaks yet, but like very peaksy, very, very allure. I would say more effectively the most. Yeah. When people reach for David Lynch, I think they often end up in some other field entirely. this one I think is getting the right notes. And then the clown killer of 51.

Yeah. Our guy. And then also he's gotten a couple mentions, but Richard Warren, first reef prime and Lord Island Protector, his second wife, Sarah, who gets a lingering shot over the opening title in the third, that sort of statue of her, the historical society. I mean, I think statue is generous. Manichin, perhaps.

Paper-Mashay construction. And then the headless Richard Warren statue out and about. I do know that Hamish Link Letter is in this season and I do think the portrait in the historical society of Richard Warren looks like one of my favorite actors Hamish Linklater who is the star of Midnight Mass by the way.

So you're proposing perhaps a flashback or a ghost? We've gotten so many references to the founder that I would not be surprised. There's got to be some lore there. And especially whatever is happening with the creepy chair that you cited underneath the restaurant. Like, that's clearly something that's been there for a long time and it's been part of some kind of continuous town

exercise or lore. Perhaps, but like the hatch itself looks, because it was the 1600s when the island was founded. The hatch looks more modern than the 1600s. Well, that strikes me as a semi-modern way to accommodate whatever is happening. I don't think it's like rocket science to deduce

that this could perhaps be like a human sacrifice situation, right? Like you, it looks like an electric chair, but it's not. It's just straps. It's just kind of keeping you in place. They open the hatch. Whatever thing comes out of the hatch, you know, cabin in the woods style. Okay.

And eats you. Maybe that was like, you know, a mid-50s kind of invention. They're like, okay, we're going to create the hatch. We got to get this. We got to put some doors on this thing. We got to get this under control. Yeah, this tunnel that is just an open gaping wound in the island. Let's put a hatch on it.

So let's just like be reasonable. All right. Favorite city employee. There's really no argument for anybody else. It has to be Patricia, who I think is my favorite character on television right now. Is anyone doing it better than Patricia? I would die for Patricia. She's so good.

So Cato Flynn. Have you seen Cato Flynn in anything? I don't believe so. So the thing that I know her best friend is she was in this canceled Amazon show called My Lady Jane, where she played Princess Mary. And she was so funny. She, like, just this exact level of funny, like a woman who is absurd in many ways when she's like, oh, they left my poem out of the brochure or like whatever. She's an artist, okay?

Like, yeah, did you show my paintings? Like, absurd in many ways. But also, like, I mean, this is less true of my lady Jane, but like, I care about her and I'm rooting for her so much. Protect Patricia. If you wanted to create an effective cliffhanger, there's something bad happening at Patricia's sunset drinks. Yeah. I'm on the hook. I need this next episode immediately.

The voicemail that she left for Tom. I'm at the event that you said he would be at. So good. She actually might bring a gun to work. But like Cato Flynn in this performance, like she is just the right amount of credulous. Yeah. Like she is also willing to buy or believe or talk through basically anything

in a way that is just so fucking funny. And the fact that she's basically like the second most maybe competent person at City Hall while believing in all these things, while wanting to tell you yet again about her boogeyman encounter, it's just like a perfect blend of a character. When Wick is talking about the shipwreck that occurred because an older man was in love with a teenage girl, she's like, are the older women dead in this scenario?

Incredibly good. Her finding out that her biological age is 28. Like what's going on with the biological ages of these Islanders? I have some questions. Who knows? Yeah, Patricia's an icon. But the whole crew, I mean, Rosemary, uh, Dail is played by the Emmy Winter Jeff Hiller.

great energy. When he's describing the Islander's reaction to taxation, if you want this blood money, I'll have to come collect it yourself. That feels very parks and wreck, for sure. Exactly, exactly. And we got a shout out of Ruth, too.

I mean, as far as an elderly assistant who does not know anyone's phone numbers, cannot read her own handwriting, and wants to take a nap by 11 a.m., a fucking icon. It's the mornings that are tough, wrong? She really needs her eye.

You know, and then, the other, like Garrett at the lighthouse, like all the other people around here. The innkeeper. It's all great. It's an incredible cast. Yeah. Favorite obvious joke. I think the best obvious joke has to be the sea hag crawling into your bed and killing you by sitting on your face. Like that is, that's a god tiered joke. Yeah. Betwixt her thighs, your final sin. Yeah. I don't know how you could write a better premise for a horror comedy show than this. That you have to lock yourself in a chest or 72 hours to like resist the paralysis that's going to kill you because of the scene. The Hague. It's just great. It's really good. It's funny because I'm the one who said we should do obvious joke and then throwaway joke, but I was just having trouble sorting them a little bit. It walks the line. Because I was like, oh, one of my obvious jokes is a visual gag. But a lot of

throwaway jokes are visual gag. It's like they're there if you want them. But I do think the giant headline of cannibalism in God's house, no, that took four days. I think it's obvious. It's like quite obvious and very funny. Really, really funny. It's the prop but also called out in dialogue. That feels obvious enough. Also, he murdered teenage girls. You're in your 40s. You'd be fine. It's also extremely, extremely good. All right. Any other obvious jokes you want to call out? Dick Holstreet.

Yeah, Dick Holstreet. It's really good. Shout out Evan. All right, favorite throwaway joke. I think it's also C-Hag-related. It's when... You love that hag. I honestly did really love the hag. You're a hag guy. When Tom calls the sheriff to tell him about his hag experience and the sheriff has written down, old woman, possibly damp, faster than old woman should be exclamation.

Point. Absolute perfection. We should say, Kevin Carroll, an actor we love in the leftovers, is here. I love him in this, like, sheriff's role. Like, it's great. Here's a, I didn't, like, prompt you for any, to come up with any theories, but I have one theory that I would love to hear it. Is the sheriff's wife real and or alive?

Do you think she is also a ghost? I don't know. We've only heard her on the other side of the phone. It's a haunt. It's a haunted island. People do make phone calls, Joe. I know. I'm just saying we haven't seen her yet.

I would think this is a small enough town that everyone would know, right? The only person you saw him on the phone talking to his wife was Wick, who would be like, there he is talking to his, like, dead wife again or something like that. I hadn't even considered it.

I don't know. I just like, when I haven't seen a character, I'm like, why haven't I seen that character? Why is that just a voice on the phone? Well, his grand designs do seem to be to move away, to leave the island. I mean, maybe his wife tried to leave the island and was among those who died

as soon as she got to the mainland. Many people die when they get to Boston, truly or spiritually. Tough. Crash truck in the wolves calendar. Really good. All of the headlines. Priest eaten by whale.

Man found dead by horse was like an extremely good one. I did read the lead on that article. Very good. The Daddy's Home game. The teeth game. Just pliers. The game is just pliers. The one that he didn't open,

which is just called, She Shouldn't have said that. Incredibly good. The run bit, all of that. Yeah. When I was like, watching it and they were playing Daddy's home. And the guy that I was like, pretty sure was a ghost, said, oh, man, I'm in the basement.

I'm getting crushed. I was like, did this guy die by getting crushed in a basement? And we do find him in the crawl space later on. It's a little different. We do. And then would you call the Kathy Runner a non-obvious joke? I think it's fairly obvious. But I'm enjoying it quite a bit.

Enemy Kathy at the diner. Everyone's enemy, it seems. I don't know. She's best friends with Marissa. I mean, she got a free burger and fries out of it. So some people do win. Yeah. Oh, and one other thing, one of the visual, in episode three, when we get the Richard Warren video.

Yeah. There's just like a brief glimpse of the map. And he's describing like, you know, 42 nautical miles, like, blah, blah, blah. And it just says, do not travel here in large letters on the map that he's like describing this bucolic island that they found. Is this the same video? So is this the one of the gentlemen in the room talking about the town's history? Goes to leave and the door is locked and he just stands. Again, another just like wonderful little joke sitting right there.

Very Blair Witchy. I enjoyed it quite a bit. I also think Wick just nailing a board to the door without nailing it to the frame. Again, that's a great throwaway when he's just sort of like he opens the door. Did absolutely nothing. Yeah, it did nothing. All right. Favorite horror movie reference or Easter egg.

I think it's all the Jaws stuff for me. As far as the Easter egg, like I really did love the board games as well. Teeth is just like such a diabolical idea. And also, when Tom is describing to Arthur at the Historical Society, like, you know, 42 people set out. She's like, 43. He's like, it's like, it came to an island and nothing was here. And she's like, except for the tea. Except for the teeth.

Did you ever play Don't Wake Daddy, the board game, don't wake daddy? It's like a real board game. No, but yes. It's amazing in retrospect how much like how many games. I remember there's also a cartoon show called Wait Till Your Father Gets Home. it's like how many things were just constructed around like Dad's coming home and being fucking furious because in part they got yelled at by their younger bosses.

I remember like the commercial was like, don't wake, dad, yeah. This felt very don't wake daddy coded to me. Dad's younger got chewed out by his younger boss. Really funny. A horn of your reference slash Easter egg, I will say, I guess yeah, the shining stuff in episode two. But also like those are things I might be inclined to miss.

So Prestige TV at Spotify.com. Yeah, if you have any deep cuts? caught some deep cuts. We'd love to hear them. Best haunt, scare, spook, or fright. Look, I think it simply has to be the clown killer at 51. Really true. And specifically, like, Tim Baltz, who, I mean, I just love Unrighteous Gemstones.

Just the right amount of like, aweshoxy in bonding with Tom in the first place and then turning him into the clown killer. It's like not unexpected, but what a payoff. When he, like, lowers himself into frame. You know what's happening. It's really tough. And he's really been watching the game tape on the Pennywise crawl.

Like, he really gets it. Yeah, I can't beat clown. I can't be clown for you. I will say, though, if we get more Blair Witch stuff, I will talk more about the Blair Witch, but I have like a long, strong association with the Blair Witch project. But I will say Tom having the camcorder

that he had to like record his experience into. Very Blair Witching. A lot of camcorders, a lot of tube TVs. Are they just raiding the Severance prop department? Is that what's happening? All right. This category I'm calling New England's best kept secret, which is the headline on Arthur's New York Times article.

Is there a moment watching these three episodes where you're like, huh, Widows Bay? Actually seems pretty nice. I think it's the no-cell signal. I agree. To be unreachable. No Wi-Fi, no-cell signal? Oh, my God.

You're welcome the peace and quiet, says Tom. I actually would. Yeah. Counterpoint, could I ever live in a place with two restaurants? That seems like tough. The driftwood? The salty whale is the nice one. Yes.

I think it is the driftwood diner, maybe. Something like that. Okay, you need more than two. There's a coffee shop. Yes. What I love about... Newly installed cappuccino machine. What I love about Tom, single dad, single working dad,

is that it seems like they eat, takeout every single night. That man has never cooked in his life. Yeah. I loved the little moment when they're watching the ball game and he like takes the onions off his sandwich, like without even looking and just like puts them on his son sandwich. It's kind of lovely. I also say a place that has Hill's Beach Arter Point,

the seeded rye, cobbl pond all sounds like very nice to me. There is unfortunately also a place called the old hospital, which is tough. I love a coastal, like a coastal town. Medesino, California, my favorite place in the whole world. The fog has had us for a long time. It may just be getting the people of Widows Bay, but... I'm really pro fog. It's been kind of foggy in L.A.

The last couple days has been really nice. Unseasonably, but... I've enjoyed it. Could use a cliff, you know? An L.A. local called it the May Gray. I don't know if that's like a real L.A. thing. I guess it's the May Gray. I guess we're going to make it a thing if it's not a thing. Well, we're new to L.A.

Hey, is that a thing, L.A.? We don't know. I do think the old hospital, that's perfect, like, New Jersey-style lore of like, you can drive by it, but you can't stop there. You know, amazing stuff. That's Matthew Reese's physical comedy beach. I think it has to be him floundering around

in the shallow part of the beach after being chased to the shore by the hag. Also, like, his rash guard that he's wearing. And then also the, like, I was thinking a lot of the ice rink moment in Parks and Recreation, the Gloria Estefan get on your feet when he was like, when I'm so excited it was playing as he's walking down

in his rash guard to like do his swim. Very, very ice rink to me. When he's, he promises Wick, he'll give him five minutes of his undivided attention. Yes. And Wick's like, I don't want you correcting my grammar. I want to go tip for tit.

I want to go for tip for tit. And then he does, Matthew Reese does this like shaking it off sort of like clenching his jaw thing. Yeah, there's just sort of like, the clock hasn't even started yet. And I need to just eat this down. Yeah.

So much of the show we should say really relies on Matthew Reese. Yeah. Playing the comedy beats clearly, but also like he has to be alone to be frightened, right? So like you have to put him in spaces where he is really the only actor responding to these crazy things that are happening. I don't know that I've ever seen him in quite this like frantic a register.

Usually even when he stressed, there was like kind of a. control to him. And so seeing him be a little more spastic, a little more like, I'm so delighted. You just compared us to Martha's Vineyard. I like can't help but cackle in the middle of this restaurant. Like there is an on edgeness to him that I'm really appreciating. Obviously, we love him the Americans. Yeah. We weren't like huge Perry Mason heads or anything like that. We did watch all of the Beast in Me. We did. I can eat a chicken. I'm just so excited for him to have this role. This is such a good, good role for him.

Oh, he's really good on girls, too. He's great in that girls episode. Yeah, Matthew Reese, just like a really underrated, absolute rock star. All right, something, something's Stephen Root. What's Stephen Root moment do you want to call out? I feel like I am indexing it very hard on season three because somebody had to bring a shanty, and I'm glad it was Stephen Root. Singing the hat song, that's what I have to.

Is it the last shanty we'll hear in this Jaws-inspired, you know, island-based folk horror. So many sailors have been lured to their. death. You're telling me we don't have any other shanties about what happened. Honestly, if every episode had a sea shanty about whatever horrors await us, I would welcome it. The fact that the shanty starts with him just going like, oh, I don't know why I've saved him for last, but we wanted to shout out Evans. Evan's Guide to Teenage Rebellion. I, okay, so speaking of people who I'm really excited for, the actor playing Evan, we first met on presumed innocent. We sure did. Another Apple show, we should

note. Kingston Rumi Southwick. They almost have like stable of actors that they're sort of fast as Netflix does, as HBO does. But Chase Infinity had a great like year last year. She did. Was it because of presumed innocent?

No, but I'm just saying like she got her like completely. Let's wash off the stench of my, it wasn't her fault, narrative role in presumed innocent. But I don't remember Kingston Rumi South, like, popping in presumed innocent the way that he is, like, really popping for me in

this show. I think he's so funny. His just incredibly dry, sarcastic, like, response to Tom's agitation is just extremely good. And there's so many other ways to play this kid as, like, more of a shithead or, like, all this other stuff. But, like, I like him, but also he's just constantly, like, being as smart ass and lying. And I just, I just, I just, I. really enjoy him. And the very specific way that he's playing dumb is like super funny.

I'm completely with you. Like this is a kind of character on other shows that's usually like very annoying. And it's like clearly the weak point. Every scene he's in is wonderful and super funny. And I think some of it is like,

again, that delicate balance where there is like a sweetness to him where like the playing dumb you buy, but also he's clearly so much smarter than he's letting on the like, I found this joint. Do you know what this is?

After taking 10 seconds to consider what he's going to say. Do you know what this is? I was trying to figure out, and then he exhales this. It's a different kind of fog coming for all of us. That's so funny. Yeah, like staying the night with Ruth and when he's like, okay.

And he said, I was like, what did you just concoct? It was really good. He just figured out that Ruth wouldn't be able to tell the difference between him and like an armoire, you know? Dickhole Street. Somebody did that? That's horrible. That's horrible.

Oh, yeah, it's a sleepover date. Yeah, it's exactly what it is. It's so good. Any thoughts or feelings about these teenagers and what they might get up to this season? I mean, they're going to have to be imperiled. Like, that's just the logic of a horror movie. And specifically, Evan is going to have to be imperiled in a way that will test Tom or test his bravery or his willingness to believe all this stuff.

And like the line right now is Tom is clearly scared out of his mind but won't acknowledge to anyone who's not Wick, in part because Wick just shot the sea hag with a gun and turned her into like mucky water. Pause for a moment. Yeah. What did that smell like? I mean, you don't want to know To really It smells like the still water

Of a fucking bog, you know? Yeah, very boggy What if we could watch This show in 40X Yeah, yeah I, you know what I would welcome it Yeah, I would I would welcome the extra sensory experience

We get a little like sprints of cappuccino A little earlier on At least a waft Yeah, yeah, exactly I don't trust every show or movie With that experience But I do think they would be very good at it Anything else you want to call for Widows Bay?

A show that we're really enjoying. Again, the show does such a great job of all those inversions that we mentioned. And I think one of the things that there's these moments in every episode that are driving that home for me, when the sea hag has crawled on top of Tom in his recliner and he uses it to catapult her across the room. Yeah. There's just so many of those moments where it's like I feel like I'm in great hands tonally. I feel like every time that I am settled or unsettled, I'm going to be yanked back in the opposite direction in a way that feels like so sure of itself. You had watched episode one and I had watched episode two and something that I was saying to you is like, when I watched episode one, I thought like, what's the fog was going to be like the whole season.

Yeah. But it's like the fog is just episode one. Right. Episode two, we got a haunted inn. Yeah. Episode three, there's a sea hag. But accompanying all of it is the like the mayor is going to spend a night in the inn or the inaugural swim. Right.

This very parks and recreation, like there's a harvest festival we have to put on. sort of thing. So like beach reads, which is episode four, is this like, is this sunset drinks? Like it has to be right? We can't like not find out what happened to sunset drinks, right? I mean, we have to see what happens there. And I would assume too, like this is probably not the last we've seen of Marissa and her bachelorets or do you think. I should hope so. She had like great chemistry with Matthew Reese. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, he blew it. He did. You know, he overthought the hag situation. Tom was going to blow it no matter what. That is 100% true. But I'm imagining. based on what could be happening at the drinks,

maybe this is where the island starts getting locked down a little bit. But I guess we also have so much season left. Maybe that's not the case. I'm just going to read the other episode titles, just so we can have some fun doing that. What to expect on your trip? Our history, which could be a flashback episode.

That's the Thai West episode. Be afraid. Sea sickness, your baggage, emergency shelter, a storm? We hope you enjoyed your time, exclamation mark. So I really love this show I hope more and more people are watching this show This is a show that I hope runs for several seasons

And unlike Sufferance doesn't have like three years In between seasons would be really nice Do you think the premise itself lends itself to multiple seasons Well I guess it depends on like The Island is waking up Is there something we have to you know like Reverend Bryce

Toby Huss is like there are things that you must do So like are there things that you know leading up to your human sacrifice chair, theory, et cetera, et cetera, are there things to do to appease the island? And if there are, is that an end of a season, or is that a series-long endeavor? Or does it just, like, wake up again next summer? How often does the island wake?

You know, how many hag-like sea shanties can we concoct? It's a great question. Yeah, I did have that question of how long can something like this go. I think it's always tough with, like, high-concept comedy. But since we're in, like, the might- sure coaching tree. It was something that I know was like hovering over the good place from minute one. It's like as soon as the show starts.

I was thinking about the good place a lot with this show. I think it also has a lot in common. But it's like how once you play out the conceit to a certain point, where do you go? How do you reinvent it? How can you change it? Like I think there's so many things about Tom's story. It would have to be dramatically different now that he's opened his eyes to what it means to exist in the fog and all these other mysteries. And like that's where like the, if you'll pardon,

like the fog as the missed part comes into play. where it's not even about like what is the imminent danger, but the idea that there is imminent danger that you now have to acknowledge and recognize. That'll be a dramatic shift for the show. Anything else you want to say before we go? I'm ready to get out of here. I hope we get more Kathy.

I hope she continues to be very terrible at her job. It's bringing me much delight. And I love doing this show and I love talking about it with you, Joe. Shout out Katie Dippold, who we're, did you want to explain for the listeners why you were most excited that Katie Dippold is running the show?

I mean, the Parks and Rec connection is nice. The Ghostbusters connection is nice. The heat connection. nice. She is the author of the single greatest tweet in the history of the medium, which if you're not familiar with dressing like the Babaduke when your friends are having more of like a grown-ups drinking wine vibe situation, I can think of no source text that would show that someone is better for horror comedy than that. So we really are in great hands. It's the photo that goes along with that tweet that really sells it. Just tremendous. Yeah, look it up if you haven't seen it. If we can throw

up that visual here on the pod, let's please do that. Absolutely. And I just want to shout out Neil Casey, who is not only playing The Inkeeper, but also wrote episode three, one of your favorite episodes of this batch. So I'm excited to see, I love Parks and Recreation. I love Mike Scher shows. And so, like, as much of that sort of these city employees

are trying to hold things together and deal with disgruntled locals, I also, something I do love, in a haunted island, East Coast show, that's like, reaching for, Stephen King and all this sort of stuff like that. One could easily be saddled with a lot of burdensome accents. And that's not what's happening here.

No. But occasionally you get a local who's like, he's harmless, like something like that. We're just sort of like, I'm glad not everyone has to make the swing for that accent. But it's there if you look for it. You need a little bit of old band there. So where else it's not really going to work? Yeah. I do think also, too, it was so interesting hearing about the shaping of this project.

Like that this is something that Katie Dippold have been kind of like working on and sitting on for a long time and had been formative into her getting into Parks and Rec in the first place. And the version that we're seeing is so much more horror and oriented than the initial was like harder comedy. In particular, it seems like the scene at the historical society is like maybe the most consistent in terms of what has survived that earlier version of it, at least the earlier version of that pilot or movie or whatever is supposed to be. But even then, it was like it's been totally recalibrated and the like the framing has been changed. And it's like I love when things like this kind of have that extended second life when it's just like you just have to find the right register to take this into a totally

different gear. Something that's been kicking around someone's head for so long. Yeah, I'll be interested to see how the tone, again, if there's like episodes that feel more comedy and more horror. There's nothing wrong with that, I think, inside of the season as long as it all, the scales all feel kind of balanced at the end of the day. That's been Widows Bay. I really hope if you listen to this and you haven't watched the show, which as we've been

told, some people sometimes do. Thanks so much for listening. But also, watch Widows Bay. And we'll be back for Euphoria Sunday. night. I'm not sure that was a podcast that we made on Sunday, but we're going to do it again. Thank you to everyone who worked on the show today. Jacob Cornett's here. Kai Grady's here. I'm sure Dev is going to be working on the show in one way or another. Get well soon, Dev. Yeah, feel better. And thanks to you Rob Mahoney.

Thank you, Joe. Bye.