Widow’s Bay, a plucky comedy show that serves as a love letter to decades of spooky pop culture, just made Emmy history.
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The series, created by former Parks and Recreation writer Katie Dippold, has earned a legion of devoted fans and a stellar 98% Rotten Tomatoes rating since quietly dropping on Apple TV back in April. Chock full of knowing nods to ’80s movie slashers, The X-Files, and Jaws, the comedy series headlined by Columbo alum Matthew Rhys seems like an unlikely awards season darling.
However, Widow’s Bay racked up 14 Emmys, which is the most for a comedy series in a single year, according to Variety. The outlet points out that the series picked up 19 nominations total, with most of the thw wins going to technical awards like production design, casting, and cinematography.
That said, Widow’s Bay also nabbed some of the biggest awards of the night, including Outstanding Comedy Series.
Dippold even gave a hat tip to spooky season when accepting the award, saying, “Just personally, I have to quickly thank my mom for always making Halloween fun.”
King of the Hill legend Stephen Root also won Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy (making history himself as the oldest actor to win the award at age 74), and Kate O’Flynn picked up a trophy for Best Supporting Actress. Hiro Murai also made some Emmy history by winning an Emmy for directing, a first for an Asian director, according to Variety.
Widow’s Bay Lead Actor Also Made Emmy History on His Own
Meanwhile, Rhys, who plays beleaguered Mayor Tom Loftis on the show, made Emmy history himself. The 51-year-old won two lead acting Emmys on the same night. He won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for Widow’s Bay, and also for the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie category for his role in Netflix’s The Beast in Me.
“Thank you, Apple, for letting us take this crazy, creative swing. They truly just let us do this weird show, and we can’t thank you enough,” Dippold added in her acceptance speech. “And we’d also like to thank the evil entity on the island that trusted us with its story.”
Here’s hoping the next season of Widow’s Bay comes ashore ASAP.