The shining series of this year’s Emmy Awards was undoubtedly Widow’s Bay. Kate Dippold’s horror comedy hit came in strong with a whopping 19 nominations, so we all expected that it would take home at least a handful. There was stiff competition in many categories from shows like Abbott Elementary, The Bear, and Shrinking, after all. But Widow’s Bay sailed higher than any of us could imagine and made history as the most awarded comedy season in Emmy history with 14 wins.
Eight of those wins came during the Creative Arts ceremonies prior to six big wins during the Emmy telecast. The show’s leading trio—Mayor Tom Loftis, quirky Patricia Moyer, and eccentric Wyck—all took home major Emmys. Matthew Rhys scored lead comedy actor, Kate O’Flynn won for supporting actress, and Stephen Root for supporting actor. Rhys had an exceptionally great night, making history on his own by taking home a lead actor Emmy in two categories.
Is Widow’s Bay Really a Comedy Series?
Absolutely. In fact, the series leans more into comedic and absurdist elements than it does with what people would associate with classic horror. Also, just to be clear, there is an entire genre of entertainment called horror comedy. Two things can be true at one time, and comedy contains layers and multitudes! Just think about the premise of Widow’s Bay: a mayor trying to bring tourism to a town where there’s allegedly a weird curse that resulted in some strange happenings. That is a very unserious thing overall. And, season one is packed with so many funny moments, some of which you can see in this Patricia video below:
Here’s the complete list of Widow’s Bay Emmy Awards that made this Apple TV smash the most awarded comedy season in Emmy history:
- Best Comedy Series
- Best Actor in a Comedy Series — Matthew Rhys
- Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series — Kate O’Flynn
- Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series — Stephen Root
- Best Directing for a Comedy Series — Hiro Murai
- Best Writing for a Comedy Series — Kate Dippold
- Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series
- Best Cinematography for a Series (Half-Hour)
- Guest Actress in a Comedy Series — Betty Gilpin
- Best Score — David Fleming
- Music Supervision — Toko Nagata
- Production Design for a Narrative Program (Half-Hour)
- Sound Editing for a Series (Half-Hour)
- Sound Mixing for a Series (Half-Hour)
Top that, Martha’s Vineyard. We cannot wait for what’s coming next in Widow’s Bay season two.