15 Shows That Will Scratch Your ‘Widow’s Bay’ Itch in the Creepiest Possible Way

‘Widow’s Bay,’ which premiered on Apple TV on April 29, 2026, is set in a quaint fictional New England island town afflicted with a centuries-old curse that unleashes various supernatural evils upon its residents. Created by Katie Dippold, the woman who wrote the ‘Ghostbusters’ remake and countless episodes of ‘Parks and Recreation,’ this horror-comedy stars Matthew Rhys as Tom Loftis, a widower and mayor whose desperate dream of turning the sleepy island into another Martha’s Vineyard gets derailed by spectral figures, devouring mists, and inexplicably tolling church bells. It has become one of the most talked-about new shows of the year.

On Rotten Tomatoes, ‘Widow’s Bay’ holds a 97% approval rating, with critics calling it “outlandish horror-comedy that stokes the genre’s well-worn tropes to winning effect, bringing scares, laughs, and a game cast.” Executive producer and director Hiro Murai describes the show’s appeal this way: each episode is “basically a standalone movie that’s kind of doing its own genre,” making it a genuinely ambitious piece of television. If you have already burned through all ten episodes and need something to fill the void, these fifteen shows share ‘Widow’s Bay”s DNA in all the best ways.

‘Twin Peaks’ (1990-1991)

Created by David Lynch and Mark Frost and originally aired between 1990 and 1991, ‘Twin Peaks’ begins with the seemingly straightforward hook that made it an audience phenomenon: in the pine-strewn Pacific Northwest town of Twin Peaks, model teenager Laura Palmer is found dead, prompting a murder investigation that brings in eccentric FBI agent Dale Cooper, played by Kyle MacLachlan. The grandaddy of mystery box TV shows, ‘Twin Peaks’ is a series about a weird little town with some nasty supernatural stuff happening just under the surface, and it is, without question, a major influence on shows like ‘Widow’s Bay.’

True to the all-American neo-surrealist style Lynch continued to develop in his later films, the mundane tragedies and melodramatic conflicts of ‘Twin Peaks’ exist in liminal contact with the paranormal and the uncanny, alongside a quaint, disarming sense of humor and a proclivity for tonal whiplash. With plenty of creepy town folklore, hilarious side stories, and memorable townsfolk, ‘Twin Peaks’ and ‘Widow’s Bay’ share similar vibes, with dread that is palpable but levity that constantly shifts both shows toward the comedic side.

‘What We Do in the Shadows’ (2019-2024)

Based on Taika Waititi’s 2014 film of the same name, the FX series ‘What We Do in the Shadows’ is, like ‘Widow’s Bay,’ a horror comedy that takes place on an island, specifically the New York borough of Staten Island, home to a house full of vampires and their familiar Guillermo de la Cruz, played by Harvey Guillén. Every single character is iconic, from Matt Berry and Natasia Demetriou’s married couple Laszlo and Nadja, to Mark Proksch’s Colin Robinson, the household’s energy vampire.

Both ‘Widow’s Bay’ and ‘What We Do in the Shadows’ feel like they are rooted in other popular comedy shows, with ‘Widow’s Bay’ feeling like a spooky version of ‘Parks and Recreation’ and ‘What We Do in the Shadows’ feeling like a vampy version of ‘Friends,’ meaning both lean more heavily into comedy tropes than other horror-comedies. The series won a Primetime Emmy and throughout six seasons maintained a 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, making it one of the most consistent comedy horror runs in recent television history.

‘Midnight Mass’ (2021)

Created and entirely directed by contemporary horror luminary Mike Flanagan, ‘Midnight Mass’ is an original horror drama miniseries that shares more than a few thematic, tonal, and narrative similarities with ‘Widow’s Bay,’ taking place in the fictional island village of Crockett Island and following a large ensemble of characters. A former venture capitalist and recovering alcoholic named Riley Flynn returns to Crockett Island after serving time in prison, arriving just as the staunchly Catholic town is rattled by the mysterious Father Paul Hill, played by Hamish Linklater, around whom a series of bizarre and seemingly miraculous events begin to occur.

Although ‘Midnight Mass’ does not share the comedic vein of ‘Widow’s Bay,’ it is otherwise a strikingly similar example of somber supernatural horror focused on a creepy island town afflicted by strange happenings, both shows unfolding with a similarly deliberate, slowly enveloping pace. Overall, ‘Midnight Mass’ is considered a slow-burn masterpiece, and if you are a fan of the more serious, genuinely frightening portion of ‘Widow’s Bay,’ you could scarcely do better.

‘Castle Rock’ (2018-2019)

Created by Sam Shaw and Dustin Thomason, ‘Castle Rock’ is an American supernatural horror series that premiered on Hulu on July 25, 2018, taking its name from the fictional Maine town in which Stephen King sets several of his most celebrated novels. Rather than directly adapting any single King novel, each of the two seasons weaves different characters and elements from various books into an original story, with Season 1 centering on criminal attorney Henry Deaver, played by André Holland, who returns to Castle Rock at the request of a mysterious inmate known as The Kid, played by Bill Skarsgård.

Season 2 follows a young Annie Wilkes, played by Lizzy Caplan, as she and her daughter become stranded in Castle Rock due to a car accident, and both seasons share the same fascination with the hypnotic power of well-wrought mystery, with an exceedingly smart touch in their handling of horror and fantasy elements. The sprawling small-town horror lore and wide array of eccentric characters make ‘Castle Rock’ an apposite companion watch for any fan of ‘Widow’s Bay.’

‘FROM’ (2022-present)

In ‘FROM,’ the science fiction horror series created by John Griffin, a nightmarish town traps unsuspecting visitors and never allows them to escape, following Boyd Stevens, played by Harold Perrineau, a man who becomes the town’s self-appointed sheriff. Every night at dusk, the residents bolt their doors and hang up protective talismans to deter the monstrous beings that emerge from the surrounding forest at nightfall, and when mistakes are made, the consequences are fatal.

This claustrophobic, pulse-pounding mélange of creature horror, conspiracy thriller, and survival drama begins with an ingeniously mean premise: for indecipherable reasons, a small American town now traps everyone who passes through it, and by some wicked supernatural design, every road out leads back to the same place. Season 4 of ‘FROM’ premiered on April 19, 2026 on MGM+, meaning there is plenty of content to binge right now while ‘Widow’s Bay’ is still unspooling.

‘Stranger Things’ (2016-2025)

With its first season holding a 97% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes, ‘Stranger Things’ unfurls mysteries in a small Midwestern town in the 1980s, involving supernatural forces, secret government experiments, and one very strange girl, quickly earning the consensus that it is “exciting, heartbreaking, and sometimes scary.” Netflix’s flagship series ran for five seasons between 2016 and 2025, and across its run earned a near-perfect 90% critics’ score overall on Rotten Tomatoes.

Created by the Duffer Brothers, the show is elevated by its astounding worldbuilding, particularly through the small town of Hawkins, Indiana, and its intimate atmosphere that fully immerses audiences in the plot. Like ‘Widow’s Bay,’ it understands that the most effective horror is rooted in place, community, and the weight of secrets that a town carries long before any outsider arrives to disturb them.

‘Wayward Pines’ (2015-2016)

Developed by Chad Hodge and based on Blake Crouch’s ‘Wayward Pines’ novel series, the Fox series ran for two seasons from May 14, 2015, to July 27, 2016, with M. Night Shyamalan directing the pilot and serving as an executive producer throughout. The story follows Ethan Burke, played by Matt Dillon, a U.S. Secret Service agent investigating missing federal agents in the mysterious small Idaho town who awakens from a car accident unable to contact the outside world and unable to leave.

Evoking the classic hit series ‘Twin Peaks,’ ‘Wayward Pines’ is described by critics as creepy and bizarre, with a familiar vibe when it comes to supernatural storytelling but its own brand of strange plot twists and shocking reveals, making it a return to form for Shyamalan. Underrated and canceled prematurely despite being brilliant, the series offers an innovative spin on the small-town horror format that fans of ‘Widow’s Bay’ will find deeply satisfying.

‘Shining Vale’ (2022-2023)

Created by Jeff Astrof and Sharon Horgan and starring Courteney Cox, Greg Kinnear, Mira Sorvino, and Judith Light, ‘Shining Vale’ premiered on Starz on March 6, 2022, and ran for two seasons before its cancellation in December 2023. The series follows Patricia Phelps, played by Cox, who moves her family to a large, old house in Shining Vale, Connecticut, only to begin seeing the ghost of Rosemary Wellingham, a woman who once killed her husband there, with the supernatural disturbances spiraling further into chaos in Season 2.

While ‘Widow’s Bay’ features all the townspeople except Mayor Loftis believing the island is supernatural, ‘Shining Vale’ flips the script, with Pat being the only one who believes anything paranormal is happening, and in both situations, it creates a hilarious scenario in which the isolated individual tries to convince everyone else that they are right. Both shows understand that the true horror of being the lone sane voice in a supernatural situation is often funnier than it is terrifying.

‘Stan Against Evil’ (2016-2018)

Premiering on IFC in 2016 and running until 2018, ‘Stan Against Evil’ stars John C. McGinley as a former sheriff named Stanley Miller who has to team up with a younger sheriff to fight off a horde of angry witch spirits that have returned to exact vengeance on their small New Hampshire town, centuries after the witches were burned at the stake. Anyone who loves the small-town New England feeling of ‘Widow’s Bay’ is in for a treat with ‘Stan Against Evil,’ which carries that same ambiance and a folk-horror feeling rooted in the way the demons physically present themselves.

Both ‘Widow’s Bay’ and ‘Stan Against Evil’ are led by actors who are masters of their facial expressions, with Matthew Rhys and John C. McGinley both making laugh-out-loud expressions that enhance the comedy of their respective shows. The key difference is that Stan actually engages with the spirits with insulting one-liners while Mayor Loftis remains pretty helpless, giving the two shows a delightfully different energy while operating in the same comedic horror space.

‘Ash vs Evil Dead’ (2015-2018)

Developed by Sam and Ivan Raimi, Robert Tapert, and Bruce Campbell, ‘Ash vs Evil Dead’ ran from 2015 until 2018 on Starz for three full seasons, with Campbell reprising his role as Ash, the aging, chainsaw-handed monster hunter who spent 30 years avoiding responsibility before a Deadite plague forces him back into action. Neither ‘Ash vs Evil Dead’ nor ‘Widow’s Bay’ treats horror too seriously, with both shows embracing campiness and over-the-top elements of the genre while also delivering well-written scripts and high production values that feel cinematic.

Both shows have a hilarious and chaotic energy rooted in the idea that anything can happen at any time, with quirky main characters whose comedy is grounded in increasingly ridiculous situations that feel oddly relatable despite the supernatural circumstances. The series lasted for three seasons before its cancellation in 2018, and it remains one of the purest and most enthusiastically gory exercises in horror-comedy the medium has ever produced.

‘NOS4A2’ (2019-2020)

Created by Jami O’Brien and based on the bestselling novel by Joe Hill, ‘NOS4A2’ aired on AMC for two seasons from June 2, 2019, to August 23, 2020, starring Ashleigh Cummings as Victoria McQueen, a young woman who discovers she has a supernatural connection to the immortality-obsessed vampiric villain Charlie Manx, played by Zachary Quinto. The show’s title is a respelling of the word Nosferatu, and Charlie Manx seduces children and brings them to his private sanctuary dubbed Christmasland, a hideous perversion of holiday cheer.

NOS4A2 effectively captured the unsettling frights and coming-of-age themes of a Stephen King story, despite not being written by him, boasting a solid 72% critics’ score and a 79% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and earning a reputation as a quick and enjoyable infusion of creepy, stylistic horror. Both seasons of ‘NOS4A2’ are available to stream on Netflix, making it an easy pickup for anyone who fell in love with ‘Widow’s Bay”s particular brand of New England supernatural dread.

‘The Leftovers’ (2014-2017)

Created by Damon Lindelof and Tom Perrotta and airing on HBO from June 29, 2014, to June 4, 2017, ‘The Leftovers’ is a supernatural drama based on Perrotta’s 2011 novel, beginning three years after a global event called the Sudden Departure, in which 2% of the world’s population vanished without explanation. Justin Theroux, Regina King, Margaret Qualley, and Carrie Coon star in the series, following Theroux’s cop Kevin Garvey, Coon’s heartbroken widow Nora, and Christopher Eccleston’s Reverend Matt Jamison as they respond to the Departure in vastly different ways.

The third and final season received unanimous critical acclaim, earning a Metacritic score of 98 out of 100 and a 99% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the eight-episode final season called “a miracle” by critics and named among the best TV of the decade. Like ‘Widow’s Bay,’ ‘The Leftovers’ uses an inexplicable supernatural premise to excavate deeply human grief, community trauma, and the desperate need to make meaning from chaos.

‘Severance’ (2022-present)

Created by Dan Erickson and directed by Ben Stiller, ‘Severance’ is a sci-fi psychological thriller series on Apple TV+ starring Adam Scott, Zach Cherry, Britt Lower, John Turturro, and Tramell Tillman, following employees of the mysterious Lumon Industries who have undergone a surgical procedure that divides their memories between their work and personal lives. The series premiered on February 18, 2022, and follows Mark, who leads a team of these severed workers as a mysterious colleague appearing outside of work begins unraveling a journey to discover the truth about Lumon.

Apple TV shows tend to fly under the radar even when they are extraordinary, but ‘Severance’ is an exception everybody knows about, with the show being considered absolutely incredible by critics and audiences alike. Its deliberately-paced unspooling of corporate horror and institutional darkness shares ‘Widow’s Bay”s gift for making the mundane terrifying, though here the island is replaced by fluorescent-lit hallways with no exit.

‘Outer Range’ (2022-present)

A neo-western mystery thriller from Prime Video, ‘Outer Range’ premiered on April 15, 2022, and centers on Royal Abbott, played by Josh Brolin, a rancher fighting for his land and family in Wyoming who discovers an unfathomable mystery at the edge of the wilderness, described as “a thrilling fable with hints of wry humor and supernatural mystery.” Created by Brian Watkins and starring Brolin alongside Imogen Poots, Lili Taylor, and Tom Pelphrey, it has been heralded as something in the vein of the neo-western, applying key themes of classic westerns in a 21st-century context while layering in an otherworldly supernatural spin.

When a travel writer pens a glowing article on Widow’s Bay and trouble follows, the parallel to ‘Outer Range’ is striking: both shows hinge on a community’s outsider disrupting a delicate and cursed status quo, with an ordinary person suddenly at the center of events that defy rational explanation. Like ‘Widow’s Bay,’ ‘Outer Range’ commits to the idea that some mysteries are better left unearthed, and then makes sure its characters have no choice but to dig.

‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ (1997-2003)

Debuting on The WB network on March 10, 1997, created by Joss Whedon, ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ aired for five seasons on The WB before transferring to UPN in 2001 for its final two seasons, concluding in 2003. In this cult classic, a high school girl is chosen to battle vampires, demons, and other supernatural forces that threaten her small California town, with its witty dialogue, strong female lead, and unique blend of horror and comedy making it a fan favorite that has endured for decades.

Creator Joss Whedon himself described the series as wearing itself on its sleeve: “It’s sophomoric, it’s silly, it’s comedy-horror-action; it’s all there in the title,” making it arguably the original template for what ‘Widow’s Bay’ is doing in terms of refusing to choose between laughs and genuine scares. The series even spawned a spinoff in ‘Angel,’ which ran for five seasons on The WB, cementing just how much world Whedon built in and around a small California town cursed by proximity to the Hellmouth.

Whether you are looking for small-town horror comedies, creeping supernatural mysteries, or shows that prove a cursed location is really just a mirror held up to its terrified community, each entry on this list offers something ‘Widow’s Bay’ fans will recognize and devour. Which of these fifteen shows do you think comes closest to matching the specific, hilarious, horrible magic that Katie Dippold has conjured in ‘Widow’s Bay’?