How Katie Dippold Turned a 20-Year Obsession Into Apple TV’s ‘Widow’s Bay’ Horror Comedy

Many writers have a project they revisit for years—often a book, but for Katie Dippold, it was a TV series. That project, ‘Widow’s Bay’, became the Apple TV horror-comedy she now creates, showruns, and executive produces.

Dippold has nurtured the idea for nearly two decades, balancing it with hit comedies like ‘The Heat,’ ‘Spy,’ and ‘Ghostbusters.’ The concept originated from a childhood sensation in 1980s New Jersey, where she and her friends would walk past a supposedly haunted house.

“I would be so giddy going out on a summer night because I knew I was going to be scared, but we would also laugh and it was very communal. That’s been something I’ve wanted to capture my whole life.”

She first wrote a pilot script 18 years ago, which later helped her land a staff writer role on Mike Schur’s ‘Parks and Recreation’ in 2009. “I think it gave Mike an idea of my sense of humor,” she said. “But [that script] is very different. It was very joke-focused, and it was something I just kept revisiting because I don’t know that I would have watched that version of the show. It felt like a parody, and I wanted Widow’s Bay to feel like a very real place in a real world. A place I would want to go to, even if I would die immediately.”

Dippold’s vision evolved into something darker and more grounded. As a horror fan, she prioritized tension and stakes. “I just kept digging away at it, and then a couple years ago, finally got serious and started polishing it and took it back out,” she explained.

The result debuts this week: the first two episodes of ‘Widow’s Bay’ premiere on Apple TV on Wednesday, October 23, 2024. The series retains elements of her original draft, including the fictional New England island setting and key characters like Matthew Rhys’ Mayor Tom Loftis and Kate O’Flynn’s Patricia.

The story follows Loftis as he attempts to transform his town into a tourist destination like Martha’s Vineyard, despite centuries of superstitions, disappearances, and unexplained deaths—all potentially tied to a real curse. Unlike her earlier joke-heavy draft, this version balances humor with genuine scares, fulfilling Dippold’s long-held goal.