Widow’s Bay became an instant fan favorite for many reasons—its endearingly odd characters, its scary yet charming setting, its blend of monster-of-the-week frights with a deeper narrative about the island’s curse. And while the Apple TV show is definitely its own unique creation, it also paid loving homage to certain horror greats, including the master of New England horror himself, Stephen King. Speaking to Rolling Stone, Widow’s Bay director (he helmed five of the 10 episodes) and executive producer Hiro Murai, who worked in close collaboration with creator-showrunner-executive producer Katie Dippold, spoke about how King’s influence helped shape the series. For starters, Murai said watching The Shining with his dad when he was nine is “one of my earliest horror-movie memories.” But King’s impact on Widow’s Bay started with the setting, an island 40 miles off the coast of Massachusetts. It’s not King’s Maine, but it’s geographically close.
“We’re playing in a sandbox that he built,” Murai said. “That Northeast setting, the extraordinary happening to ordinary people. This genre is his playhouse. We’re obviously doing a comedic slant and picking characters that we identify with in that space, but the frame of it owes so much to Stephen King.”
