After massive successes like Severance, Apple TV has struck gold once again with its comedy-horror series Widow’s Bay. On paper, these are two very different TV shows, though it’s pretty immediately clear while watching Apple TV’s newest addition that they are written in the same font, as it were. While Severance is a sci-fi psychological thriller and Widow’s Bay is all fantasy horror, they use a similar sort of mishmash of workplace comedy and high-tension suspense. This naturally ensures that these two shows will share a significant common audience.
Another thing that Severance and Widow’s Bay share in common is their immediate success. When the former series premiered in 2022, it took Apple TV by storm, earning 97% on Rotten Tomatoes for its first season. After season 2, Severance now has an overall score of 95%. Widow’s Bay, which premiered its first two episodes on April 29, 2026, kicked things off with a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, a score that has since fallen somewhat to a still-impressive 95%.
It’s safe to say that Apple TV has another hit on its hands, but how does Widow’s Bay actually compare to Severance? Beating out Severance would be no easy thing, given it’s a cultural phenomenon. However, Widow’s Bay found key ways to improve and even capitalize on its predecessor’s success.
Widow’s Bay Is Both Funnier & Scarier Than Severance
Part of what allowed Severance to stand out so starkly against other popular TV shows is the way it balances comedy and thrills. It’s a highly suspenseful series, with everything from its music to its cinematography contributing to that unsettling tension. This is layered beautifully with classic The Office-like workplace comedy tropes. The laughs in Severance release some tension, but its real purpose is to make the show seem that much more bizarre and, therefore, thrilling.
Widow’s Bay takes all of this and turns it up several notches. The subtlety of Severance is thrown out the window, replaced by an even more overt workplace-comedy tone and real, genuine horror. The laugh-out-loud moments are doubled, while the eerie, New England haunts are as classic and traditional as they come. It’s as if Widow’s Bay saw Severance and thought, “Okay, but what if we just pull back the curtain entirely?”
Widow’s Bay Is A Less Cerebral Experience Than Severance
The third layer atop Severance’s comedy and thrills is the cerebral mystery of it all. The series uses its premise to explore the sense of self, corporate mentality, trauma, loss, and other psychological concepts. It’s the sort of show that can be watched again and again, with each run-through bringing new revelations and meanings to light. It also means that Severance isn’t exactly an easy watch, since the show requires some active cognitive participation from the viewer.
The above is not a negative quality, but it does mean that Severance won’t be for everyone. It’s a big part of why this Apple TV show’s audience score is 80%, with season 2’s viewer score sitting as low as 74%. The cerebral experience just isn’t universally enjoyed within the thriller genre, and Widow’s Bay takes a lot of that pressure off its audience.
There are certainly mysterious elements involved in the first episodes of Widow’s Bay, but these fall within the more standard realm of horror. We’re thrilled and intrigued, but the idea is to sit back, enjoy the haunts, and see if we can figure out a couple of upcoming twists and turns. These are two really excellent TV shows, but as a more accessible series, Widow’s Bay has a bit of an edge over Severance.
