An original horror comedy series has landed on Apple TV, and it is hard not to notice how it shares many beats with both Lost and From. It has been over a decade and a half since Lost ended its long run. However, even to this day, it is often remembered as one of the best mystery-box sci-fi thrillers by many. The show slightly tainted its legacy with a disappointing final season, but its influence on television still lingers.
To fill the void Lost left behind, many new shows attempted to emulate its formula and become its worthy replacement. However, only a few, like MGM+’s From, have come close to capturing that intoxicating feeling of being hopelessly trapped inside a mystery that seems far bigger than the characters themselves.
Much like Lost at its peak, MGM+’s From cleverly drowns viewers in one mystery after another while finding creative ways to keep them glued to their screens. After its first three episodes, Apple TV’s Widow’s Bay also seems to be walking down the same route and even its setting and themes seem very similar to that of both From and Lost.
Apple TV’s Widow’s Bay Is Reminiscent Of Both Lost & From
Similar to both Lost and From, Apple TV’s Widow’s Bay unfolds in an isolated setting. This isolated setting in the show is a pressure cooker where characters constantly find themselves dealing with unexplained supernatural terrors. Speaking of characters, the ones in Widow’s Bay have the ability to leave the central island.
However, like the ones in Lost and From, Widow’s Bay‘s characters struggle to leave their home because of a curse that suggests anyone born on the island will end up dead if they leave its shores for too long. The mythological layers of both Lost and From bleed into Widow’s Bay when it establishes its own unique supernatural lore.
With each new episode, it further immerses viewers into its terrors by revealing everything from the local folks’ strange superstitions to the protagonist’s first-hand supernatural encounters. Although the show holds back on revealing too much, it cleverly takes Lost and From mystery-box approach to hint that each new revelation ties into a bigger puzzle.
Similar to From‘s nocturnal rules and lore surrounding the talismans, Widow’s Bay is also establishing its own internal logic in early episodes. While the show is yet to reveal the full scale of the terrors of its central setting, it is evident that there is something wong with it.
Since Widow’s Bay etches its own identity with its intriguing Stephen King influences and unique supernatural lore, calling it a replacement for Lost or From would be a little unfair. However, after just three episodes, it is proving to be one of the best modern additions to the horror genre.
From a critical standpoint, Widow’s Bay is already a big hit and holds a near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score of 97%.
Unlike Lost & From, Widow’s Bay Does Not Take Itself Too Seriously
Almost throughout their runtimes, Lost and From adopt serious tones where they pursue their supernatural mysteries with a lot of intensity and emotional weight. Widow’s Bay also dabbles with serious themes surrounding grief and the desire to hold on to one’s home. However, the show always couples its terrors with a layer of clever levity.
All horror sequences or jumpscares in the original Apple TV show have traces of comedy that make them both hilarious and terrifying. Horror comedies usually hold back on scares and focus on more entertaining viewers with endless gags. Widow’s Bay, however, is a rare addition to the genre that manages to get both horror and comedy right simaltanously.
While watching some of its scariest scenes, one cannot help but nerbously chuckle because of how perfectly the series balance both elements. While it many it a little too soon to say anything about Widow’s Bay‘s future on Apple TV, it already seems to have immense potential. If all goes well for the show, it could even last as long as From and Lost.
