A MARTÍNEZ, BYLINE: "Widow's Bay" is a delightful mix of creepy and comical. It's a new series streaming on Apple TV, and it's the story of a mayor who's trying to attract tourists to his charming New England island. The thing is, the island has a dark history that the locals are terrified of.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "WIDOW'S BAY")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character) There's something rotten here.
MARTÍNEZ: Here to help us figure out when to laugh and when to scream is the show's creator, Katie Dippold. So, Katie, before we get into "Widow's Bay," answer me this if you can. Why are people scared of watching horror?
KATIE DIPPOLD: Oh, God. That's a great question. I can tell you why I want to be scared. I know, like, I'm a pretty anxious person. I'm always waiting for the other shoe to drop in life. And so when I watch something scary, I feel like I get to experience it safely in my home. I don't get scared easily in horror movies because I'm so delighted by it. Like, if someone...
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah.
DIPPOLD: ...Crafts a good scare, I'm delighted. But in life, yes, constantly horrified.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah. I mean, that's what I love about anything horror that's on a screen because I think it's hilarious. So there was - a while back...
DIPPOLD: Yeah.
MARTÍNEZ: I was at a screening of a horror movie. And there was a scene where a guy just gets crushed, and there's flesh everywhere, blood everywhere. And I'm just - I can't breathe because I'm laughing so hard. I don't understand why people don't get that horror is comedy.
DIPPOLD: I completely agree. I felt that a lot watching "Weapons" in the theater. You know, I don't know if you've seen it, but...
MARTÍNEZ: Yes, I did. Yeah.
DIPPOLD: There's a scene where - yeah. When - the scene when she's sleeping in the car, and the audience sees the woman coming out of the house, walking strangely to the car, and then you just hear the back seat open. I think that's the - it's terrifying, but I think that's the funniest thing in the entire world.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah. All right. So take us to the island of Widow's Bay. What's Widow's Bay like?
DIPPOLD: Widow's Bay is a place that I know I would want to go to, but it's not safe. There's a mayor there who's desperate to bring tourism to this island because it has all the makings of a quaint Cape Cod, Bar Harbor, Martha's Vineyard kind of town, but the locals think it's cursed.
MARTÍNEZ: The mayor is played by Matthew Rhys, and it's Mayor...
DIPPOLD: Yes.
MARTÍNEZ: ...Tom Loftis. Let's play this scene. He's trying to convince a journalist to write a glowing story about Widow's Bay. But the journalist, right off the bat, kind of sees some possible problems.
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BASHIR SALAHUDDIN: (As Arthur) I was talking to the guy on the ferry, and he said something odd.
MATTHEW RHYS: (As Mayor Tom) What was that?
SALAHUDDIN: (As Arthur) Well, he said bad things happen here.
RHYS: (As Mayor Tom) You know, Arthur, there is something about these seafaring towns. The superstitions - they're tall tales. Maybe it's that stories help pass a long day at sea. I don't know, but I find it charming myself.
SALAHUDDIN: (As Arthur) Was there cannibalism?
RHYS: (As Mayor Tom) No.
SALAHUDDIN: (As Arthur) Well, the article behind you - forced inside the church, they immediately turned to cannibalism.
RHYS: (As Mayor Tom) I don't think that's right.
SALAHUDDIN: (As Arthur) I mean, it's in a framed article inside the Historical Society.
RHYS: (As Mayor Tom) Yeah.
DIPPOLD: I've lived in a couple different towns. In every town I've lived in, there's some horror story. This one - the town, the island - was founded in 1681. So it's been centuries of horrific events, but spaced out just enough that you could dismiss it.
MARTÍNEZ: (Laughter).
DIPPOLD: So we've thought about the whole timeline that's happened since this town was founded and just put in just enough that you could buy it, that someone would believe it, but at the same time, understand why he would completely dismiss it.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah. He wants to dismiss it because he wants to make money off the place. But the locals there - they might not share a lot of his sentiment.
DIPPOLD: I think that they don't think he's up for the job, and he can be dismissive of them. They seem like they're just always drinking at the local bar.
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UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character) You have to stay in the Captain's Suite.
RHYS: (As Mayor Tom) The what?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character) Lost his mind, got his family with an axe.
RHYS: (As Mayor Tom) Of course, we then named a suite after him. Anything else?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As character) The ungrateful Hortense Fitzgerald.
RHYS: (As Mayor Tom) Was she the lady who fell out of a window?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #4: (As character) Ugly woman who fled her wedding, backed through a window and fell to her death.
DIPPOLD: I will say, by the end of Episode 3, there's no more denying what's happening. And we just really put Matthew Rhys through the wringer. That's - that was the fun of it, how to make every choice as hard as possible. And the other thing I would say - I think David Fincher said this, and I always thought about this a great deal, is that he liked scenes where everyone is right. 'Cause I don't think...
MARTÍNEZ: (Laughter).
DIPPOLD: ...Loftis is wrong. I - 'cause, honestly, like, the mayor in "Jaws" - his actions were terrible, but he is not wrong. Like, Amityville's going to go bankrupt. You know, that's a big deal. But I think in a similar way here, like, he's not wrong. The stories are crazy. He could make this a really special place and make a more lively place for his son to live. But then by the time he realizes how wrong he is, then it's - now he has to deal with that.
MARTÍNEZ: What's the writing room like? 'Cause I'm wondering with a series like this that has horror, it has suspense, it has mystery and, obviously, lots of laughs, too, are there some writers that are better at one part of that?
DIPPOLD: You know, I'm so glad you asked that because that was one of the more challenging things that ended up being the most rewarding. I had this great writers' room. There's seven other writers. Some of them came from more mythology-heavy shows like "WandaVision." And then I had, you know, a couple of old-time friends in comedies that - some of the best comedy writers I know from, like, you know, "SNL." One was from "Key & Peele." And so at first, that was a challenge, to sort of navigate the room and try to tell one cohesive story. What was very rewarding was by the end, the mythology writers were pitching jokes that were hilarious, and they all knew the show. And the comedy writers were passionately, heatedly debating and arguing for things on the mythology. And it was very fun to see that come together.
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KATE O'FLYNN: (As Patricia) Tom, do you remember the Boogeyman?
RHYS: (As Mayor Tom) I think you did tell me that story.
O'FLYNN: (As Patricia) God forbid you hear it again. It's only the most terrifying thing that's ever happened to me.
RHYS: (As Mayor Tom) Well, you asked me if I had heard it before.
O'FLYNN: (As Patricia) I still sleep with the dresser in front of my door.
RHYS: (As Mayor Tom) But he murdered teenage girls. You're in your 40s. You'll be fine.
MARTÍNEZ: So when I was thinking about Mayor Tom and who he reminded me of, he reminded me of a real estate agent trying to sell a house where there was a massive murder, you know?
DIPPOLD: That's so funny. That's great.
MARTÍNEZ: And he's trying to bring people and show them the house but then ignore the blood-stained...
DIPPOLD: Yes.
MARTÍNEZ: ...Carpet, you know? So, Katie, this series, if someone were to kind of think about watching it that might be apprehensive because they're afraid of getting scared or - you know, how would you sell this series to them?
DIPPOLD: I think that there's more fun than there is dread. I think that the horror in this show - it doesn't aim to make you feel bad. It aims to delight you.
MARTÍNEZ: Katie Dippold is the creator of "Widow's Bay" on Apple TV. Katie, thanks a lot.
DIPPOLD: Thank you so much.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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