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Apple TV’s New Horror Series Gives the Perfect, Bone-Chilling Toast in New Sneak Peek [Exclusive]

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Apple TV’s acclaimed new series Widow’s Bay has brought both the chills and the laughs so far with its exploration of the titular weird little seaside town. Despite the insistence of put-upon mayor Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys) and his attempts to boost tourism, there are horrors that lie underneath the New England locale’s surface that prove the residents aren’t just superstitious and that the place is, in fact, cursed. Now, in Episode 4, the haunts are about to intensify even more, and they’re going to crash a party. Ahead of tomorrow’s new installment, Collider can exclusively share a sneak peek featuring a toast delivered by Kate O’Flynn‘s oddball assistant, Patricia, that is much less perfect than it initially seems.

Patricia looks to set the party off on the right note by opening up a book and flipping to “The Perfect Toast.” The speech is a light-hearted, thankful speech celebrating the present company and expressing hope for new beginnings. As the camera pans around the room at all the smiling faces enjoying the moment, it seems like a joyful, peaceful occasion in the otherwise deeply abnormal town. However, those warm fuzzies fade into pure dread when looking into the mirror behind the guests and seeing their visages twisted into horrifying stares with mouths unnaturally agape. It’s a sign that something is about to go terribly wrong on this night, but for now, nobody even notices that anything’s amiss.

The synopsis for the new episode, “Beach Reads,” teases, “Make sure you pack a good read for the beach! (We do not recommend self-help books on the island).” There’s not a ton to glean from that, but each little episode preview has featured a hint at the kind of eerie happenings about to plague Widow’s Bay. Patricia’s book, for instance, contains a few curiosities, as opposite her perfect toast is a disconcerting passage about making conversation in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment. Those smaller spooks that exist within the periphery and other everyday horrors are what the series thrives on, in addition to its more direct haunts. Creator Katie Dippold told Collider during our Exclusive Spring Preview earlier this year that the goal was to capture an air of “fun dread” by marrying big and small scares alike.

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“There are some moments when there’s a lot of dread. But I know this is a weird thing to say, and my definition of fun is different than other people’s definition, but I would call it fun dread. Like, the anticipation. It’s not a lot of gross-out horror because that’s never really been my cup of tea. I respect it when done well, and I like watching it when done well, like I love The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. But it’s more like I would say I always loved American Werewolf in London, where it’s really grounded by everything that’s happening, but there are still very fun, surprising moments. Also, when I think about the tone, a lot of it is about horrors, both big and small. Like, for example, I’m just making this up, this example, but there could be something horrifying lurking outside the building, but then there’s also the small horrors of life, of you’re in an elevator, and you say goodbye to someone, but then it takes 30 seconds for the elevator door to open, and that awful silence for 30 seconds. So, this show explores both of those kinds of horrors.“



















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Collider Exclusive · Horror Survival Quiz
Which Horror Villain Do You Have the Best Chance of Surviving?
Jason Voorhees · Michael Myers · Freddy Krueger · Pennywise · Chucky

Five killers. Five completely different ways to die — if you’re not smart enough, fast enough, or self-aware enough to avoid it. Only one of them is the villain your particular set of instincts gives you a fighting chance against. Eight questions will figure out which one.

🏕️Jason

🔪Michael

💤Freddy

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🎈Pennywise

🪆Chucky

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01

Something feels wrong. You can’t explain it — you just know. What do you do?
First instincts are the difference between the survivor and the first act casualty.





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02

Where are you most likely to find yourself when things go wrong?
Setting is everything in horror. Where you are determines which rules apply.





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03

What is your most reliable survival asset?
Every survivor has a quality the villain didn’t account for. What’s yours?





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04

What kind of fear is hardest for you to fight through?
Knowing your weakness is the first step to not dying because of it.





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05

You’re with a group when things start going wrong. What’s your role?
Horror movies are brutally clear about who survives group situations and who doesn’t.





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06

What’s the horror movie mistake you’re most likely to make?
Honest self-assessment is a survival skill. Denial is not.





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07

What’s your best weapon against something that can’t be stopped by conventional means?
Every horror villain has a weakness. The survivors are always the ones who find it.





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08

It’s the final scene. You’re the last one standing. How did you make it?
The final survivor always has a reason. What’s yours?





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Your Survival Odds Have Been Calculated
Your Best Chance Is Against…

Your instincts, your strengths, and your particular way of thinking under pressure point to one villain you actually have a fighting chance against. Everyone else — good luck.

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Camp Crystal Lake · Friday the 13th

Jason Voorhees

Jason is relentless, but he is also predictable — and that is the gap you would exploit.

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  • He moves in straight lines toward his target. He doesn’t strategise, doesn’t adapt, doesn’t outsmart. He simply pursues.
  • Your ability to keep moving, use the environment, and resist the panic that freezes most victims gives you a genuine edge.
  • The Crystal Lake survivors were always the ones who stopped running in circles and started thinking about terrain, water, and distance.
  • You think like that. Which means Jason, for all his indestructibility, would face someone who simply refused to be where he expected.


Haddonfield, Illinois · Halloween

Michael Myers

Michael watches before he moves. He is patient, methodical, and almost impossible to detect — until it’s too late for anyone who isn’t paying close enough attention.

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  • But you are paying attention. You notice the shape in the window, the car parked slightly wrong, the silence where there should be sound.
  • Michael’s power lies in the invisibility of ordinary suburbia — the fact that nothing ever looks wrong until it already is.
  • Your spatial awareness and instinct to map every room, every exit, and every shadow before you need them is precisely the quality Laurie Strode had.
  • You are not a victim waiting to happen. You are someone who already suspects something is wrong — and acts on it.


Elm Street · A Nightmare on Elm Street

Freddy Krueger

Freddy wins by getting inside your head — using your own fears, your own memories, your own subconscious as weapons against you. That strategy requires a target who can be destabilised.

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  • You are harder to destabilise than most. You’ve faced uncomfortable truths about yourself and you haven’t looked away.
  • The survivors on Elm Street were always the ones who understood what was happening and chose to face it rather than flee from it.
  • Freddy’s greatest weakness is that his power evaporates in the presence of someone who refuses to give him the fear he feeds on.
  • Your psychological resilience — the ability to stay grounded when reality itself becomes unreliable — is exactly the quality that keeps you alive here.


Derry, Maine · It

Pennywise

Pennywise is ancient, shapeshifting, and feeds on terror — but it has one critical vulnerability: it cannot function against someone who genuinely stops being afraid of it.

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  • The Losers Club didn’t survive because they were braver than everyone else. They survived because they faced their fears together, and faced them honestly.
  • You ask the questions others avoid. You look directly at what frightens you rather than turning away.
  • That directness — the refusal to let fear fester in the dark — is Pennywise’s worst nightmare.
  • It chose the wrong target when it chose you. You are exactly the kind of person whose fear tastes like nothing at all.


Chicago · Child’s Play

Chucky

Chucky’s greatest advantage is that nobody takes him seriously until it’s already too late. He exploits the gap between how something looks and what it actually is.

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  • You don’t have that gap. You take threats seriously regardless of how they present — and you never make the mistake of underestimating something because of its size or appearance.
  • Chucky relies on surprise, on the delay between recognition and response. You close that delay faster than almost anyone.
  • Your instinct to treat every unfamiliar thing with appropriate scepticism — rather than dismissing it because it seems absurd — is the exact quality that keeps you breathing.
  • Against Chucky, not laughing is already winning. You are very good at not laughing.

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‘Widow’s Bay’ Has Been a Terrifying Hit With Critics

2026 isn’t even halfway through yet, but Widow’s Bay has already earned a reputation as one of the best and most unique television series of the year, beginning as a spec script that helped land Dippold a job on Parks and Recreation before being fleshed out into a compelling horror mystery. It owns a stellar Certified Fresh 97% score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, along with an also strong 94% score from audiences. Collider’s Emily Bernard gave it a 7/10 in her review, writing, “At first, you might not be so sure that you’ve chosen the right travel destination, but Widow’s Bay becomes a haunting, deeply rewarding, and oddly charming series if you stick with it.” Rhys and O’Flynn are joined in the titular town by Stephen Root, Kingston Rumi Southwick, Kevin Carroll, and Dale Dickey, with Hiro Murai directing.

Widow’s Bay Episode 4 premieres on Apple TV on Wednesday, May 13. Check out our exclusive sneak peek in the player above.


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Release Date

April 29, 2026

Network

Apple TV

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Showrunner

Katie Dippold

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Directors

Hiro Murai

Writers
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Katie Dippold, Kelly Galuska

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