Apple TV's horror-comedy Widow's Bay earns an eye-popping 19 Emmy nominations

Widow's Bay was one of the buzziest new TV shows this year. Now, the horror-comedy earned a staggering 19 Emmy nominations, more than any new show this year. Nominations include Outstanding Comedy Series and a nomination for star Matthew Rhys, who plays Widow's Bay Mayor Tom Loftis.

The series was created by Parks and Recreation writer Katie Dippold, and while the show has plenty of comedic elements, including small town bureaucracy and a few outlandish locals, the series combines those with sheer horror, including a haunted hotel, an oppressive fog that feels like something out of a Lovecraft story, and a town history that involves murder. The show premiered on April 29, and it beat Apple TV's other new series, the sci-fi hit Pluribus, in terms of Emmy nominations for a new show. Its number of nominations is also impressive because, as Deadline reports, not every episode of Widow's Bay was submitted for consideration. because of the timing, the first season's final three episodes were not eligible.

Besides the nominations already mentioned, Widow's Bay also earned six acting category nominations, Outstanding Supporting actor nominations for Kate O'Flynn, Dale Dickey, and Stephen Root, as well as Outstanding Guest Actor nominations for Hamish Linklater and Betty Gilpin. Additionally, the series scored nominations for Outstanding Directing, Outstanding Writing, and Outstanding Editing.

Here's the full list of Widow's Bay's nominations:

• Outstanding Comedy Series

• Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series: Matthew Rhys

• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series: Kate O’Flynn

• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series: Dale Dickey

• Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: Stephen Root

• Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series: Hamish Linklater

• Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series: Betty Gilpin

• Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series: Katie Dippold

• Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series: Hiro Murai

• Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Program (Half-Hour)

• Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series

• Outstanding Cinematography for a Series (Half-Hour)

• Outstanding Picture Editing for a Single-Camera Comedy Series (3x)

• Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score)

• Outstanding Music Supervision

• Outstanding Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) and Animation

• Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) and Animation

Overall, Apple TV has plenty to celebrate. Besides Widow's Bay, Pluribus earned 18 Emmy nominations, while the drama comedy Shrinking scored 10 nominations.

“Great stories have the ability to entertain, surprise, and bring people together, and these unprecedented nominations recognize shows that have done exactly that,” Matt Cherniss, Apple TV’s head of programming, said in a news release. “We are in awe of the world-class storytellers we have the opportunity to collaborate with every day and are deeply grateful to the Television Academy for celebrating them. Congratulations to all of this year’s nominees whose brilliant work has connected with viewers everywhere.”

The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony will take place on Monday, September 14 at 8 pm ET at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. The event will be broadcast live on NBC and streamed on Peacock. Meanwhile, Widow's Bay has already been renewed for a second season.

Stream every episode of Widow's Bay on Apple TV.