Apple's Best Horror Series Of 2026 Is Secretly A Lost Episode Of 'Parks & Rec'
When you’re watching something like Apple TV’s Widow’s Bay (2026), similarities to other spooky or atmospheric shows or movies are prevalent. The strange occurrences in a small town are reminiscent of Twin Peaks (1990). Tom feels like Michael Scott from The Office (2005) with a hint of the mayor from Jaws (1975). And the way that the horror builds is similar to From (2022).
But there’s one series that not only shares similarities with Widow’s Bay but was also the jumping-off point for the scary tale. That show is the 2009 mockumentary Parks and Recreation, starring Amy Poehler. Don’t see the similarities or understand how Widow’s Bay could secretly be a lost episode of Parks and Recreation? Read on.
What’s The Connection Between ‘Widow’s Bay’ & ‘Parks And Recreation’?
Widow’s Bay is created and written by Kate Dippold. She’s known for comedies like The Heat (2013) and Ghostbusters (2016), but she’s also known for being a writer, story editor, and co-producer on Parks and Recreation. And it’s the original version of the Widow’s Bay pilot that landed her a job on Parks and Recreation in 2009.
In an interview with The Wrap, Dippold said, “I think it gave [creator] Mike [Schur] an idea of my sense of humor.” But she did admit that the first version of Widow’s Bay was very different from the show now. “It was very joke-focused, and it was something I just kept revisiting because I don’t know that I would have watched that version of the show. It felt like a parody, and I wanted Widow’s Bay to feel like a very real place in a real world.”
Dippold spent the next 18 years polishing that pilot and infusing more horror into it because, as she told The Wrap, “As a horror fan, I want the tension and the stakes to be taken seriously.” But even after its Apple TV premiere, Widow’s Bay feels like it never lost that spark of humor from Parks and Recreation.
The Similarities Between ‘Widow’s Bay’ & ‘Parks And Recreation’, Explained
The number one similarity between Widow’s Bay and Parks and Recreation is the residents. In Parks and Recreation, Poehler’s Leslie Knope deals with the public on a consistent basis. She sees them when they visit the office, when they come to town hall meetings, or during official park events. And if there’s anything you could depend on, it’s the residents to be bizarre, really passionate about the most random things, and utterly absurd in their requests.
Here are some examples of what the residents did during Parks and Recreation:
Asked if sugar is so bad, then why did Jesus make it taste so good?
Started throwing frisbees at Leslie while yelling, “How do you like it?”
A guy getting everyone to chant “ham and mayonnaise!” during a town hall.
People clapped after someone defended napkins being a vegetable because they’re made out of plants.
A woman complained about how there was a sign that said do not drink the sprinkler water so she made tea with it, and now she has a rash.
When you look at Widow’s Bay, the residents are just like that of Parks and Recreation, just perhaps a little more restrained because it’s a horror show. Still, Tom has to consistently deal with the odd quirks of the residents, whether it’s the owner of the diner, the guy who runs the ferry, or his assistant Patricia. Wyck is obsessed with warning Tom that he’s doing everything wrong and that danger is coming, so he has to shutter the island. And none of the residents have any qualms with vocalizing their woes, worries, or how much they think Tom is failing or being weird.
What Is ‘Widow’s Bay’ Inspired By?
The inspiration for Widow’s Bay has everything to do with where Dippold grew up. In an interview with The Wrap, she said that the inspiration for the Apple TV show came from the feeling she had growing up in New Jersey in the 1980s, when she and her friends would walk past a house that was supposedly haunted.
From what she described, it was less Laurie Strode in Halloween (1978) dropping off a key at the Myers house for her father and more of the feeling you get when you ride a roller coaster. You know, it’s a little scary, but you’re looking forward to that fear because it feels exhilarating and safe.
“I would be so giddy going out on a summer night because I knew I was going to be scared, but we would also laugh, and it was very communal. That’s been something I’ve wanted to capture my whole life,” Dippold said.
Stephen King was also an inspiration for Widow’s Bay, and when Dippold visited the North Shore of Massachusetts, she found a diner that helped everything click for her. As she told The Boston Globe, “I went to this diner in Marblehead, Mass. It’s called the Driftwood. [...] It was very cozy and very lived in, and I just never wanted to leave. It was out of a Stephen King book.”
