Kingston Rumi Southwick readies for Widow’s Bay season two

As Apple TV’s horror-comedy Widow’s Bay keeps gaining momentum since its April premiere, Kingston Rumi Southwick—who plays Evan, the son of Tom—talks about the series’ Massachusetts-fueled atmosphere, its sharp balance of fear and comedy, and what he hopes Eva

The cursed feeling of Widow’s Bay is the kind of thing you can’t quite shake—especially once you’ve been living inside it for months. Kingston Rumi Southwick says the magic only got stronger after he watched the series take shape. and now. with season two recently announced. he’s ready to dive back in.

“It’s so much fun,” the 18-year-old actor tells The Hollywood Reporter on a recent Zoom. “I’m glad people are connecting to it.” In his role. Southwick plays Evan. the son to Tom. Matthew Rhys’ character. in Apple TV’s horror comedy series. The show was created by Katie Dippold. and it’s set in a fictional—yet very much cursed—New England island town where Tom. the town’s mayor. sits at the center of the chaos.

Since the show’s April premiere, Widow’s Bay has continued to pick up momentum both critically and in viewing. Southwick describes his first encounter with the series script as instant: “I remember reading it for the first time and being like, I love this.”

He also remembers the tension that comes with filming a tone-heavy project—because horror comedy can be a difficult landing. “The tone of Widow’s Bay is tough to land, and it very much does,” Southwick says. Then he goes a step further: he was curious whether his expectations would hold up while filming. “I was watching it and thought that is exactly what I was thinking. if not better than what I imagined. ” he adds.

A major part of that atmosphere came from where the show was made. Widow’s Bay filmed across Massachusetts. and Southwick says the production moved between soundstages and location shoots to lock in the environment. “We would shoot in these smaller sea towns outside of Boston, in people’s houses,” he says. “I would talk to the owners, and they would have their own Widow’s Bay-esque stories.”.

He credits those conversations—and the geography itself—for pulling him into the right mindset. “It really put you into the mindset of being in a sea town that’s haunted,” Southwick says. He adds that shooting in Massachusetts mattered to him beyond the visuals because he “had never been” there before. and “the place is a very big part of the story.”.

The result is vivid enough that even the unsettling details feel grounded. Southwick points to the show’s look of the town and the image of Richard Warren with his head cut off. saying. “You see the town and Richard Warren with his head cut off. that’s really what it looks like. You could be there today, and it’ll look basically the exact same.”.

Behind the scenes, Dippold spent years finding the right tone that could translate to audiences. Southwick says what stood out to him in the script was how original the show feels even while it draws on familiar horror territory. He also connects Widow’s Bay’s rise to a moment when horror keeps evolving through franchises and fresh entry points—pointing to projects like Obsession and Backrooms.

“What Widow’s Bay did really well was it took those horror tropes and made [them] its own. It’s a very original idea,” Southwick says. “He also points out just how funny the show is and how hard that can be.”

For him, Evan is more than a role in the town’s mythology—it’s a character built for growth. Southwick calls Evan “a really smart kid. ” while describing how much of the character’s thinking he can’t always let out. “There’s so much more that Evan can be saying and would be saying and stuff. but he doesn’t let off all of his stuff he wants to say or feels like he can. ” Southwick says.

The father-son relationship between Evan and Tom drives a lot of Evan’s story. and Southwick ties that dynamic to what’s missing. “There’s so many unspoken things. ” he says. “and I think that’s also partially because I haven’t had a mom.” He adds that Evan’s emotional development comes from that gap: “Being able to have an emotional intelligence or awareness of being able to talk about how you feel or things like that [is important]. Evan didn’t grow up with that. He grew up with a dad who kind of wants everything to be idyllic and to be the perfect thing.”.

With season two looming, Southwick says he’s eager to see how Evan changes as the story brings more trouble. “I’m really excited for not only the mischief he gets into, but the levels that he can get to,” he says.

He also describes the way conversations on set shape the next steps for his character. “Southwick says he and team would talk on set about how he could evolve in the next season if he played him one way or another.”

As an actor, he’s also looking beyond the series’ emotional core. Southwick notes his past credits include Presumed Innocent and 56 Days, which lean into drama. Now he wants to move more into comedy, and Widow’s Bay feels like a natural entry point. “This is a good way for me personally as an actor to ease myself into it,” he says. “I think that for season two could there’s so many more opportunities for Evan to be in a very crazy. funny situation.”.

Kingston Rumi Southwick Widow’s Bay season two Apple TV horror comedy Massachusetts filming Evan Tom Matthew Rhys Katie Dippold New England island town