{"id":5072,"date":"2026-08-07T18:04:43","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T18:04:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5072"},"modified":"2026-08-07T18:04:43","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T18:04:43","slug":"widows-bay-creator-katie-dippold-on-the-halloween-and-scream-easter-eggs-you-got-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5072","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Widow\u2019s Bay\u2019 Creator Katie Dippold on the \u2018Halloween\u2019 and \u2018Scream\u2019 Easter Eggs: \u201cYou Got Me\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n<\/p>\n
\n

\n\tWhat did Widow\u2019s Bay<\/em> creator and showrunner Katie Dippold see in Matthew Rhys as Tom Loftis, mayor of the New England island town plagued by a historic curse? \u201cHe\u2019s actually very good at swearing,\u201d Dippold jokes. Add that to his comedic timing while being a dramatic actor, and Widow\u2019s Bay<\/em> perfectly blends humor with horror \u2014 something that was very important to Dippold, who says her initial idea leaned too much toward comedy and made her rethink the entirety of the show. Stephen Root and Kate O\u2019Flynn also star in the series that led all new shows with a staggering 19 nods when the Emmy nominations were announced July 8.<\/p>\n

Read more John Waters Is Aging Disgracefully, Thank Goodness<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tDippold (Parks and Recreation<\/em>, Ghostbusters<\/em>, The Heat<\/em>) reveals to THR<\/em> why Widow\u2019s Bay <\/em>was so hard to write and where she broke some of her self-imposed rules.<\/p>\n

\nYour initial idea for the show was much different from what we see on TV today.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tThe heart of it is the same. It was much more comedy-focused, and I still think of this as a comedy, but I don\u2019t think you would ever be scared or tense in that original version. I don\u2019t know that I would have watched that show because, as a horror fan, I just want the horror taken seriously.<\/p>\n

\nThe show balances horror and comedy very well. How did you walk that line?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s being really hard on the humor because there\u2019s stuff in the writers room that will make me laugh so hard, but I\u2019m like, we cannot do that because you just won\u2019t take anything seriously. But sometimes, we\u2019ll break our own rules \u2014 like, the bogeyman is kind of ridiculous. I try to let the scary be scary and let the humor come from character, and a big goal of the show, between the cast and the direction, is treating it very seriously. You\u2019re never treating it like a joke. This is life and death to the characters. Everything should feel high stakes, and then finding moments of humor throughout that \u2026 it\u2019s constantly making sure these two things are feeding off of each other and not undercutting the other one, and that also means doing horror that doesn\u2019t get too bleak. You don\u2019t want the audience to feel too bad, so then it\u2019s hard for them to come back around and laugh.<\/p>\n

\nHow much of the humor was written in the script versus the actors\u2019 delivery?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tThat\u2019s honestly what was the scariest thing about this show, is that it really needs all of it. It needs the scripts to be very tight. This show really does not allow much room for error. I\u2019ve written many broad comedies, and you can get away with stuff, but this show, if there\u2019s a moment that feels too broad or unearned, or you don\u2019t buy it, it takes you out of it immediately. So I find this very hard to write for that reason. But you also need really good dramatic actors to sell these absurd, absolutely ludicrous situations.<\/p>\n

\nOne of the scenes that made me laugh out loud was when Warren and Loftis were on the boat and Warren is asking to be let out of the coffin, and when Loftis says no, Warren\u2019s like \u201cWell, fuck you then, and he\u2019s like, \u201cFuck me?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tYou know, that was a last-minute change. The \u201cfuck you\u201d part of that exchange wasn\u2019t scripted, and then one of the writers on set, Neil Casey, pitched it to me, and I was like, \u201cOh God, I don\u2019t know if I can pitch that to them right now.\u201d And then I was just debating it, and Matthew was looking at us and said, \u201cWhat? What is it?\u201d And then we went over and pitched it, and they\u2019re like, \u201cGreat!\u201d And then they did it, and it became my favorite thing, and I kept it in edit.<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018Southern Charm\u2019 Star Craig Conover Set for Indie Dramedy \u2018Caroline Fletcher\u2019 (Exclusive)<\/a><\/p>\n

\nWhat did you see in Matthew Rhys for the role of Tom Loftis?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tIt was a real swing and a lucky guess because I had never seen him do anything comedic before. But I know he\u2019s an amazing actor. I pitched him how the season would go, and he just seemed to get it. There\u2019s something about him. He\u2019s my favorite kind of person, which is a spicy, kind person.<\/p>\n

\nEpisode four was one of the most beautifully shot episodes I\u2019ve ever seen on TV. I was wondering how that was like filming it because it was so unique.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tSomething I really have loved about television is the joy of collaboration. In the script, we had this idea that Patricia would be hosting this entire party, everything is going well, but you know something\u2019s off. As she\u2019s giving her toast, the camera pans over to her, and as it pans over to her, you just catch a split second glimpse of the mirror that shows all their mouths hanging open. It\u2019s like a very blink and you miss it kind of moment, and so I was really hell bent on holding it until that moment, and then the director Sam Donovan was pitching seeing the glimpse in the dance sequence when she\u2019s dancing, and because in the script she\u2019s dancing and having the time of her life, we were talking about what kind of music would be playing then, and I thought, if she was in high school, what\u2019s something she would have listened to while driving by a party she wasn\u2019t invited to? \u201cThe Rhythm of the Night\u201d is a great dance song, that\u2019s so something from that time period, but I thought it\u2019s perfect. Sam had the idea of that shot in that moment, and it seemed like it was going to be one or the other, and I was really torn. And Sam said, \u201clet\u2019s just get both, and then we\u2019ll decide later.\u201d But then in the edit, you realize, oh, this actually builds really nicely. Just catching a glimpse of it in the dance sequence, and then you really land it when she\u2019s giving this speech. It was a real group effort, which really delighted me.<\/p>\n

\nWhile I was watching the series, I noticed a lot of horror movie references. Obviously the boogeyman episode is very Mike Myers-coded, from surviving the craziest stuff to she\u2019s running for her life, he\u2019s casually strolling, and also Loftis, the name, reminded me of Loomis from Halloween, Scream<\/em> and Psycho<\/em>. Was that a bit of an Easter egg, or am I completely hallucinating that?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tNo, you\u2019re not. Sometimes when I\u2019m writing is, I hate to say this, but you\u2019ll just start writing things down, and you\u2019ll just like write a name, and I think to me, my heart felt like something [like] Loomis [from] Halloween<\/em>. It was just helping me get started, but then I just got used to that name. So that happens to me all the time. Like I\u2019ll just put a name and just get used to it. And then I\u2019m like, well, I can\u2019t change it now. That\u2019s their name. I don\u2019t think anyone else has clocked that, which I\u2019ve been relieved about. But you finally got me.<\/p>\n

\nThis story first appeared in an August stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more Sarajevo Unveils B\u00e9la Tarr Tribute Program for Former Students of His Film School<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Katie Dippold on blending humor and horror in \u2018Widow's Bay,\u2019 and the horror Easter eggs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5071,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[245,826,827,3035,3302,1602],"class_list":["post-5072","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting","tag-awards","tag-emmy-awards","tag-emmys-2026","tag-halloween","tag-scream","tag-widows-bay-2"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018Widow\u2019s Bay\u2019 Creator Katie Dippold on the \u2018Halloween\u2019 and \u2018Scream\u2019 Easter Eggs: \u201cYou Got Me\u201d - US Property Moves<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5072\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Widow\u2019s Bay\u2019 Creator Katie Dippold on the \u2018Halloween\u2019 and \u2018Scream\u2019 Easter Eggs: \u201cYou Got Me\u201d - US Property Moves\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Katie Dippold on blending humor and horror in \u2018Widow's Bay,\u2019 and the horror Easter eggs.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5072\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"US Property Moves\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-07T18:04:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=5072#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=5072\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f6dcb1ef8e64fe67b72b772b81aa822c\"},\"headline\":\"\u2018Widow\u2019s Bay\u2019 Creator Katie Dippold on the \u2018Halloween\u2019 and \u2018Scream\u2019 Easter Eggs: \u201cYou Got Me\u201d\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-07T18:04:43+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=5072\"},\"wordCount\":1311,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=5072#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/6234f0923f98f760858c3fc99be2725d.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"Awards\",\"Emmy Awards\",\"Emmys 2026\",\"Halloween\",\"Scream\",\"widow\u2019s bay\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=5072#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=5072\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=5072\",\"name\":\"\u2018Widow\u2019s Bay\u2019 Creator Katie Dippold on the \u2018Halloween\u2019 and \u2018Scream\u2019 Easter Eggs: \u201cYou Got Me\u201d - US Property Moves\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=5072#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=5072#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/6234f0923f98f760858c3fc99be2725d.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-07T18:04:43+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f6dcb1ef8e64fe67b72b772b81aa822c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=5072#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=5072\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=5072#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/6234f0923f98f760858c3fc99be2725d.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/6234f0923f98f760858c3fc99be2725d.webp\",\"width\":1296,\"height\":730},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=5072#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"\u2018Widow\u2019s Bay\u2019 Creator Katie Dippold on the \u2018Halloween\u2019 and \u2018Scream\u2019 Easter Eggs: \u201cYou Got Me\u201d\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"US Property Moves\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f6dcb1ef8e64fe67b72b772b81aa822c\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\u2018Widow\u2019s Bay\u2019 Creator Katie Dippold on the \u2018Halloween\u2019 and \u2018Scream\u2019 Easter Eggs: \u201cYou Got Me\u201d - US Property Moves","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5072","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\u2018Widow\u2019s Bay\u2019 Creator Katie Dippold on the \u2018Halloween\u2019 and \u2018Scream\u2019 Easter Eggs: \u201cYou Got Me\u201d - US Property Moves","og_description":"Katie Dippold on blending humor and horror in \u2018Widow's Bay,\u2019 and the horror Easter eggs.","og_url":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5072","og_site_name":"US Property Moves","article_published_time":"2026-08-07T18:04:43+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5072#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5072"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f6dcb1ef8e64fe67b72b772b81aa822c"},"headline":"\u2018Widow\u2019s Bay\u2019 Creator Katie Dippold on the \u2018Halloween\u2019 and \u2018Scream\u2019 Easter Eggs: \u201cYou Got Me\u201d","datePublished":"2026-08-07T18:04:43+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5072"},"wordCount":1311,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5072#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6234f0923f98f760858c3fc99be2725d.webp","keywords":["Awards","Emmy Awards","Emmys 2026","Halloween","Scream","widow\u2019s bay"],"articleSection":["Interesting"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5072#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5072","url":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5072","name":"\u2018Widow\u2019s Bay\u2019 Creator Katie Dippold on the \u2018Halloween\u2019 and \u2018Scream\u2019 Easter Eggs: \u201cYou Got Me\u201d - US Property Moves","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5072#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5072#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6234f0923f98f760858c3fc99be2725d.webp","datePublished":"2026-08-07T18:04:43+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f6dcb1ef8e64fe67b72b772b81aa822c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5072#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5072"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5072#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6234f0923f98f760858c3fc99be2725d.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6234f0923f98f760858c3fc99be2725d.webp","width":1296,"height":730},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5072#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\u2018Widow\u2019s Bay\u2019 Creator Katie Dippold on the \u2018Halloween\u2019 and \u2018Scream\u2019 Easter Eggs: \u201cYou Got Me\u201d"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/","name":"US Property Moves","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f6dcb1ef8e64fe67b72b772b81aa822c","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/uspropertymoves.com"],"url":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5072","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5072"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5072\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5072"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5072"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5072"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}