LOS ANGELES — Forget about its comparison to Martha's Vineyard, "Widow's Bay" can now call itself the next Emmy-winning comedy series.

At Monday's Emmys ceremony, the first-year series beat out former winners "The Bear" and "Hacks"; returning nominees "Abbott Elementary," "Nobody Wants This," "Only Murders in the Building" and "Shrinking"; and fellow newcomer "Margo's Got Money Problems."

The series took home a record-breaking 14 Emmys, the most-ever for a comedy series. The wins include lead and supporting actor, supporting actress, directing and writing. The total overcame the milestone set by "The Studio" with its 13 wins last year.

Apple TV's horror-comedy series about a fictional cursed island off the coast of New England and its mayor, played by Matthew Rhys, who is trying to save it from economic depression, became a word-of-mouth hit that's inspired memes and fan cosplay. Creator and showrunner Katie Dippold began writing the series more than 10 years ago, inspired by her trips as a youth to the Jersey Shore and quaint New England seaside towns.

"This was such a great collaboration of the best, wonderful weirdos and artists," Dippold said while accepting the award. "We'd also like to thank the evil entity on the island that trusted us with its story."

"That is exciting and terrifying," she added backstage. "One thing I meant to thank in the speech, there's so many people that spread the word early on, all the people online talking about it with reviews, people tweeting about it ... we're so grateful for that."

"They were predominately our parents," joked Rhys.

"And some burner accounts," Dippold added.

The series was a late entry into the Emmy race, premiering at the end of April. Hiro Murai, who directed five of the series' 10 episodes and is an executive producer, told The Times he thought of it as a "spooky summer show." Murai won for directing for a comedy.

"The show takes place during the summer, and so much of what makes it scary is that it doesn't look like it should be scary. It's all sunlight," he said. "The atmosphere is very summery."

The series stars Rhys as overcompensating mayor Tom Loftis, with a supporting cast that includes veteran actors Stephen Root, Dale Dickey and Kate O'Flynn.

"Widow's Bay" earned 19 nominations, including lead actor for Rhys and acting nominations for Root and O'Flynn. All three won in their categories.

Rhys, who also won for lead actor in a limited or anthology series for "The Beast in Me," told The Times he hopes the hit series demonstrates to studios that it's worth taking a risk and challenging its audience.

"Everyone's more than ready for it and thirsty for it in a real way," he said. "I really hope this does something in the Hollywood psyche, where they go, 'Let's put away the remakes and let's just get after new challenging, original material.' "

The win gives Apple TV its second consecutive comedy series victory after "The Studio" won last year, and its fourth ("Ted Lasso" in 2021 and 2022) in the category in the last six years.

©2026 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.