How Jeff Hiller's 'blood-curdling screams' landed him on ​'Widow's Bay'​

This story originally appeared on Out.Beware: Light spoilers for the Widow's Bay finale ahead.When it comes to horror, no modern television show is doing it like Widow’s Bay. This Apple TV series is the epitome of camp; it follows the beleaguered Mayor Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys) and his gang of government workers as they try to revitalize their small island, the titular Widow’s Bay. The series’ first few episodes see Tom working hard to enhance the tourism appeal of the stagnant town, focusing on sprucing up the old inn, updating archaic coffee shops — and, of course, trying to hide the many supernatural horrors that haunt the island’s residents. Created by Katie Dippold (Parks and Recreation, The Heat), Widow’s Bay thrives as one of the few shows to seamlessly blend dry comedy with a legitimately unnerving sense of terror. The program has been met with massive acclaim — just look at its five TCA nominations! — with LGBTQ+ viewers especially loving the campy earnestness of its nonstop scares. These fans adore basically every part of the program, but there’s one character that they just can’t seem to get enough of: nosy office clerk Dale, played by Jeff Hiller. The Somebody, Somewhere star and 2025 Out100 honoree has been open about the struggles of finding work in this industry and how difficult it can be to land a role (even after winning an Emmy!). It’s why he was so honored to be on this show. Though its outside his trademark brand of comedy, Hiller knew exactly why he was cast: “[Katie Dippold] really likes my blood-curdling screams.” “She loves to watch horror movies, and she loves to watch horror movies with me — because she loves that I get scared!” Hiller laughs, speaking about how he first joined Widow’s Bay. “When we did improv back in the day together, I used to always play these characters who would freak out, and she used to love [that]! And so, she wrote me screaming.” Jeff spoke about how much he loved the series b