The Well-Cast Cars Of ‘Widow’s Bay’

Have any of you seen the new Apple TV show Widow’s Bay? It’s a new horror-comedy series on Apple TV that is wonderfully written and, I think, maybe one of the best new streaming series of the season or year or however the hell we’re grouping these things now. Even more importantly, the show has some very good car-casting that works within the highly specific setting of the show, so let’s talk about that, because, you know, cars.

The job of car-casting in movies and television is, I think, one of the more under-appreciated aspects of the medium. It’s under-appreciated because if it’s done right, most people don’t even notice it at all. If it’s wrong even a little bit, though, it stands out and can ruin everything immediately, like a bandaid found in a cheeseburger.

Whomever did the automotive casting for Widow’s Bay, though, did it right. It takes place on a small New England island, about 40 miles off the mainland, a charming-looking fishing island with a feel like Martha’s Vineyard or Bar Harbor, but without the tourist income because, well, strange shit goes down there.

Here, the trailer should give some idea of what I’m talking about:

Okay, so let’s think about what sorts of cars would be on an island like this? It’s not terribly large, there’s not really a ton of money on the island, access is only via ferry, and the population is relatively small, but stable. This means that cars tend to stick around there for a while: the cars that live on the island simply can’t put on that much mileage, because there’s just not all that far to really go on the island. None of these cars are taking 4 hour plus roadtrips unless they’re driving in circles.

And, economic reasons mean that if you have a viable car you bought decades ago, there’s not much incentive to get rid of it and get a new one. Cars tend to have longer lifespans in contexts like these, which is exactly what we see on the island.

I don’t know what the population of the island is supposed to be – I’d guess somewhere around 3,000 to 5,000? There’s a decent number of cars around, but I’m just going to focus on the ones we see most prominently.

I guess the closest thing we have to a “hero” car here is the main character’s car, Mayor Tom Loftis’ late (1997-2001) Jeep Cherokee XJ. This feels like a very well-cast and appropriate car for the mayor of a New England island town. Modest but well-kept, rugged for the inclement weather, unpretentious and respectable. It’s not being off-roaded or anything like that, but it’s definitely capable when the weather turns awful. Incredibly, this may be the newest car we see regularly on the show.

One of my favorite bits of car-casting on the show is this 1979-1981 or so Plymouth Champ. In 1982, they changed the name to Plymouth Colt, so it has to be before then. These were captive imports, re-badged Mitsubishi Colts, and I always liked the clean design of these. This car is owned by one of my favorite characters on the show, Patricia, who gets some fantastic her-focused episodes.

The car fits the character well, and I suspect was likely a hand-me-down from her parents. It’s a slightly sad economy car, but it keeps on going, which fits the character well.

Patricia has another vehicle, a mobile library known as the “Pattiwagon.”

It’s a Chevy P30 Step Van, likely from the early 1980s as well, and I think this may be the closest thing we see on the show to someone having a “project car.”

We see Patricia’s Champ here, but also another significant car on the show, the 1964-ish Dodge D100 truck owned by Wyck, a salty islander fisherman. I like how the rust pattern on the hood almost looks like a flame job. I’m not sure any two panels are the same color on that thing.

This Land Rover Defender 110, poorly parked, is seen in passing in a calendar that is otherwise just pictures of Wolves. It is never explained.

The lone law enforcement vehicle on the island is also pretty long in the tooth: this first generation (1991-1994) Ford Explorer. It has a very old-school lights-and-siren bar on the roof and seems well-maintained, but it’s clear the island’s sheriff’s department isn’t exactly rolling in cash.

The one car we see being driven by a teenager is this ’79 (I think, based on the black mirrors and quad round lights) Volvo 240 wagon. This could be a parent’s car, but could be a hand-me-down; there are more modern cars seen in background scenes that would suggest that some islanders have bought cars more recently than the Clinton administration, after all.

The only taxi seen is also a Volvo 240 wagon, this one an earlier single-round-light one, seen briefly in a shot of a black-and-white security CCTV monitor. They would make good cabs, especially for tourists that may be bringing fishing equipment or similar bulky stuff.

This 1982-ish Toyota Camry is another good example of a likely car for the island, looked after well, used fairly lightly, and keeping together just well enough to justify its long, useful life.

Finally, the car that made me realize I should write this up in the first place: this wonderful 1964 (I think) Chevy Corvair 95 Greenbriar van. This one is owned by the town of Widow’s Bay, and sports a roof-mounted loudspeaker and rolling orange light, along with its boiled-mutton-color livery. I always loved these air-cooled, flat-six rear-engined vans (designed to compete with the VW Type 2 buses) and you can imagine this would have been a sensible choice for the town to buy over 60 years ago, and has been maintained and preserved ever since, coming out only rarely for emergencies, like what was seen in the most recent episode.

It’s a great show, and a great and subtle example of how important good car-casting really is. I definitely would suggest you watch it if you have a chance (and Apple TV, I suppose). Oh, and it’s never overtly explained why the statue of the town’s founder is headless, but based on what the show has presented, I think I get it.