Apple TV+ has put a streaming series into cinemas for the first time. The horror-comedy Widow's Bay got free, one-night-only fan screenings of its first season's final three episodes at select AMC Theatres in six US cities on Wednesday, August 12 Deadline.

The screenings ran in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco. Apple TV teamed with Rutgers University for the events, which were presented in collaboration with the Rutgers University Foundation. The university is the alma mater of Widow's Bay creator, executive producer and showrunner Katie Dippold Deadline.

Dr. Michael Kim, Dean of Rutgers' Mason Gross School of the Arts, called Dippold's success a source of pride for the Rutgers community. Apple TV head of programming Matt Cherniss said the screenings give fans a chance to experience the season's final episodes in a shared setting Deadline.

The show has earned its moment. Widow's Bay received 19 Emmy nominations — the most for a freshman series in its year. Those nominations included Outstanding Comedy Series, acting nods for Matthew Rhys, Stephen Root, Kate O'Flynn and Dale Dickey, and writing and directing recognition for Dippold and Hiro Murai Deadline.

Rhys stars as Mayor Tom Loftis in the series, which is set on a quaint island town 40 miles off the coast of New England Apple TV PR; YouTube. Apple TV+ ordered the 10-episode series in September 2024 from Dippold and Murai, and it made its global debut on April 29, 2026 Deadline; Apple TV PR. The season-one finale dropped on June 17 Apple TV on Facebook.

Behind the camera, Dippold, Claudia Shin and Matthew Rhys serve as executive producers. Murai and Carver Karaszewski executive produce through Chum Films. Murai directed five of the first season's episodes; Ti West, Sam Donovan and Andrew DeYoung directed the rest Deadline. The series hails from Apple Studios.

Apple has also renewed Widow's Bay for a second season and signed Dippold into an overall deal — a multi-year agreement that commits a writer-producer to create content for a single studio or platform Deadline.

For a streaming platform that has never sent one of its series to cinemas before, the move pairs a decorated freshman show with a university tie-in that ties the whole event back to the person who wrote it.