The hit, genre-defying Apple TV show is especially popular with Asian audiences after its historic Emmys haul.

By John McDermott

“Widow’s Bay” got a huge viewership bump from its record-breaking Emmys haul.

Apple TV’s horror-comedy saw its viewership surge to its season finale peak the week after it dominated the Emmy Awards with 14 wins, making it the most decorated first-year comedy in Emmys history, according to a new analysis by media intelligence firm Samba.

The show was watched nearly 1,900 hours a day in the week after the Emmys presentation, almost as much as it was viewed in June, when the season one finale was first released. Viewing hours for the show steadily dropped in the months after the finale, reaching 411 hours per day in the week before the September Emmys telecast, and increasing 455% the week after.

Emmys Wins Attract New Audiences

The Emmys wins also introduced “Widow’s Bay” to new audiences. More than 800,000 new households watched the show the week after the Emmys, a 7 percent increase, Samba data show.

An Asian-Directed Comedy With a Large Asian Fanbase

The audience gains were particularly acute among Asian households, who seem to have flocked to “Widow’s Bay” after Hiro Murai, who directed five episodes of the show, became the first Asian director to win an Emmy for comedy directing.

“When I was a kid in film school, I didn’t see a lot of people who look like me in these kinds of rooms,” Murai said in his acceptance speech. “So I do know that it means something. It feels a little surreal to be on this side of it, but yeah, I hope there’s way more Asian filmmakers coming out and knowing that this is possible.”

Many Asian households responded to Murai’s historic win by checking out “Widow’s Bay” for the first time. The post-Emmys audience indexed 42 percent more Asian compared to the U.S. population.

Amazon Prime Video recently announced it would start broadcasting the Emmys starting in 2027, which will be the first time the TV industry awards show will not be broadcast on linear television. As “Widow’s Bay” shows, the awards show still has the relevance and power to drive audiences.