Comedian Jeff Hiller (30 Rock, Psych) will return in an expanded role for season two of Widow’s Bay, Deadline reports. Hiller made an appearance as mayoral employee Dale in the Apple TV horror-comedy’s season one finale, “We Hope You Enjoyed Your Time!”
Per Deadline, Hiller’s involvement from the show stemmed from a chance encounter with series creator Katie Dippold (The Heat, Ghostbusters), who shared an improv troupe with the actor in the fledgling years of his and her respective careers. “I have a shorthand with Katie,” Hiller explained in an interview. “She liked when I would melt down and scream. The whole team would always make me do these dramatic monologues where I would end up screaming and crying on the ground. It was a funny bit. And when I read that, I was like, ‘Oh, she wants this.’”
After Hiller sent in his audition tape for Widow’s Bay, Dippold tapped him for the minor role of Dale, who — spoilers — was originally slated to die in the finale, according to Deadline. Later, after a rewrite, the showrunner called up her old acquaintance and asked, “Do you mind if I don’t kill you?” Graciously, he did not.
Hiller also told Deadline that he tried to channel his improv experience on the set of Widow’s Bay, but admits that he “didn’t always succeed” with his endeavors, with one exception. “One that I think I’m weirdly proud of that literally no one has said that they liked is when Tom is talking and saying, ‘I don’t think this microphone is on.’ And then I say, ‘I can hear you.’”
While none of Widow’s Bay’s monstrous nineteen Emmy nominations are for Hiller’s portrayal of Dale, he did earn a nomination for another guest appearance he made on Apple TV’s Pluribus — more specifically, he received a Drama Supporting Actor nomination for his performance in the episode “Please, Carol”. Like most of Pluribus’ cast, Hiller portrays a member of the species-wide hive mind that (politely) assimilates most of the world’s population in the pilot.
Potential Emmy notwithstanding, Hiller feels thankful for the opportunity to feature in two of the year’s biggest hits. “The fact that now this show is so beloved, it’s so exciting that I get to go back—I think,” Hiller told Gizmodo with respect to his Widow’s Bay appearance. “You never know on a show like this! They might just open up and be like, ‘Poor Dale got eaten by the island.’”
Widow’s Bay and Pluribus are streaming now on Apple TV.