Matthew Rhys Says Jaws Shaped Apple TV+’s Widow’s Bay Ahead of Season 2

Apple TV+’s Widow’s Bay has been renewed for a second season, and star Matthew Rhys is making awards-season rounds while discussing what shaped the series.

“Widow’s Bay, the delightfully eccentric new comedic horror series from Apple TV, is easily one of the best new series of the year”

Ars Technica

In an interview to Deadline, Rhys said Jaws was a major influence on Widow’s Bay, with creator Katie Dippold discussing it with him during their very first meeting.

Ars Technica

Rhys described the film as “It’s the perfect horror film — the horror can’t be seen. That is the greatest inducer of horror. It’s not physical, it’s not tangible, it’s not present.”

JoBlo also links Rhys’s mayor Tom Loftus to Roy Scheider’s Chief Brody and Stephen Root’s Wyck to a modern-day Quint, while noting Rhys would opt to play Robert Shaw’s role if he had his choice of Jaws parts.

Rhys added that he had to stop asking Steven Spielberg about Jaws after working with the director on The Post, saying, “There was a moment on the set ofThe Postwhen I realized I had to stop talking aboutJaws.”

High On Films frames Widow’s Bay as a ten-episode Apple TV+ series that begins with an electrical anomaly and communications disrupted as Shep Clark (Tom Kemp) talks with the harbour master over the radio.

The pilot episode shows a mysterious fog engulfing Widow’s Bay Island, an earthquake cutting off all power for the night, and the next morning confirming that Shep has not returned to shore.

High On Films

The recap introduces Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys), who insists his assistants Patricia (Kate O’Flynn) and Rosemary (Dale Dickey) fix the outage soon because a travel critic from The New York Times is visiting the island.

Wyck (Stephen Root) tells Tom that the fog, the earthquake, and Shep’s disappearance are signs that an evil force has awakened, and later Wyck activates the town’s siren with Tom receiving an alert on his phone.

In the bar scene, the recap has Shep slowly walk in before collapsing, then waking with white eyes and attacking Tom, after which Shep dies as doctors rush into the room.

Ars Technica calls Widow’s Bay “a boldly original take on comedic horror,” describing it as an Apple TV series that is “easily one of the best new series of the year.”

“One of the best shows to make its debut this year is certainly Apple TV+’sWidow’s Bay”

JoBlo

The review says the show pays tribute to classic horror tropes while reinventing them, and it characterizes the mix as “Think Stephen King meets Parks and Recreation, with a dash of Twin Peaks—except Widow’s Bay is very much its own refreshingly original beast.”

Ars Technica describes Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys) as a widower and mayor eager to elevate Widow’s Bay into a trendy summer tourist destination as a mysterious fog arrives.

The review also says local resident Wyck (Stephen Root) warns Tom that the fog is an omen that the island is “waking up,” and it links the supernatural escalation to a sailor whose eyes turn white just before dying.

Ars Technica concludes that after Arthur’s glowing account brings tourists, Tom tries to prove things are safe by staying overnight in the local haunted hotel and then runs afoul of the legendary Sea Hag during the mayor’s inaugural swim.