One of the best shows to make its debut this year is certainly Apple TV+’s Widow’s Bay. Despite getting a somewhat under-the-radar release compared to some of the streamer’s more heavily hyped shows, it quickly became a favorite with fans — including some pretty famous ones, such as Guillermo del Toro. It’s just been renewed for a second season, and star Matthew Rhys has been making the awards-season rounds, with many believing he could be headed for two Emmy nominations this year thanks to both Widow’s Bay and his work on The Beast in Me.
While giving an interview to Deadline, he revealed that Jaws was a major influence on Widow’s Bay, with creator Katie Dippold discussing it with him during their very first meeting.
“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.”
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Indeed, if you watch the show, there’s a strong Jaws dynamic, with Rhys’s everyman mayor, Tom Loftus, very much in the mold of Roy Scheider’s Chief Brody, while Stephen Root’s Wyck feels a lot like a modern-day Quint. That said, it sounds as though, if he had his choice of Jaws roles to play, Rhys would opt for Quint, revealing that he’s a Jawsobsessive who wishes he could have played the character Robert Shaw portrayed so iconically.
Rhys, of course, worked with Jaws director Steven Spielberg a few years ago on The Post, in which he played Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg.
“There was a moment on the set of The Post when I realized I had to stop talking about Jaws. I saw the look in his eyes, and I was like, ‘You know what? I’m going to stop asking you about Jaws.’”
If you haven’t checked it out yet, I highly recommend giving Widow’s Bay a shot, with Rhys, Root, and co-star Kate O’Flynn making for a truly memorable trio.
Are you watching Widow’s Bay? Let us know in the comments.
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