The Widow (TV series)

Last updated

The Widow
Genre
Created by
Written by
  • Harry Williams
  • Jack Williams
Directed by
Starring
Composer Dominik Scherrer
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes8
Production
Executive producers
  • Harry Williams
  • Jack Williams
  • Christopher Aird
  • Kate Beckinsale
  • Sam Donovan
ProducerEliza Mellor
Cinematography
  • Stuart Howell
  • John Lee
Editors
  • Daniel Greenway
  • Peggy Koretzky
  • David Thrasher
Running time60 minutes
Production companies
Original release
Network ITV (UK)
Amazon Prime Video (US and international)
Release1 March 2019 (2019-03-01)

The Widow is a British television drama series created and written by Harry and Jack Williams, airing on both British ITV and American streaming service Amazon Prime Video, with Prime also carrying the series internationally. It stars Kate Beckinsale as a woman who believes that her husband was killed in a plane crash three years earlier, but then discovers that he is still alive in the Congo. [1] [2] [3] The show was released on Amazon Prime Video on 1 March 2019 before being broadcast on ITV from 8 April 2019. [4]

Contents

Premise

The series follows Georgia Wells (Kate Beckinsale) whose husband Will died in a plane crash on a trip to the Congo in Africa. [5] Three years later, she sees a man resembling him on a news story reporting civil unrest in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and she travels to Kinshasa to uncover the truth. [6] She starts to look for answers, particularly why her husband evidently faked his own death. The eight-episode series features multiple story lines and explores themes such as violence and corruption. [7]

Production

The Widow is a co-production of British ITV and Amazon Video. [8] It was filmed in South Africa, Wales, and Rotterdam. The heat in some of the locations became difficult for Beckinsale, who was hospitalised after passing out while shooting a scene. [5] [9] [10]

Cast

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date [11] Original UK air dateUK viewers
(millions) [12]
1"Mr. Tequila"Sam DonovanHarry Williams & Jack WilliamsMarch 1, 2019 (2019-03-01)April 8, 20198.08
Georgia Wells lives alone in a cottage in the Welsh countryside. While watching a news story about civil unrest in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, she sees a man that she believes is her husband, who presumably died in a plane crash three years earlier. Still haunted by the past, Georgia travels to the Congo to find out the truth.
2"Green Lion"Sam DonovanHarry Williams & Jack WilliamsMarch 1, 2019 (2019-03-01)April 9, 20196.88
To find the truth about her husband, Georgia must first work with Emmanuel, together they attempt to track down the mysterious Pieter Bello. Meanwhile, Beatrix makes a shocking discovery about how Ariel lost his sight.
3"The Survivors"Sam DonovanHarry Williams & Jack WilliamsMarch 1, 2019 (2019-03-01)April 15, 20196.74
Judith arranges a lift for Georgia with a group of medical aid workers, but the volatility of the region threatens to derail their journey. Pieter forces Adidja to partake in a terrifying exercise, while Ariel must confront the horrors of his past.
4"Violet"Sam DonovanHarry Williams & Jack WilliamsMarch 1, 2019 (2019-03-01)April 16, 20196.42
Martin and Ariel seek to determine the identity of the army general linked to the plane crash, while Georgia puts herself in danger to get closer to the elusive Pieter.
5"Poteza"Olly BlackburnHarry Williams & Jack WilliamsMarch 1, 2019 (2019-03-01)April 22, 20196.27
As she finally comes face to face with Pieter, Georgia resorts to extreme measures to learn more about Will's disappearance. Judith's return to her home brings back memories from her past, but she doesn't foresee an unexpected twist of fate.
6"The Spider and the Web"Olly BlackburnHarry Williams & Jack WilliamsMarch 1, 2019 (2019-03-01)April 23, 20196.16
Georgia and Adidja make a journey deep into the Congolese wilderness that yields unexpected consequences. Meanwhile, in the search for answers about the plane crash, Martin puts himself and Ariel ever closer to Azikiwe's dangerous path.
7"Will"Olly BlackburnHarry Williams & Jack WilliamsMarch 1, 2019 (2019-03-01)April 29, 20196.77
The search for Will takes Georgia to Rwanda. On her arrival, she prepares to finally learn the answers about what really happened to her husband, but is not ready for what she finds there.
8"Nigel"Olly BlackburnHarry Williams & Jack WilliamsMarch 1, 2019 (2019-03-01)April 30, 20196.30
Blindsided by the revelations about Will, Georgia returns to Kinshasa. But before she can right the wrongs of the past, she must contend with those determined to stop her from exposing the truth.

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes season 1 has an approval rating of 56% based on reviews from 27 critics. The site's consensus states: Ferociously ambitious, The Widow boasts Kate Beckinsale's killer action chops but goes astray in a jungle of problematic tropes and unsatisfying twists. [13]

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References

  1. Turchiano, Danielle (3 January 2018). "Amazon and ITV Greenlight 'The Widow,' Starring Kate Beckinsale".
  2. "Kate Beckinsale to Star in Amazon TV Thriller 'The Widow'". The Hollywood Reporter. 3 January 2018.
  3. Brown, Brigid. "Kate Beckinsale Set to Star in 'The Widow' TV Series on Amazon and ITV". BBC America.
  4. Debnath, Neela (15 January 2019). "The Widow on ITV air date, cast, trailer, plot: When does The Widow start?". Express . Northern and Shell Media . Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  5. 1 2 Patton, Rebecca (March 2019). "You Won't Be Able To Stop Watching This Gripping New Amazon Thriller". Bustle. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  6. Idato, Michael (1 March 2019). "Lean and taut, the new Amazon drama The Widow hits the ground running". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  7. Lloyd, Robert (28 February 2019). "Review: Amazon's thrillers 'The Widow' and 'White Dragon' are potato-chip bingeable". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  8. Gilbert, Sophie (3 March 2019). "The Clumsy Predictability of 'The Widow'". The Atlantic. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  9. Thomas, Gareth (25 January 2019). "What time is The Widow on TV? What is it about, and who is in the cast?". Radio Times . Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  10. Gurung, Regina (26 February 2019). "'The Widow': Kate Beckinsale isn't the only star to watch out for in Amazon's upcoming suspense thriller". Media Entertainment Arts WorldWide. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  11. "The Widow Listings". The Futon Critic. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  12. "Four-screen dashboard (Four screen viewing, based on 28-day data) - BARB". www.barb.co.uk. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  13. "The Widow: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved 11 August 2019.