{"id":188047,"date":"2025-12-17T10:06:10","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T10:06:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/188047\/"},"modified":"2025-12-17T10:06:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T10:06:10","slug":"matthew-rhys-new-drama-blending-horror-with-character-driven-comedy-confirms-release-date","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/188047\/","title":{"rendered":"Matthew Rhys&#8217; new drama blending &#8216;horror with character-driven comedy&#8217; confirms release date"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"1\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">The Americans star Matthew Rhys is heading back to the small screen in a new series that promises to blend &#8220;genuine horror with character-driven comedy.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"4\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">Rhys will star in Apple TV&#8217;s new 10-episode series Widow\u2019s Bay, which is set to hit the streaming service next April. <\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"6\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">The first three episodes will drop on Wednesday, 29 April and will be followed by a new episode every Wednesday through to 17 June.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"10\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">Created by Katie Dippold, who penned The Heat and the 2016 Ghostbusters reboot, Rhys also serves as an executive producer on the series. On board to direct is Hiro Murai, who worked on the 2024 Mr &amp; Mrs Smith series.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"12\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">The synopsis reads:  &#8220;Widow\u2019s Bay is a quaint island town 40-miles off the coast of New England.  But something lurks beneath the surface. <\/p>\n<p><img draggable=\"true\" alt=\"matthew rhys, widow's bay\" title=\"Matthew Rhys, Widow's Bay\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"3000\" height=\"2000\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" style=\"color:transparent;width:100%;height:auto;\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/matthew-rhys-widows-bay-6941824a565cd.jpg\" class=\"css-0 e1g79fud0\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Robert Clark\/Apple TV<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"15\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tv\/a63147899\/best-film-tv-tours-2025\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tv\/a63147899\/best-film-tv-tours-2025\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Best film and TV tours for 2025\" data-node-id=\"15.0.1\" class=\"body-link css-1lh7k7j emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Best film and TV tours for 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"17\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">&#8220;Mayor Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys) is desperate to revive his struggling community.  There\u2019s no wifi, spotty cellular reception, and he must contend with superstitious locals who believe their island is cursed. <\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"19\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">&#8220;He wants these people to respect him.  They don\u2019t.  They think he is soft and cowardly.  And he is. But Loftis is determined to build a better future for his teenage son and turn the island into a tourist destination.  Miraculously, he succeeds: tourists are finally coming.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"21\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">&#8220;Unfortunately, the locals were right.  After decades of calm, the old stories that seemed too ludicrous to be true start happening again.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"23\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">Widow\u2019s Bay also stars Kate O&#8217;Flynn, Stephen Root, Kingston Rumi Southwick, Kevin Caroll and Dale Dickey.<\/p>\n<p><img draggable=\"true\" alt=\"claire danes as aggie wiggs, matthew rhys as nile jarvis, the beast in me\" title=\"Claire Danes, Matthew Rhys, The Beast in Me\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"3600\" height=\"1800\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" style=\"color:transparent;width:100%;height:auto;\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/claire-danes-matthew-rhys-the-beast-in-me-689d982422b99.jpg\" class=\"css-0 e1g79fud0\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Netflix<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"26\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">Rhys can currently be seen alongside Claire Danes in triller The Beast in Me, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tv\/ustv\/a69500083\/beast-in-me-streaming-uk-netflix-chart\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tv\/ustv\/a69500083\/beast-in-me-streaming-uk-netflix-chart\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"stormed the Netflix chart last month\" data-node-id=\"26.3\" class=\"body-link css-1lh7k7j emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">stormed the Netflix chart last month<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"28\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">The eight-parter stars Danes as an author struggling with writer&#8217;s block following the death of her son.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"30\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">Rhys plays her intriguing new neighbour who has a dark past after previously being accused of murdering his first wife.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"32\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">Widow\u2019s Bay&#8217;s premieres on Apple TV on Wednesday 29 April.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"34\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">Love TV? Get your Christmas viewing sorted with the<a href=\"http:\/\/www.goodhousekeeping.com\/uk\/gh-christmas-tv-guide?utm_source=digital&amp;utm_medium=digitalspy&amp;utm_campaign=Royale25\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"http:\/\/www.goodhousekeeping.com\/uk\/gh-christmas-tv-guide?utm_source=digital&amp;utm_medium=digitalspy&amp;utm_campaign=Royale25\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\" Good Housekeeping Christmas TV Guide\" data-node-id=\"34.1\" class=\"body-link css-1lh7k7j emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> Good Housekeeping Christmas TV Guide<\/a>, featuring 14 days of Christmas TV listings, plus everything you need for the ultimate festive viewing experience! Just \u00a34.75 \u2013 available now at Morrisons, TG Jones and all other good magazine retailers.<\/p>\n<p><img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1765965970_760_bf27485d-d6ab-47b2-bab1-8e1da89fcf98_1686135973.file\" alt=\"Headshot of Stephanie Chase\" title=\"Headshot of Stephanie Chase\" width=\"100%\" height=\"100%\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"css-o0wq4v ev8dhu53\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Reporter, Digital Spy\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Stephanie is a writer who specialises in pro wrestling, covering everything from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/aew\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">AEW <\/a>and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/wwe\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">WWE<\/a> to NJPW.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>After graduating with a degree in history from Queen Mary University, London, she went on to study journalism at Birbeck University.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Outside of her journalism work Stephanie is also a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/stephaniechasewrestling\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">YouTube content creator<\/a> focusing on AEW and interviewing talent from AEW, WWE, and across the indie wrestling scene. She has also worked for Revolution Pro Wrestling as a backstage interviewer and commentator.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/stephaniemchase\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">LinkedIn<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Americans star Matthew Rhys is heading back to the small screen in a new series that promises&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":188048,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[2115,118115,2117,156,2116,111,139,69,118114,437],"class_list":["post-188047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-content-type-news","tag-contentid-30cd6a61-16ca-47b5-94a9-4f7a4d260435","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-entertainment","tag-locale-gb","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-shorttitle-matthew-rhys-new-drama-confirms-release-date","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188047","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=188047"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188047\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/188048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=188047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=188047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=188047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}