What is The Widow about?
In the first episode of ITV’s new drama, we’re introduced to Georgia Wells, who lost her husband Will three years ago in a plane crash on his way to Africa.
Now living alone in the Welsh valleys, she’s shocked when she one day spots him in the background of a news report about civil unrest in the Congo. Perturbed to see the man she loved might actually still be alive, she travels there to find out the truth.
Over the course of the eight episodes, Georgia’s plight to find out whether or not her husband is alive or faked her own death sees her re-examine what she thought she knew about the man she loved, as well as delving into ideas of political corruption and violence.
Elsewhere, there’s also a completely separate plot going on involving a medical trial in Iceland. While at first this story might seem completely separate from Georgia’s, over the course of the series we learn they’re more interwoven than it might appear.
Who is in the cast of The Widow?
Kate Beckinsale as Georgia Wells
The story centres around Georgia, played by English actress Kate Beckinsale. Kate has a vast filmography on both the small and big screen, including a lead role in the Underworld film series, the dystopian action film Total Recall and the 2017 drama The Only Boy Living In New York.
More recently, she also hit the headlines thanks to her personal life, after getting together with Saturday Night Live comedian (and Ariana Grande’s ex-fiancé) Pete Davidson.
Charles Dance as Martin Benson
Martin is lead character Georgia’s once-doting godfather, with whom her relationship has become more distant in recent years, and who also has a background in military intelligence. He’s described as having “wit and circumspect”, providing some relief from his goddaughter’s intense and, at times, reckless behaviour.
With 45 years in the entertainment industry under his belt, the chances are you’ve seen Charles in something, but his most recent high-profile role was his four-year stint as Tywin Lannister in Game Of Thrones.
Alex Kingston as Judith Gray
Judith was once Georgia’s husband’s business partner, and lives alone in the Congo, where she continues their work. Although initially welcoming to Georgia, the two have conflicting beliefs about Will’s whereabouts and, indeed, whether or not he’s even alive.
Alex played Dr Elizabeth Corday for seven years in US medical drama ER, as well as starring as River Song in Doctor Who, most recently in 2015.
Matthew Le Nevez as Will Mason
Will’s work with Judith is what first brought him to the Congo five years ago, though he was presumed dead after a plane crash.
This is thrown into question at the beginning of the series though, with different characters having their own theories about his whereabouts.
As for actor Matthew Le Nevez, the Australian actor’s credits are mostly for films and TV shows on his home turf, most recently appearing in the 2017 film Australia Day.
Babs Olusanmokun as Azikiwe
Babs’ character is described as an “elusive” one, with a particularly impressive status in his home country of the Congo. In recent times though, he’s become more “unhinged”, and is willing to go to extremes to hold onto his power.
The Nigerian-American star recently appeared as prisoner Clayton Leigh in the extended Black Mirror episode Black Museum, as well as the upcoming crime series Too Old To Die Young.
Why should I watch The Widow?
A co-production between ITV and Amazon Prime, the first episode is already up on the streaming service in the US, and has gone down well with critics, who have by and large given it the thumbs up.
It was also co-written by brothers Harry and Jack Williams, whose past credits include the Bafta-winning The Missing, its hit spin-off Baptiste and ITV’s divisive recent drama Cheat.
They’re also co-producers of Fleabag, so you know they can be trusted when it comes to quality.
When is The Widow on?
The Widow debuts here in the UK on Monday 8 April at 9pm on ITV.