Rhys credit “Widow’s Bay” creator, showrunner, and govt producer Katie Dippold for the “shrewd move” of setting the sequence in New England, noting how the area comes with a lot historical past and folklore.
“You immediately have this kind of mythical mysticism surrounding it,” Rhys informed the Globe in a Zoom interview final week. “That New England history so perfectly lent to this piece.”
“Once we shot there, it just enriched it tenfold,” he added.
Although it was filmed throughout a number of Massachusetts locations, together with Worcester, Rockport, and Gloucester, “Widow’s Bay” doesn’t reveal precisely the place in New England the titular island is situated, which “was very much on purpose,” in response to Dippold.
“It’s a long ferry ride, you don’t know exactly if the ferry comes from Massachusetts or Maine, but I purposely wanted to keep that a little vague,” stated Dippold, explaining that her aim was “more tapping into the New England vibe.”
Stephen Root (“Office Space”), who performs Wyck, a salty townie who butts heads with Rhys’s Loftis for not taking the rising supernatural threats critically, known as the Bay State filming places “gorgeous,” revealing that he and Rhys spent numerous time indulging in seafood fare (“It was all about oysters,” joked Root). Meanwhile, for Rhys, not solely did the Massachusetts setting present a fantastic backdrop, but it surely additionally made it simpler for the “Widow’s Bay” workforce to immerse themselves into the story, because the area’s deep historic roots are all the time entrance and heart.
“Places like Gloucester and Rockport, for me, just gave you that essence for free,” stated Rhys. “You don’t have to suspend any imagination. It’s all in front of you.”
Despite rising up in New Jersey, Dippold admits that she “always dreamed of New England,” and has lengthy been obsessive about the area because it “looks so cozy and magical.” For “Widow’s Bay,” Dippold was partly impressed by the works of Stephen King, in addition to a previous go to to the North Shore.
“I really wanted to tap into that Stephen King atmosphere,” stated Dippold. “And then also, a couple years ago, I went to this diner in Marblehead, Mass. It’s called the Driftwood, and it was just everything you could possibly want.”
“It was off the sea. There’s just big coffee mugs with old stains and locals in flannel shirts talking about the day,” she added. “It was very cozy and very lived in, and I just never wanted to leave. It was out of a Stephen King book.”
Outside of visiting the Bay State, Dippold continued to develop a passion for Massachusetts whereas engaged on a pair of films filmed in Boston, serving as the author for the 2013 motion comedy “The Heat,” in addition to a co-writer on the 2016 female-led “Ghostbusters” reboot. The preliminary thought for “Widow’s Bay,” nevertheless, may be traced again to a spec script she wrote that helped land her a job as a author for the sitcom “Parks and Recreation,” starring Burlington native Amy Poehler.
“The initial spec was pretty joke-heavy, and I think it was a good spec for my sense of humor, and so I think I got the job off of that,” stated Dippold, explaining that the story for “Widow’s Bay” has developed since then, evaluating it to an creator revisiting and revising their novel over time. “I just kept building out this world … and it just became something a little bit more real and grounded and more focused on the tension and the character story and the stakes.”
While mayor Loftis isn’t precisely a wide-eyed optimist like Pawnee’s Leslie Knope, he does have numerous love for the parents of Widow’s Bay, the place he’s elevating his teen son Evan (Kingston Rumi Southwick), even when the residents typically frustrate him.
“He ultimately wants his son to be raised in a thriving community that could offer him opportunities,” stated Rhys. “He wants that [not] only for his son, but also for everyone on the island. He wants it to succeed.”
For Root, his character “was attractive to play” as a consequence of Wyck’s battle with the mayor, as they each wish to see Widow’s Bay thrive, however have vastly totally different concepts about what it means to maintain the island secure.
“[Wyck is] trying to protect the town, and he knows that it’s not a wonderful idea for lots and lots of people to come here,” stated Root. “He has seen and researched for many years … the strange things that go on the island.”
“While [the mayor is] trying to do a nice thing, I’m trying to do a protective thing,” he added, noting that Wyck and Loftis ultimately “come to an understanding later on in the season.”
Root praises the show’s scripts as “brilliant” for his or her skill to steadiness humor and horror, with costar Kate O’Flynn (“My Lady Jane”) noting the affect of all of the top-tier filmmakers behind the digicam, together with director and govt producer Hiro Murai (“Mr. & Mrs. Smith”).
“We were just guided by these brilliant directors,” stated O’Flynn, who performs Patricia, the mayor’s assistant. “They all had great eye, great taste.”
And whereas the humor was typically grounded within the “very real situations” unfolding within the story, in response to Rhys, the Bay State filming places additionally helped to deliver the laughs when wanted.
“There’s certainly a grittiness and saltiness that’s just intrinsic in Massachusetts that lent itself to those more humorous moments, without question,” stated Rhys. “So that was a beautiful added bonus.”
“Widow’s Bay” premieres Wednesday on Apple TV.
Matt Juul may be reached at matthew.juul@globe.com.
