‘The Widow’ EP Teases a ‘Personal Story’ Told Against a ‘Geopolitical Background’

Yes, Prime Video’s new thriller is called The Widow, but the main character might not be one at all. “It’s the story of one woman’s journey to understand that her recent past is not what she thought it was,” says executive producer Christopher Aird.

Kate Beckinsale stars as Georgia Wells, a British woman devastated by the loss of her husband, aid worker Will (Matthew Le Nevez), who died in a plane crash in the Democratic Republic of Congo three years earlier. That’s what Georgia believes anyway, until she spots someone she’s convinced is Will in a clip of an international news report.

Related

Roush Review: 'The Widow's Rambo-Like Pursuit of Justice Is Often Compelling

Aided by both an ex–military intelligence officer (Charles Dance) and a Congolese journalist (Jacky Ido), she is determined to uncover the truth about what happened to Will, leading Georgia from her home in Wales to the African nation, where she discovers more than she ever bargained for.

Created and written by brothers Harry and Jack Williams, The Widow is a sprawling tale comprising several seemingly disparate storylines. There are the child soldiers patrolling the Congolese jungles under the brutal General Azikiwe (Babs Olusanmokun). There’s Will’s former colleague Judith (Alex Kingston), who knows things about him that she’s keeping from Georgia.

There’s the mysterious man (Bart Fouche) who claims to have lost his brother in the same crash that supposedly killed Will. And far away in the Netherlands, there’s Ariel Helgason (Ólafur Darri Ólafsson) — a blind Iceland native hoping to get into a clinical trial that could restore his sight — who is somehow connected to the events in Africa.

“There is a big, broad geopolitical backdrop to this very personal story,” Aird explains. “But everything stems from Georgia’s search for Will and what exactly happened [to him].”

The Widow, Series Premiere, Friday, March 1, Amazon Prime Video