"In 1681, Richard Warren was a merchant Pilgrim, a Puritan seeking a new community. There was a wicked storm at sea, and the ship sank, leaving Richard to swim to the nearest shore, which became Widow's Bay Island. He was determined to make this undiscovered land his own, and he formed a settlement where Widow's Bay Township now stands proud and lasting."
Welcome to Widow's Bay... a remote island town 40 miles off the coast of New England, the titular locale of Apple TV's fresh new series, 'Widow's Bay', and ancestral home to an ensemble cast of oddball characters that includes Matthew Rhys as the hangdog mayor, Tom Loftis.
British actress Kate O'Flynn bestows a comedic masterclass as fan-favourite (and misunderstood soul), Patricia Moyer. "In high school, she was purposely ignored and excluded, which was devastating to her," O'Flynn explains. "In her quest for attention, she can be perceived as overly sensitive. When you first meet her, there is this impression that her colleagues are managing her. Patricia is also not aware that she's funny. She’s not making jokes, ever. I think she has a sense of humour, but Patricia being funny is totally unintentional."
Without leaving your couch, 'Widow's Bay' is the most thrilling ride you will go on this year, and horror godfather Guillermo del Toro agrees: "If I may - in my estimation - 'Widow's Bay' may very well be the best streaming series in a long time... and hands down one of the most mesmerising acts of narrative prestidigitation in Horror."
Coup De Main was delighted to speak to everyone's new favourite 'final girl', Kate O'Flynn, about the reversal of genre stereotypes in 'Widow's Bay', the genius of creator/showrunner Katie Dippold, and if Widow's Bay is better than Martha’s Vineyard...
COUP DE MAIN: Congrats on 'Widow's Bay' being renewed for a second season! What are you most looking forward to with getting to return to this world and the character of Patricia?
KATE O'FLYNN: Thank you! I'm most looking forward to getting the gang back together; I just really enjoyed acting with everybody. That sort of natural chemistry doesn't always happen; it's quite a rare thing, and I think that really comes off the screen, and it's the same in the room. It just feels good to be hanging out and acting with people. Maybe that's not the most articulate answer, but just to be back in the room with everyone, and see what Katie [Dippold]'s got in her head... because she'll have loads of tricks up her sleeve. And with Patricia, I really have no idea what they're going to do with Patricia, like none, and I don't want to predict because I'm up for the surprise of it.
CDM: Depending on their age and sexuality, women in the horror genre are often portrayed as monsters or victims, so one of the things I love about 'Widow's Bay' is that Patricia, Sarah Westcott, and Ruth are really at the centre of this story, but it's regardless of their age - and although Patricia seeks companionship, it's not tied to being a spinster or romantic longing. What was it like for you going on this journey with Patricia - portraying a woman in her 40s who saves herself from the Boogeyman?
KATE: Fantastic! I don't think I quite realised it until now, and seeing the response that people have had to Patricia, I think Katie has a lot of opinions about horror and gender and how women are portrayed in that genre, particularly, and she's so smart - I just love the way she's flipped everything. And it's much more interesting that people are seeing that there aren't love stories - there was a bit at the beginning when it came out, that people thought Patricia had a crush, and that was never-ever the brief from Katie. So, I'm glad that's kind of died down because I think the sibling-type platonic co-dependent dynamic is really refreshing. There's more space for more interesting things to happen, rather than this sort of will-they, won't-they, which is maybe a more obvious story arc, and that is not what it was. And with Ruth, I mean, K Callan is an incredible actress, incredible brain, and gives a knockout performance, and yeah, same with Betty Gilpin. It's refreshing to have women just own their own shit, with all the flaws as well - they are fully rounded characters.
CDM: Meryl Streep once said: "When I was 40, I was offered three witch [roles]. I was not offered any female adventurers, or love interests, or heroes, or demons. I was offered witches because I was 'old' at 40."
KATE: Yes! Yeah, it's funny because there's been movements, it's sort of shifted - when I was starting out, there was this thing of when you hit 40 and that being a bit of a scary time for an actress; your career can drop off a cliff. And then people like Lesley Manville in this country, kind of broke through that, and actresses like Lesley Sharp, but there's sort of a hangover of that. Obviously, we've gone way past that, but it's amazing to be part of something where these interesting women are celebrated and are badasses in their own way.
CDM: It's also interesting that loneliness is one of the scariest horrors that we see on-screen in 'Widow's Bay' - how it distorts the mind of so many of the island's residents, and in particular, warps Patricia's reality and makes her vulnerable to the cursed self-help/spell book. What do you think makes loneliness and anxiety such powerful motivators both on-screen and in real life?
KATE: Isn't loneliness the biggest killer? I feel like that's definitely a headline I've read, and it's all been said before, but I think loneliness is a huge thing now, where we're all online, and we're not meeting up as much, and a sense of community is not there in the same way, which I think is also part of the appeal of 'Widow's Bay'. People have really loved it because you are seeing a community that is really tight-knit, and there's no social media, there's no phones, it's sort of harking back to... it feels like a cosier time, or a more innocent time, or a time when people are more together.
CDM: Patricia’s favourite things about herself are her generosity and kind heart - but what do you, Kate, love about her?
KATE: <laughs> I love that she can't be anything other than herself. She's just unable, despite wanting to people-please, she just can't get past herself, which is great - and in the end, she kind of owns it. And I love her dress-sense. I find the victim mode and bringing conversations back to herself quite funny, like apologising when Shep was in the coma - "I apologise for wasting his time, Tom." I find those jokes really funny.
CDM: One of my friends asked me to tell you that The Joke Of The Year is Patricia writing "Hello I am Patricia... Are you mad at something I said?" to Richard Warren.
KATE: Always bringing it back to her, I find that really funny.
CDM: But it's so sweet!
KATE: Yeah, totally! <laughs> Maybe a lot of people have had those thoughts, but they just don't voice them in the way that she so openly does.
CDM: True or false? Widow's Bay is better than Martha’s Vineyard.
KATE: True, 100%, no question.
CDM: If you were to give Mayor Tom Loftis some advice on improvements that could be made to Widow's Bay, what would you suggest?
KATE: I think he needs to get into the art scene in Widow's Bay. I think he needs to get in touch with his creative self, and maybe lead a few poetry readings, and that might expand his horizons - not just be in it for tourists and profit.
CDM: Hopefully in season two!
KATE: Get rid of the boat shoes, as well. I'd say to Tom: "Get rid of the boat shoes!"
CDM: What is your favourite 'Widow's Bay' lore?
KATE: Oh my gosh! I need to have a look in the Historical Society. The only thing I can think of is Ungrateful Hortence, but there's loads of others. Can you remember the ones from the Inn? Oh, the cannibalism in the church! Four days in the church. That's probably the most hooky. That's the one where I'm like, 'What's the episode going to be about when we go back?' <laughs> There's Easter eggs, literally everywhere.
CDM: I loved the attention to detail with the board games in the Inn.
KATE: Next level.
CDM: Patricia tells the Sheriff about her theory that the island corrupts people... do you have your own theory about the island?
KATE: It taps into everyone's individual fears, and it's about facing your fear. So I think that with Patricia and the Boogeyman, the Boogeyman just represents her trauma that she's facing, and so she kills it. There's something about facing your own particular fears that maybe is key to unlocking the island... I have no clue. I have absolutely no clue.
CDM: What do you think Patricia keeps inside the shell-covered trinket box on her office desk?
KATE: I think she keeps knick-knacks, I think she keeps paper clips, pens that have no ink in them, and maybe a novelty key ring. <laughs> Maybe some Potpourri, something like that.
CDM: If you could contribute five books to Patricia's Patiwagon free library, what are the 'beach reads' that you'd donate?
KATE: Oh my god! Well, I think she has eclectic taste, so let's put a Jilly Cooper in there from the UK. I don't know which one, just one of Jilly Cooper. And there's probably Lovecraft in there. What have we done? Romance, sci-fi... we'd have to have some kind of thriller beach read. I want to go a bit back into the night, like probably a John Grisham for a beach read page-turner thriller. We have to have some poetry in there. Why don't we put in Sylvia Plath, for some heavyweight, and then let's go off-piste. Maybe not a self-help book, we'll avoid those, but maybe there's something about painting techniques, or gardening, or cross-stitch techniques.
CDM: In New Zealand, children are taught to "stop, drop, and roll" during an earthquake. What do you think the Widow's Bay equivalent should be when natural/supernatural disasters strike?
KATE: I think it should be 'beat your chest and roar!' - I think you've got to just be brave, or you're not gonna make it.
CDM: Face your fears!
KATE: 'Face your fears, beat your chest and roar!' Yeah, there we go.
CDM: What do you think Patricia's paintings look like?
KATE: I was thinking about this... I think that if you looked at her painting portfolio, you'd be like, 'What is the theme?' It'd be really chaotic, and she'd start off a bit Bob Ross-like, and then she'd have quite a lot of self-portraits when she's feeling kind of dark, and then if she was feeling happy one day, it'd be kind of folksy and bright colours. It'd be this real contrast of sort of folksy-type marks and flowers and pops of primary colours, and then really, really, really dark kind of scrawls - you wouldn't necessarily think they're the same person.
CDM: Lastly, could you please write a haiku outlining some thoughts/feelings about Patricia?
KATE: Actually, this is what I've come up with for Patricia. I sort of wrote it as Patricia:
"I, misunderstood. Quiet defender of souls. No glory needed."
That's what I think Patricia would write as a haiku about herself.
'Widow's Bay' is streaming on Apple TV now.
Watch a trailer for 'Lucky' below:
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