The last few years have seen the small screen taken over by an army of actors traditionally known for their work in movies. Clive Owen did it with The Knick, Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey did it with the first season of True Detective, and comedian Zach Galifianakis has done it with his work on Baskets, to name just a few. Now, it's Underworld star Kate Beckinsale's turn, as the actress has officially signed onto Amazon's upcoming drama series, The Widow. And it sounds great.
In The Widow -- which will begin its production this month in South Africa, Wales and Rotterdam -- Kate Beckinsale will star as Georgia Wells, a woman who decides to cut ties with her past and remove herself from the world in the wake of her husband's apparent death; hence the show's title. However, she eventually sees her husband on the news, seemingly no longer dead, and decides to set off on a journey into the African Congo to piece together the mysteries of her past and present. While further details about the plot weren't available, that basic premise alone (plus Beckinsale's involvement) feels like it'll be enough to get many potential fans onboard.
Taking on a role in The Widow marks Kate Beckinsale's first significant foray into the world of television, which could go a long way towards altering the course of her career. It is arguable that she only has one definitive and trademark role: Selene in the Underworld franchise. (She was also offered the role of Wonder Woman before the birth of the DCEU, but nothing ever came of it). However, moving into serialized television could offer Ms. Beckinsale a chance to become even more well-established, possibly leading to more dramatic roles.
Despite the fact that this is somewhat new territory for Kate Beckinsale (in the sense that she is making the jump into television), it is not the first time that she has worked with Amazon Studios. Specifically, she recently collaborated with the stream-happy folks at Amazon for the productions of The Only Living Boy in New York and Love & Friendship. Given her willingness to work with them again so quickly, it seems that her feature experiences must've been relatively enjoyable. Now, we will just have to wait and see what happens when The Widow starts coming together on the streaming service.
CinemaBlend will keep you posted with more information related to The Widow (not to mention Kate Beckinsale's involvement with the Amazon project) as new details are made available to us. Until then, take a look at our midseason premiere guide to see what's coming over the next few months, and then mosey on over to the latest episode of The Cord Cutter Podcast to hear what we have to say about anything and everything in the world of streaming content.
