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Matthew Rhys Tells Us How He Prepared For The 12-Hour-Long Drug Trip Episode Of ‘Widow’s Bay’ (INTERVIEW)

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Widow’s Bay has proven to be a breakout hit for AppleTV, with many fans and critics alike calling it the best TV show of the year so far. One particularly stand-out chapter is Episode 5, “What to Expect on Your Trip.”

In the episode, Matthew Rhys’ Mayor Tom Loftis, Patricia (Kate O’Flynn), and Wyck (Stephen Root) venture to the home of Todd O’Connor, a self-described “shaman” — but actually just a stoner drug dealer —  after discovering the recently deceased Reverend Bryce had been calling his number repeatedly before he died.

Wyck, played by Stephen Root, wants to take the island’s psychedelic black mushrooms — nicknamed “truesight” — believing they’ll reveal the secret truth at the heart of Widow’s Bay. Hilariously, Todd accidentally doses Tom instead of Wyck, sending Loftis on an intense 12-hour-long psychedelic trip after having never previously done the drug before.

Widow’s Bay star Matthew Rhys details how he prepared for the episode that sees his character go on a 12-hour drug trip

Speaking to BroBible’s Post Credit Podcast ahead of the release of the episode, the Emmy winning Rhys explained how he prepared to portray such a unique and idiosyncratic experience.

Eric Italiano, BroBible: I don’t want you to incriminate yourself, but how did you prep for what’s meant to be a 12-hour trip? Did you draw on any past experiences? I once interviewed Pedro Pascal and he said he spent a few hours on YouTube watching videos of what your world would be like on certain drugs.

Matthew Rhys: The same way as Pedro — YouTube is the great resource these days. You can research very specifically not just what people look like on those drugs, but what they might be experiencing. Just a lot of YouTube, as is the actor’s research these days.

Our below interview with Rhys covers all things Widow’s Bay, but we queued it up to began at the portion where we talk about the shrooms episode.

The first eight episodes (out of 10 total) of Widow’s Bay‘s first season are now streaming on AppleTV. While the series has not yet been officially renewed for a second season, it becoming such a beloved instant hit likely makes that renewal a matter of “when” and not “if.” It’s likely that AppleTV will announce the series has been renewed after the season finale airs on June 17.