Below

Premise

When the remote Newfoundland town of Snook's Arm is terrorized by a mysterious sea creature, a hard-bitten fisherman must fight to protect his family, his community, and his vanishing way of life.

Cast

Main

Josh Hartnett as Calvin Penney, a fisherman and iceberg harvester in Snook’s Arm

Mackenzie Davis as Dr. Fonda Howander, a marine biologist at the Seal Cove Ocean Science Center

Charlie Heaton as Wade Penney, Calvin's oldest son

Ruby Stokes as Mary Penney, Calvin's daughter who attends a university in Montreal

Kaleb Horn as Noah Townsend, Mary’s boyfriend from Montreal

Rohan Campbell as Jay Penney, Calvin's youngest son who works in Alberta

Willow Kean as Ruth Penney, the harbourmaster in Snook's Arm and Calvin's older sister

Recurring

Mary Walsh as Linda Best, the Mayor of Snook's Arm

Natasha Henstridge as Jan Hicks, a potter who is the local Resettlement Liaison Officer

Joshua Close as Fishery Officer Jaxon Noseworthy, a Fishery Officer in Snook's Arm

Shawn Doyle as Walton Budgell, an old childhood friend of Calvin

Guest

Joel Thomas Hynes as Jerry Biles, a rival iceberg harvester of Calvin

Darrin Baker as Keith Pratt

Tantoo Cardinal as Anik

Jeff Yung as Jojo

David Wenham as Steve Bruner, the commander of the RSV Sir John Franklin

Alexander Karim as Dr. Hugo Sayed, a legendary marine biologist

Frank Moore as Jim Crocker, a prominent member of the Crockers who are one of Newfoundland's oldest merchant-class families that have power over Snook's Arm and other fishing villages

Production

Development

The six-episode limited series was ordered by Netflix in February 2025 with Jesse McKeown serving as creator, writer, and showrunner. McKeown believed that Newfoundland would "be a great place for something big and something kind of epic" given its rugged coastlines and close-knit communities. In choosing to focus on a mysterious sea creature, McKeown cited the province's local supernatural legends:

Folks here have been dealing with unexplained phenomena and tragic events for hundreds of years. [...] Killer storms. Maritime disasters. The collapse of the cod fishery. People going hungry. Surviving the winter here can be a horror movie in and of itself. So, these strange events fit into a long history of unimaginable difficulties.

Other writers of the series include Karen Walton, Perry Chafe and Natty Zavitz. Jamie Child, Helen Shaver, Stephen Dunn served as directors of the series. McKeown, Childs, Jessica Rhoades, Chris Hatcher, Louise Sutton, Sharon Hall served as executive producers of the series.

Casting

In May 2025, it was announced that Josh Hartnett had been tapped for the lead role of the series, in addition to executive producing. In June 2025, Mackenzie Davis was cast opposite Hartnett. In July 2025, Charlie Heaton, Natasha Henstridge, Joshua Close and Rohan Campbell joined the cast. In August 2025, Willow Kean, Ruby Stokes and Kaleb Horn joined the series.

Filming

Production of the series began in June 2025. Much of the filming was done in Brigus South with the town's existing homes being made to look like other buildings such as a church and a fish plant. Although the show is set in the fictional town of Snook's Arm, it does share its name with the former Newfoundland village of Snook's Arm which was resettled in 2018.

Release

The series received a preview screening in the Primetime program at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival. All episodes were released on Netflix on October 8, 2026.

Reception

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 82% approval rating based on 34 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads: "Below features the classic tropes of better creature features but uses its limited time wisely, ensuring all who dive in come out the other end thoroughly thrilled." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 70 out of 100 based on 17 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.