Below: Josh Hartnett Faces a Mysterious Creature in Netflix’s Newfoundland Thriller

Something is stirring beneath the waters of Newfoundland — and for fisherman Calvin Penney, the threat is about to hit far too close to home.

Josh Hartnett leads Below, Netflix’s new six-part limited thriller set in a remote Newfoundland fishing community where an unidentified sea creature begins terrorising the town. Alongside Hartnett, the series stars Stranger Things actor Charlie Heaton and Mackenzie Davis, combining a supernatural mystery with family drama and the struggles of a close-knit coastal community. All six episodes are scheduled to arrive on Netflix on October 8, 2026.

A creature from the deep threatens an entire community

At the centre of Below is Calvin Penney, a stubborn but big-hearted fisherman living in a small Newfoundland town. A single father of three, Calvin has spent years carrying the weight of personal tragedies, including the mysterious death of his father decades earlier.

His already fragile life takes another turn when an unidentified creature emerges from the ocean and begins terrorising the community.

As fear spreads through the town, Calvin finds himself fighting to protect both his family and the place he calls home. His son Wade, played by Charlie Heaton, begins experiencing frightening symptoms as the strange events escalate, making the threat increasingly personal.

Desperate to understand what is happening, Calvin joins forces with Fonda Howander, a visiting marine researcher played by Mackenzie Davis. Together, they begin investigating the creature and the secrets buried beneath the waters surrounding the island.

Their search gradually pulls them deeper into the community’s past, where local history, family wounds and unexplained events become intertwined.

Netflix describes Below as a story that combines local myth, suspense and heartfelt humour while exploring family, community and change. Rather than focusing solely on a confrontation between a fisherman and a monster, the six-episode format allows the series to examine how an entire community responds when its way of life is threatened.

Newfoundland is more than just a backdrop

The setting is one of the defining elements of Below. The series was filmed in Newfoundland, Canada, using the province’s rugged coastline and isolated communities to establish the atmosphere of the story.

Creator Jesse McKeown, who previously worked on The Umbrella Academy and 19-2, has spoken about his long connection to Newfoundland and his desire to build a large-scale story around its distinctive landscape and communities. The series uses that environment to place its supernatural mystery in a world already shaped by harsh weather, the sea and the challenges of isolated coastal life.

The production also made an effort to capture the ocean environment directly. Instead of relying entirely on green-screen work, the cast filmed on Newfoundland’s waters, including scenes involving boats and the Coast Guard.

For Charlie Heaton, the experience was unlike much of his previous work. He spent time around St. John’s getting familiar with the local culture, while Hartnett worked on the regional accent by listening to a local radio station where fishermen discussed their trade.

That attention to place gives Below a distinctly Newfoundland identity, with the landscape becoming part of the tension rather than simply serving as scenery.

Josh Hartnett leads the cast

Hartnett plays Calvin Penney, a fisherman struggling to keep his fractured family together while confronting a threat unlike anything he has faced before.

The actor, known for roles in Pearl Harbor, Penny Dreadful, Black Hawk Down and Trap, has described Calvin as someone who has endured a series of tragedies from an early age and has developed a deep sense that he may be cursed. That emotional burden becomes an important part of the character as the crisis surrounding his community intensifies.

Hartnett is joined by:

• Mackenzie Davis as Fonda Howander
• Charlie Heaton as Wade Penney
• Willow Kean as Ruth Penney
• Ruby Stokes as Mary Penney
• Rohan Campbell as Jay Penney
• Kaleb Horn as Noah

The wider cast also includes Natasha Henstridge and Mary Walsh.

Calvin and Wade’s complicated bond

Calvin’s relationship with his son Wade forms an important emotional thread within the larger mystery.

Wade is the only one of Calvin’s children who has remained at home rather than leaving for opportunities on the mainland, keeping the two closely connected. When Wade begins showing disturbing symptoms after the creature appears, the threat becomes deeply personal for Calvin.

For Hartnett, the role offered an opportunity to combine the pressures of a family drama with the darker elements of a creature thriller.

Mackenzie Davis joins the investigation

Davis plays Fonda Howander, the marine researcher who becomes Calvin’s partner as they attempt to determine what is happening in the waters surrounding the town.

Their unlikely partnership gives Below a strong investigative element. Rather than simply running from an unknown creature, Calvin and Fonda are trying to understand it — and uncover why its arrival may be connected to secrets buried within the community.

Davis has described the pairing as resembling two unlikely partners working together to solve a mystery, while also praising the series for bringing together elements of suspense, humour and intelligence.

Charlie Heaton plays Wade Penney

Heaton takes on the role of Wade, Calvin’s son, whose increasingly frightening symptoms add another layer of uncertainty to the story.

Best known for playing Jonathan Byers in Stranger Things, Heaton joins a younger ensemble that includes Ruby Stokes, Rohan Campbell, Willow Kean and Kaleb Horn.

Behind the series

Below was created by Jesse McKeown, with writing by Karen Walton, Perry Chafe and Natty Zavitz. The episodes were directed by Jamie Childs, Helen Shaver and Stephen Dunn.

McKeown also serves as showrunner and executive producer alongside Jessica Rhoades, Chris Hatcher, Josh Hartnett, Jamie Childs, Louise Sutton and Sharon Hall.

The result is designed as more than a conventional creature feature. Its limited-series structure gives the story space to develop Calvin’s family, the town around him and the mystery surrounding the creature over six episodes.

When does Below premiere on Netflix?

There is only a short wait before the mystery surfaces.

All six episodes of Below will premiere on Netflix on October 8, 2026.

With Josh Hartnett at the centre of a story involving a troubled fisherman, a marine researcher, a family under pressure and an unexplained creature lurking beneath Newfoundland’s waters, Below brings supernatural suspense into a distinctly local setting.

At its heart, however, the series remains a story about people trying to protect their families and preserve a community when something unfamiliar threatens the world they have always known.