Josh Hartnett stars in Netflix’s limited series “Below,” a six-part supernatural thriller created by Jesse McKeown that follows an embattled Newfoundland fishing community confronting an ancient, unknowable aquatic entity. Variety reported that the six-episode project blends survival drama with a stark look at human nature during a climate crisis, focusing on a widowed father haunted by a decades-old tragedy.
Calvin Penney loses his father in 1986
The narrative opens in 1986 in Newfoundland as nine-year-old Calvin Penney and his family relocate their home from Little Pot Rock to the larger island of Snook’s Arm. During the boat tow, a mysterious incident forces young Calvin to cut the tether, sending his father and the house plunging to the bottom of the ocean. Variety reported that forty years later, adult Calvin remains tormented by the event while struggling to earn a living in a town where the fishing industry has long dried up.
To survive, Calvin and his son Wade collect ice from floating masses for a local vodka brewery and operate an Airbnb from their home. The family dynamic strains further when Calvin’s other children, Mary and Jay, return to the island for a week-long celebration known as Come Home Year. Charlie Heaton portrays the twitchy, plaid-clad Wade, who warns guests about the deadly nature of the local waters before a series of bizarre events unfolds across the harbor.
Dr. Fonda Howander identifies frozen mucous membrane
This rejection drives Calvin to seek answers from Dr. Fonda Howander, portrayed by Mackenzie Davis, who manages the local science center in Seal Cove. The monstrous object in the harbor is not a standard iceberg at all, but rather a colossal frozen mucous membrane released by thawing Arctic permafrost.
As massive icebergs materialize and trawlermen begin vanishing from the bay, bloody body parts wash ashore alongside rising panic among residents. Variety reported that after Wade suffers a horrific accident following alcohol and mushroom consumption, Calvin and Dr. Howander realize that something predatory is lurking directly beneath the surface of the water.
Greed and Environmental Collapse in Snook Arm
Beyond the immediate terror of a giant cephalopod thrashing through the harbor, the series examines systemic economic pressures and government resettlement programs threatening the remaining residents of Snook’s Arm. Variety highlighted that Episode 4, titled “The Ocean Will Have Us All,” zeroes in on the creature while exposing the lengths to which desperate humans will go, sacrificing others for selfish gains as the town descends into chaos.
Calvin digs in his heels against the inevitable closure of his community, linking the modern aquatic chaos directly back to the fatal towing accident from his childhood.
Below episodes stream on Netflix
All six episodes of “Below,” each running 45 minutes or less, are available to stream on Netflix. The production features a supporting cast that includes Ruby Stokes as Mary, Rohan Campbell as Jay, Willow Kean as Harbor Master Ruth, and David Wenham as a self-styled climate activist.
Where Below takes place and who stars
Where does Netflix’s series Below take place?
The supernatural thriller is set in Snook’s Arm, a struggling fishing community located in the Canadian province of Newfoundland.
Who created and stars in the limited series Below?
Jesse McKeown created the series, while actor Josh Hartnett leads the cast as the adult widower Calvin Penney.
How many episodes comprise the first season of Below?
The limited series consists of six episodes, with each installment running for 45 minutes or less.