Below: Josh Hartnett Faces a Terrifying Mystery Beneath Newfoundland

Something is moving beneath the waters of Newfoundland, and Calvin Penney is about to discover that his hometown may be hiding secrets far older and more dangerous than he imagined.

Netflix has released the official trailer for Below, a six-episode thriller starring Josh Hartnett, Mackenzie Davis, and Charlie Heaton. Set against the rugged coastline of Newfoundland, the series follows a fisherman who is forced to confront an unidentified sea creature while trying to keep his fractured family and close-knit community together.

Below premieres on Netflix on Oct. 8, 2026, with all six episodes arriving at once.

Watch the Below trailer

The trailer immediately establishes the danger lurking beneath the surface. An iceberg appears in the waters outside the Newfoundland community, followed by increasingly disturbing events. Calvin, who has spent his entire life around the ocean, realizes that something is seriously wrong.

The mystery deepens as the residents face an unidentified creature and Calvin’s son, Wade, begins experiencing frightening symptoms. Calvin eventually joins forces with marine researcher Fonda Howander, played by Mackenzie Davis, as they attempt to understand what is happening and uncover secrets buried beneath the island’s history.

Netflix’s official page currently lists a Below teaser among the show’s available trailers.

What is Below about?

At the center of the story is Calvin Penney (Josh Hartnett), a stubborn but warm-hearted fisherman living in a small Newfoundland town.

Calvin has spent years carrying the weight of his father’s mysterious death. He is also a single father of three who is struggling to keep his already fractured family together. When an unidentified creature begins terrorizing the community, those personal problems suddenly become part of a much larger fight for survival.

Determined to protect his son Wade (Charlie Heaton) and the rest of his family, Calvin teams up with visiting marine researcher Fonda Howander (Mackenzie Davis). Together, they must confront the creature and investigate the secrets hidden beneath the island before the threat destroys the community they are trying to save.

The series combines local mythology, suspense, family drama and humor while exploring ideas of family, community and change. For the people living in this isolated coastal town, change can be frightening, but it is also unavoidable.

Why Newfoundland is central to the story

Creator and showrunner Jesse McKeown, who has written for The Umbrella Academy and 19-2, had wanted to build a story around Newfoundland for years.

McKeown says his connection to the province grew from repeated visits. The landscape eventually became the natural setting for a story that needed to feel isolated, rugged and potentially dangerous, while still being rooted in a strong sense of community.

Newfoundland offered both sides of that equation. Its landscape could provide the isolation and danger required for a creature thriller, while its communities offered the warmth, humor and eccentric personalities that give the series its human side.

That contrast was one of the things that attracted Hartnett to the project as well.

Hartnett says he read the first two scripts in less than an hour. He was immediately drawn to the writing, the concept and Calvin as a character. The project also introduced him to a part of Newfoundland’s history and culture that he had not previously understood, including the province’s history of having its own identity, dialect and distinct ancestry.

The story begins with a mysterious disappearance

One of the trailer’s most striking images involves a house being towed across the water.

The house is suddenly dragged beneath the surface, creating an eerie opening that sets the tone for the series. McKeown described the sequence as dreamlike and haunting, explaining that the image represented a family in the middle of a migration and a moment of uncertainty before something terrible happens.

That unsettling combination of ordinary life and unexplained danger appears to define much of Below. The residents are dealing with familiar concerns involving family, work and their community when something from the water turns their world upside down.

Who stars in Below?

Josh Hartnett as Calvin Penney

Hartnett leads the series as Calvin Penney, a fisherman and single father of three from Snooks Arm, Newfoundland.

Calvin is described as big-hearted but stubborn, and his life has been shaped by a series of setbacks and tragedies that began when he was young.

Hartnett says Calvin has come to believe that he is cursed and that he no longer has a secure place in the world around him. Even within his small community, he feels disconnected and uncertain about his own value.

The role brings Hartnett back into a thriller built around family, danger and an increasingly mysterious threat. His credits include Pearl Harbor, Black Hawk Down, Penny Dreadful, Oppenheimer and Trap.

Mackenzie Davis as Fonda Howander

Mackenzie Davis plays Fonda Howander, a visiting marine researcher who becomes Calvin’s partner in the investigation.

Davis is known for Station Eleven and Speak No Evil. She has described working with Hartnett as something resembling two buddy cops trying to solve a mystery, an experience she found particularly enjoyable.

Charlie Heaton as Wade Penney

Charlie Heaton plays Wade Penney, Calvin’s son.

Heaton, best known for Stranger Things and The Souvenir Part II, is pulled into the central mystery as Wade begins experiencing disturbing symptoms.

The actor also spent time immersing himself in Newfoundland culture while preparing for the role. He has spoken about the warmth of the local people and the unusual experience of filming extensively on the ocean.

The rest of the cast

The series also features:

• Willow Kean (The King Tide, Away from Everywhere) as Ruth Penney
• Ruby Stokes (Lockwood & Co., Sunny Dancer) as Mary Penney
• Rohan Campbell (Halloween Ends, The Monkey) as Jay Penney
• Kaleb Horn (Revival, Chucky) as Noah

Netflix’s official listing also names Natasha Henstridge and Mary Walsh among the cast.

Who created and directed Below?

Below was created by Jesse McKeown, who also serves as showrunner and executive producer.

The scripts were written by Karen Walton (Orphan Black), Perry Chafe (Saint-Pierre), and Natty Zavitz (Edging).

The directing team includes:

• Jamie Childs, whose credits include The Sandman and His Dark Materials
• Helen Shaver, known for The Penguin and Station Eleven
• Stephen Dunn, director of Closet Monster and Queer as Folk

The executive producers are McKeown, Jessica Rhoades through Pacesetter, Chris Hatcher, Josh Hartnett, Jamie Childs, Louise Sutton, and Sharon Hall.

Netflix Canada content directors Danielle Woodrow and Tara Woodbury have described the series as a story about community, resilience and adaptability, alongside its thriller elements.

Where was Below filmed?

The series was filmed in Newfoundland, Canada, using the province’s distinctive coastline and communities as the backdrop for the story. Reporting on the production identifies St. John’s, Newfoundland, as a filming location, while the production has emphasized the use of the province’s real landscapes.

That location was important to the filmmakers. Rather than treating Newfoundland as a generic backdrop, Below was built around its landscape, maritime culture and sense of isolation.

McKeown’s familiarity with the province helped shape the project from its earliest stages. The setting provides the series with the rugged environment needed for its central mystery while keeping the story closely tied to the community at its heart.

Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Dr. Andrew Furey praised the province’s history, landscapes, crews and storytelling traditions, saying they provided an ideal setting for a production of this scale.

Laura Churchill, CEO of Picture NL, the province’s film commission, likewise highlighted Newfoundland and Labrador’s landscapes, skilled crews and storytelling traditions as important assets for the production.

The filmmakers also made a point of working in the actual marine environment. According to Netflix’s earlier behind-the-scenes coverage, the production avoided relying on green screens for its ocean scenes and filmed on Newfoundland’s waters. Charlie Heaton recalled working with the Coast Guard, driving boats and kayaking in the ocean during production.

What can viewers expect from Below?

The trailer keeps much of the creature itself out of view, allowing the mystery to build through what the characters see and experience.

That approach puts the focus on Calvin and the people around him. He is already dealing with his father’s death, his responsibilities as a father and his increasingly fragile relationship with his community. The arrival of the creature turns those private struggles into a fight that affects everyone.

The result is a thriller that places its monster mystery alongside a family story. Calvin’s attempt to protect Wade and his other children becomes inseparable from his determination to protect the wider community and its way of life.

At the same time, Fonda’s arrival gives Calvin someone with the scientific expertise needed to investigate what is happening in the water. Their search gradually leads toward the buried secrets surrounding the island.

When does Below premiere on Netflix?

Below is a six-episode limited series and premieres on Netflix on Oct. 8, 2026. All six episodes are scheduled to arrive on the same day.

With Josh Hartnett at the center, Mackenzie Davis and Charlie Heaton alongside him, and Newfoundland providing the series’ distinctive setting, Below brings together creature horror, mystery and family drama around a community confronting something it cannot explain.