Netflix Releases Below Thriller Set in Newfoundland Community

Netflix released Below, a six-episode thriller set in Newfoundland, where actor Josh Hartnett plays fisherman Calvin Penney, a widowed father confronting a mysterious sea creature while his family and community face questions about staying or leaving their home.

The series was created by Jesse McKeown and filmed in Brigus South, Newfoundland and Labrador, which was transformed into the fictional town of Snook's Arm during production, according to CBC News. All six episodes are streaming on Netflix.

The story begins with Calvin's childhood memory of his father's disappearance before moving to the present, where he lives with his son Wade and reunites with his children Mary and Jay during a homecoming event. The arrival of a contaminated iceberg brings a dangerous creature to the town's waters.

Hartnett said Calvin's emotional depth attracted him to the role after initially considering the character's reserved nature.

"That's something that actually drew me to the project to begin with. Originally there was an idea that he was going to be really taciturn and standoffish, and I liked that, but I also thought, because there are lots of people that I know growing up in Minnesota who were like that, but I wanted to see the vulnerability underneath him in order to humanize him. Because otherwise, why would you follow this character through all this stuff?" said Josh Hartnett.

Hartnett added that the relationships between the characters helped shape his performance, particularly the family conflict surrounding Calvin's wish for his children to return home.

"But I had great screen partners, really great acting partners in it. Ruby and Rohan are excellent actors, and for me, if you can't really get to know a character underneath the surface, then what's the point? So I loved it," said Josh Hartnett.

Creator Jesse McKeown described Calvin as a traditional Newfoundland figure whose strength is balanced by difficulty expressing emotions.

"Josh Hartnett is playing the ultimate bayman, which is sort of an archetypal Newfoundland character, the bayman who's strong and stoic, and can get anything done, but doesn't tend to talk about his feelings," said Jesse McKeown.

McKeown said the family storyline was central to the series' first episode, focusing on Calvin's desire to bring his children back to the community.

"And so part of the germ of the character was that this is a guy who his family, for reasons beyond his control, have moved away, and all he wants more than anything is for them to come back. And so that whole pilot episode is really building to that moment of him making this ask, which is really hard for him," said Jesse McKeown.

The production also involved local residents in Brigus South, where homes, roads and buildings were altered to create Snook's Arm. CBC News reported that residents watched the community become a filming location while maintaining access to their properties.

"It's something I never thought I'd see in my day," said Lillian Carey, a Brigus South resident, according to CBC News.

The series combines creature horror with themes of family, migration and Newfoundland's history of community relocation. Reviewers highlighted its six-episode structure and its focus on the social impact of whether people remain in or leave small communities.