Below arrives on Netflix on October 8, 2026, with all six episodes of the limited series releasing together. Josh Hartnett leads the cast as Calvin Penney, a Newfoundland fisherman whose family and hometown are threatened by an unidentified sea creature. Mackenzie Davis plays visiting marine researcher Fonda Howander, while Charlie Heaton plays Calvin’s son Wade. Netflix’s September trailer adds a clearer look at the underwater mystery, Wade’s disturbing symptoms, and the scale of the danger facing the coastal community.
The easiest way to understand Below is as two stories happening at once. On the surface, it is a creature thriller about something violent moving through the waters off Newfoundland. Underneath that, it is a family drama about a father who has already spent years believing tragedy follows him. The monster gives the series urgency, but Calvin’s damaged relationship with his family is what gives the threat personal stakes.
Below Netflix quick facts
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Title | Below |
| Netflix release date | October 8, 2026 |
| Format | Six-episode limited series |
| Genre | Thriller, creature mystery, family drama |
| Setting | Snooks Arm, Newfoundland, Canada |
| Filming location | Newfoundland, Canada |
| Creator / showrunner | Jesse McKeown |
| Lead cast | Josh Hartnett, Mackenzie Davis, Charlie Heaton |
| Release plan | All six episodes on October 8 |
What is Below about?
Calvin Penney is a big-hearted but stubborn fisherman in the small Newfoundland community of Snooks Arm. He has never fully escaped the mystery surrounding his father’s death decades earlier, and Netflix describes him as a single father trying to keep a fractured family together. When a strange sea creature begins terrorizing the town, Calvin sees the crisis as something he cannot ignore.
His response is not simply to hunt a monster. Calvin has to protect his children, convince a frightened community to work together, and understand why the threat has appeared in the first place. That brings him into an uneasy partnership with Fonda Howander, a visiting marine researcher whose scientific perspective may offer answers that local experience alone cannot provide.
The full trailer also suggests that the danger may have a human cost beyond sudden attacks. Wade begins displaying alarming symptoms, while images of houses, boats and residents being pulled into the crisis make the threat feel larger than a single isolated encounter. Netflix is still keeping the creature itself largely obscured, which means the central mystery remains intact ahead of release.
Below cast and characters
Cast at a glance
| Actor | Character | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Josh Hartnett | Calvin Penney | A fisherman and single father haunted by past loss who tries to protect his family and town. |
| Mackenzie Davis | Fonda Howander | A visiting marine researcher who joins Calvin’s investigation. |
| Charlie Heaton | Wade Penney | Calvin’s son, whose relationship with his father and frightening new symptoms raise the stakes. |
| Willow Kean | Ruth Penney | A member of the Penney family. |
| Ruby Stokes | Mary Penney | A member of the Penney family. |
| Rohan Campbell | Jay Penney | A member of the Penney family. |
| Kaleb Horn | Noah | A supporting character in the Newfoundland community. |
| Natasha Henstridge | TBA | Netflix lists Henstridge in the wider cast, but a character name has not yet been confirmed on the title page. |
| Mary Walsh | TBA | Netflix lists Walsh in the wider cast, with character details still unrevealed. |
Josh Hartnett as Calvin Penney
Josh Hartnett plays Calvin, the emotional center of the series. Calvin is not presented as a conventional action hero. He is a fisherman whose identity is tied to the sea, the town and a family he worries is slipping away from him. Netflix describes him as burdened by setbacks and tragedy, including the unexplained death of his father. That history makes his determination to confront the creature feel as much psychological as practical.
Hartnett has moved comfortably between genre and character-driven projects, from Penny Dreadful and 30 Days of Night to Oppenheimer and Trap. Below gives him a role that needs both sides of that experience: Calvin has to be convincing on a dangerous fishing boat while also carrying the quieter fear of a parent who may be losing control of his family.
Mackenzie Davis as Fonda Howander
Mackenzie Davis plays Fonda, the marine researcher who becomes Calvin’s partner in trying to understand the threat. The pairing gives the story a useful tension between local knowledge and formal science. Calvin knows the coastline, fishing culture and people; Fonda is positioned to examine the biological clues and challenge assumptions about what is happening in the water.
Davis has often excelled as intelligent characters placed in extraordinary situations, including Station Eleven, Halt and Catch Fire and Speak No Evil. Netflix’s promotional material frames Calvin and Fonda almost like reluctant investigative partners, suggesting the series will spend real time on solving the mystery instead of treating the creature as a simple jump-scare device.
Charlie Heaton as Wade Penney
Charlie Heaton plays Wade, Calvin’s son. The teaser and full trailer make Wade more important than a passive family member in need of protection. He is shown experiencing disturbing symptoms that may connect directly to the central mystery, creating a personal deadline for Calvin and Fonda’s investigation.
Heaton is best known for playing Jonathan Byers in Stranger Things, another story where family pressure and supernatural danger collide. The resemblance stops there, though. Wade is part of an adult father-son conflict in a specific Newfoundland community, and his relationship with Calvin appears likely to determine whether the Penney family can act together when the threat escalates.
What is the sea creature in Below?
Netflix has not identified the creature by species or mythological name. Official descriptions consistently call it a mysterious or unidentified sea creature. That is important because the marketing appears designed around uncertainty: the characters know something is attacking the town, but they do not initially know what it is, why it is there, or whether its behavior connects to older secrets surrounding the island.
The series therefore looks closer to a mystery-driven creature feature than a story that reveals its monster immediately. Local folklore, environmental clues and Calvin’s family history may all matter, but viewers should treat theories about the creature’s origin as theories until the episodes arrive.
Why Newfoundland matters to the story
Below was filmed on location in Newfoundland, and creator Jesse McKeown has said the province inspired the project. The setting is not just a picturesque coastline. Fishing is tied to the town’s economy and identity, while isolation and difficult ocean conditions can turn ordinary work into danger even before a supernatural or unknown threat is introduced.
The cast also prepared for the regional texture. Hartnett has discussed listening to Newfoundland radio and learning more about the province’s history and dialect, while Heaton spent time around local communities and filmed on the water. Netflix says the production used real ocean locations rather than relying entirely on green-screen work. That choice should give the boat and shoreline sequences a physical quality that is difficult to fake.
Readers who enjoy Netflix mysteries with family stakes can also see our guide to I Will Find You on Netflix. For more genre viewing, browse our best sci-fi movies on Netflix and the cast guide for The Last House.
How many episodes are in Below?
There are six episodes in the limited series, and Netflix says all six will be available on October 8. The limited-series label suggests the central creature mystery is designed as a contained story rather than a season that depends on renewal, although Netflix has not publicly detailed every episode title or runtime yet.
Who created Below?
Jesse McKeown created the series and serves as showrunner and executive producer. The writing team includes Karen Walton, Perry Chafe and Natty Zavitz. Jamie Childs, Helen Shaver and Stephen Dunn directed episodes. Josh Hartnett is also among the executive producers, alongside Jessica Rhoades, Chris Hatcher, Louise Sutton and Sharon Hall.
Is Below based on a book or true story?
Netflix presents Below as an original series created by Jesse McKeown. It is not being promoted as a book adaptation or as a dramatization of one specific true event. The show does draw on the culture, landscape and history of Newfoundland, and the story uses local myth as part of its atmosphere, but that should not be confused with a claim that the sea-creature plot itself is true.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below premieres on Netflix on October 8, 2026, with all six episodes releasing together.
The main cast includes Josh Hartnett, Mackenzie Davis, Charlie Heaton, Willow Kean, Ruby Stokes, Rohan Campbell and Kaleb Horn. Netflix also lists Natasha Henstridge and Mary Walsh.
Josh Hartnett plays Calvin Penney, a Newfoundland fisherman and single father.
Charlie Heaton plays Wade, Calvin’s son.
Netflix has not revealed the creature’s identity ahead of release.
The series was filmed in Newfoundland, Canada, where the story is also set.
Yes. Netflix describes Below as a six-part limited series.
What to expect from Below
Below looks strongest when viewed as a community mystery rather than just a monster show. Calvin’s family is already under strain, the fishing town is already facing change, and the sea creature forces those existing problems into the open. That gives the series several engines at once: a survival threat, a scientific investigation, a buried family mystery and a community trying to decide what it can preserve.
The September trailer makes the premise clearer without giving away the answer. Hartnett, Davis and Heaton are the headline names, but the Newfoundland setting may be the element that makes the show stand apart from more generic creature thrillers.