The vast, churning expanse of the North Atlantic has long served as a canvas for tales of the unknown, a frontier where the boundary between the known world and the abyss remains dangerously thin. While modern science has made significant strides in mapping the seafloor and cataloging the bizarre biology of the deep, the sheer scale of the oceans ensures that a sense of ominous mystery persists. It is this primal fear of the deep—and the secrets we have buried within it—that serves as the foundation for "Below," a gripping new limited series from creator Jesse McKeown now streaming on Netflix. Set against the rugged, salt-sprayed backdrop of Newfoundland, the series offers a masterclass in atmospheric tension, blending the visceral thrills of creature horror with a poignant exploration of a community teetering on the edge of extinction.
At its core, "Below" is a story about the weight of the past and the uncertainty of a rapidly changing future. McKeown introduces viewers to Snook’s Arm, a small town in the Canadian province of Newfoundland that feels as though it is being slowly reclaimed by the sea. Through the eyes of a man haunted by a childhood tragedy and a family struggling to reconcile their love for their home with the reality of its decay, the series navigates the murky waters of human nature. It is a perfectly paced thriller that looks far beyond the traditional mythos of sea monsters to examine the real-world horrors of the climate crisis and the lengths to which individuals will go when their way of life is threatened.
The narrative journey begins with a haunting prologue set in 1986. The imagery is as evocative as it is unsettling: a nine-year-old Calvin Penney, portrayed with wide-eyed vulnerability by Azriel Dalman, sits in a small boat as his family attempts a "house-moving." In a tradition once common in outport Newfoundland, the family is relocating from the tiny settlement of Little Pot Rock to the slightly larger island of Snook’s Arm, physically towing their entire home across the water behind them. What begins as a hopeful journey toward a better life quickly descends into a nightmare. A mysterious incident occurs beneath the surface, a disturbance that threatens to drag the boat under along with the house. In a moment of sheer terror and impossible choice, young Calvin is forced to cut the tow line, watching in helplessness as his father is pulled into the depths to drown.
Fast-forward forty years, and the adult Calvin Penney, played by Josh Hartnett, remains a man defined by that singular, traumatic event. Despite the shadow of his father’s death, Calvin has grown into an affable and hardworking widower, a pillar of a community that is itself struggling to stay afloat. The fishing industry, once the lifeblood of Snook’s Arm, has long since dried up, leaving the residents to find increasingly creative—and often desperate—ways to survive. Calvin and his son Wade, played by Charlie Heaton, have pivoted to a modern form of scavenging: collecting ancient glacial ice to sell to a local high-end vodka brewery and operating an Airbnb out of their family home.
The arrival of "Come Home Year" brings a rare sense of celebration to the town, as former residents return to reconnect with their roots. For Calvin, the occasion is a source of genuine joy, as it brings his other two children, Mary (Ruby Stokes) and Jay (Rohan Campbell), back to the island for a week-long stay. However, the reunion is quickly overshadowed by a series of unsettling developments that suggest the ocean is no longer yielding its resources so easily. The local brewery rejects Calvin’s latest haul of ice, citing a pervasive and repulsive stench that emanates from the frozen blocks—a smell that suggests something organic and rotting has been trapped within the glacier for millennia.
