Hartnett's 'Below': Netflix Squid Show Lacks Bite — SkimNews
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- "Below" is a Newfoundland-set and -shot Netflix limited series from creator Jesse McKeown, in which Josh Hartnett's fisherman Calvin Penny battles a giant squid menacing the town of Snook's Arm.
- Josh Hartnett plays a Minnesota-born fisherman haunted by his father's drowning during the real-life Newfoundland Resettlement Program, with the government now again trying to relocate Snook's Arm residents.
- Mackenzie Davis co-stars as marine scientist Fonda Howander, whose investigation links the deaths — including a half-digested moose and missing tourists — to one angry giant squid.
- Charlie Heaton plays Calvin's son Wade, whose captain falls victim to unnaturally turning tides early in the series.
- The reviewer calls the nearly four-hour series (broken into 35-minute episodes) "all set up and little pay-off," with underdeveloped subplots about ice toxins, family melodrama, and government buyout drama left dangling.
- Mark Korven's eerie score and the cast's accent work — particularly Hartnett's "deranged mounties" Newfoundland delivery — are singled out as the show's most consistent rewards alongside its gorgeous scenery.
Why it matters: Netflix is positioning 'Below' as a Canadian creature-feature with a recognizable star, but the reviewer's verdict — gorgeous scenery and accents over actual squid thrills — echoes the reviewer's own complaint that 'too many American Netflix originals' deliver setup without payoff, even on smaller Netflix Canada productions.
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