Genre television keeps finding fresh real estate at film festivals, and this fall the sea itself gets a starring role.
Below, Netflix's new six-episode supernatural thriller will open the Toronto International Film Festival's Primetime program on September 10, 2026, before landing on the streamer globally on October 8.
Created by Jesse McKeown, whose credits include The Umbrella Academy and 19-2, the series follows Calvin Penney, a big-hearted but stubborn fisherman living in a small Newfoundland town, who's still haunted by his father's mysterious death from decades ago. Josh Hartnett takes the role, adding another genre credit to a resume that has swung between studio tentpoles and character work in recent years.
When the creature begins terrorizing the coastline, Penney's priorities narrow fast. An unidentified sea creature begins terrorizing his hometown, and Calvin must fight to hold his close-knit community together, teaming up with a visiting marine researcher to confront the creature and reveal the island's buried secrets before it's too late. That researcher, Fonda, is played by Mackenzie Davis, whose recent run through Station Eleven and Speak No Evil has made her something of a go-to presence in prestige genre work. Charlie Heaton, still recognizable from years as Jonathan Byers on Stranger Things, plays Calvin's son Wade.
McKeown has been careful to frame the show as more than a monster hunt. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, he described the father-son dynamic at the story's center, noting "Calvin and Wade drive each other nuts because all they've got is each other," especially since Wade's mom passed away, and because of Calvin's tragic past, he's very protective of his eldest, probably too protective, putting all of Calvin's fears onto Wade. That tension gives the series its family-drama backbone, even as the coastal town descends into panic.
The production leans heavily on its setting. The episodes were filmed on location in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada. McKeown has spoken about that connection directly, telling Netflix's Tudum, "I've been coming to Newfoundland for many years, and it's become a part of my life," when asked where the idea for a fishing town under siege originated.
Behind the camera, the show pulls from a deep bench of genre talent. The series is written by Karen Walton, Perry Chafe, and Natty Zavitz, while Jamie Childs, Helen Shaver, and Stephen Dunn directed the episodes. Hartnett also produces alongside McKeown and Jessica Rhoades, whose credits span Black Mirror and Station Eleven.
At Toronto, Below arrives as the marquee title in a Primetime slate stacked with horror and suspense, including Mike Flanagan's Carrie adaptation and the Friday the 13th prequel Crystal Lake. The sidebar will open with Netflix's Below, from creator Jesse McKeown, a six-part supernatural thriller that centers on a seaside town in Newfoundland besieged by a sea creature. For Netflix, the festival slot doubles as an early temperature check before the show competes for attention against a crowded October streaming calendar.
Once it lands on Netflix, all six episodes will be available at once, giving audiences a chance to binge the mystery in a single weekend if the town's secrets prove as gripping as the creature stalking its waters.
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