Naman Shrestha
From the mind of Jesse McKeown, Netflix’s ‘Below’ is a mystery-thriller miniseries that revolves around the emergence of a terrifying sea creature in the remote coastal town of Snook’s Arm. Josh Hartnett features as Calvin Penney, a compassionate yet headstrong fisherman living in the small Newfoundland town. Decades earlier, he unexpectedly lost his father, whose absence he still feels in his heart to this day. The idyllic lives of Snook’s Arm’s inhabitants turn upside down when a strange creature takes over the town, forcing the fisherman to take the reins and keep his community united in the face of grave danger.
To ensure his family’s safety, including his son Wade, Calvin joins forces with a visiting marine researcher, Dr. Fonda Howander, to learn more about the creature and find a way to defeat it before it’s too late. Together, Calvin and Fonda must come up with a solution and fight the sea creature to prevent his family and the town from vanishing altogether. Led by Hartnett, the six-part miniseries also features Mackenzie Davis, Charlie Heaton, Willow Kean, Ruby Stokes, and Kaleb Horn. Set in the fictional town of Snook’s Arm in Newfoundland, the twisted tale uses the town’s remoteness and the surrounding open waters to heighten the show’s tension.
Below Filming Locations
The shooting for Josh Hartnett’s ‘Below’ took place entirely in Newfoundland and Labrador, particularly on the island of Newfoundland. According to reports, principal photography for the thriller miniseries got underway in July 2025 and went on for about three months before wrapping up in October of the same year. In the initial days of the shoot, one of the directors Helen Shaver took to social media and stated, “Happy to be working again with the great @jessicarhoades on the untitled Newfoundland project, imagined and written by the gifted @jesse.mckeown for @netflixca. Here we are after three intense days and into nights of shooting, four hours sleep and a latte, on Friday morning.”
Newfoundland, Newfoundland and Labrador
Since the Netflix production is set in Newfoundland, it is only natural for the makers to decide to film on location and add a layer of authenticity. The capital of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador — St. John’s — served as the primary production location for ‘Below,’ with its distinct architecture and port making regular appearances throughout the episodes. On the Avalon Peninsula, several areas in towns and districts like Pouch Cove, Brigus South, Harbour Main, and Conception Harbour were transformed into film sets to tape many pivotal indoor and outdoor sequences.
In addition, the filming unit set up camp in the streets of the town of Twillingate, situated off the north-eastern shore of Newfoundland. To be specific, the interiors of a local pub called Furey’s Club at 419 Conception Bay Highway in the town of Holyrood were also utilized to shoot important indoor scenes. As per reports, the production team also constructed a house, which was towed out from Conception Harbour for recording the water sequences. The creator, Jesse McKeown, has a special appreciation for Newfoundland, which is part of the reason why they shot the series on location.
Jesse told Tudum, “I’ve been coming to Newfoundland for many years, and it’s become a part of my life. I just always felt like I wanted to set something here, that this would be a great place for something big and something kind of epic. It’s such a unique landscape and such a rugged, dangerous, isolated, scary place in a lot of ways. But then there’s also this other side to it, which is that the community is so warm and the people are so funny and unique and there are so many eccentricities about the place.” Charlie Heaton, who portrays Wade Penney, also added, “We were out with the Coast Guard on the water, driving these boats, and I’m actually out in the ocean kayaking. I’ve done a lot of work on practical locations in ‘Stranger Things,’ but I’ve never been out on the ocean like that, which is insane.”
Even the premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, Dr. Andrew Furey, shared a few words about the beauty and vastness of the province. He stated, “Newfoundland and Labrador’s rich history and stunning landscapes make it the ideal canvas for a project of this magnitude. The province’s commitment to storytelling, talented crews, and unique beauty ensure that this series will capture the spirit of our province. We are excited to be part of bringing this incredible vision to the screen.”
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