And it’s not just Josh Hartnett in a sturdy fisherman’s knit sweater.
asserted
it → ’ → sweater
Below, an eight-episode miniseries from creator-writer Jesse McKeown (The Umbrella Academy, Letterkenny), features Hartnett trying to keep things together in his tiny fishing village while a threat from the depths makes deadly waves.
asserted
threat → feature → waves
Until the ride is agitated by an unknown something in the deep, the house sinks, and a family is left without their father.
asserted
family → agitate → father
The Gist: Calvin Penney (Josh Hartnett) watched his dad go under.
asserted
dad → watch → ?
And 40 years later, as he ekes out a living as a fisherman in Snooks Bay, Newfoundland, the Canadian government is still trying to relocate these remote coastal villages.
asserted
government → eke → villages
“I’m not moving an inch,” Calvin tells his sister Ruth (Willow Kean), their conversation steeped in the region’s traditional dialect.
asserted
conversation → move → dialect
But some residents, like Jan (Natasha Henstridge), would appreciate the cash subsidy.
asserted
residents → appreciate → subsidy
At the same time, a giant blue iceberg has appeared in the harbor.
asserted
iceberg → appear → harbor
There is precedent, since these days guys like Calvin earn more cash hunting ice chunks for a local vodka distiller than they do netting actual fish.
asserted
they → be → fish
But the ice is also slimy, smells like ammonia, and has marine researcher Fonda Howander (Mackenzie Davis) concerned.
asserted
Howander → smell → ammonia
10,000-year-old ice could contain more than water.
uncertain
ice → contain → water
Calvin’s kids who fled, Mary (Ruby Stokes) and Jay (Rohan Campbell), have come back for Snooks Bay’s homecoming.
asserted
who → flee → homecoming
And Calvin’s son Wade (Charlie Heaton) wants to impress his dad as a fisherman.
asserted
son → want → fisherman
And maybe Calvin can finally get his family fishing business off the ground, with this new onset of ice-ly opportunity.
asserted
Calvin → get → opportunity
But considering the bits and pieces of destruction shown early on in Below, there is something making its presence felt around this quaint, mildly eccentric corner of Newfoundland, and it’s not just hangovers from Blue Star beer.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of?
asserted
It → consider → You
Take the local flavor and horror-comedy of Widow’s Bay, cross it with cold weather thriller Fortitude, throw in some Tremors, and you’ve got supper on the boil for Below.
asserted
you → take → Below
The last time we were this compelled to follow Josh Hartnett into the ether, he was protecting his remote Alaskan village from vampires.
asserted
he → compel → vampires
It can be a challenge for shows like Below to establish local flavor while getting its main action moving, but with Hartnett’s charmingly ragged performance, and a solid group around him, this series does it well.
asserted
series → establish → it
It also doesn’t scrimp on suggesting how crazy and sea monster-y things could really get.
uncertain
things → scrimp → ?
Early notes of warning aren’t jump scare-y, but they are foreboding and satisfyingly intriguing.
asserted
they → jump → warning
We can’t wait to see what kind of fight begins — and who becomes fish food.
asserted
who → wait → fight
Charlie Heaton is a frazzled delight as Wade, who takes too many mushrooms but is also a good dude.
asserted
who → take → mushrooms
Calvin and Dr. Howander, trawling the harbor for Wade, who was last seen taking pot shots at the massive mysterious iceberg, make a startling, spoiler-worthy discovery.
asserted
who → trawl → discovery
The HARTNAISSANCE continues!
asserted
HARTNAISSANCE → continue → ?
In Below, Josh Hartnett leads a fun cast of characters on a strange journey into the watery unknown.
asserted
Hartnett → lead → unknown
Your Spooky Season content needs more sea creature in it.
asserted
content → need → it
Johnny Loftus (@johnnyloftus.bsky.social) is a Chicago-based writer.
asserted
Loftus → base → ?
A veteran of the alternative weekly trenches, his work has also appeared in Entertainment Weekly, Pitchfork, The All Music Guide, and The Village Voice.
asserted
work → appear → Weekly
The Aporia
