Netflix’s ‘Below’ Is the Mystery Series You Need to Watch — And Its Ending Will Leave You Speechless

Netflix’s ‘Below’ Is the Mystery Series You Need to Watch — And Its Ending Will Leave You Speechless

If you’re the kind of viewer who loves a good mystery that keeps you guessing until the very last frame, Netflix’s new series Below is about to become your next obsession. The six-episode limited series, which premiered on October 8, 2026, is a masterclass in slow-burn tension, family drama, and the kind of environmental horror that sticks with you long after the credits roll.

Starring Josh Hartnett in what might be his most compelling television role to date, Below takes us to the remote Newfoundland fishing village of Snook’s Arm — a community on the brink of collapse, where the fishing industry is dying, young people are leaving, and the ocean that once sustained them has become something to fear.

What Is ‘Below’ About?

At its core, Below is the story of Calvin Penney (Josh Hartnett), a widowed father of three who has spent his entire life on the water. He’s a fisherman in a town where fishing no longer pays, a man stubbornly clinging to a way of life that the world has moved on from. When a mysterious sea creature begins terrorizing the community — capsizing boats, attacking residents, and leaving destruction in its wake — Calvin finds himself at the center of a mystery that will force him to confront his past, his family, and the changing world around him.

He’s joined by Dr. Fonda Howander (Mackenzie Davis), a marine biologist who arrives in Snook’s Arm to investigate the creature. Together, they uncover a truth that is far more complex — and far more heartbreaking — than anyone in the town could have imagined.

The series also stars Charlie Heaton as Wade Penney, Calvin’s son, and Ruby Stokes as Mary Penney, his daughter. The family dynamics are the emotional backbone of the show, and the performances across the board are exceptional.

The Ending, Explained

Warning: Major spoilers for the finale of Below follow.

The finale of Below delivers one of the most emotionally satisfying — and quietly devastating — endings of the year. The mysterious creature is revealed to be a giant squid mother, protecting her egg sac which has become trapped inside an iceberg in the shallow waters near Snook’s Arm. Her aggression wasn’t malice — it was maternal instinct. She was trying to protect her unborn children from the hostile environment they were trapped in.

Calvin and his family make the decision to help move the iceberg into deeper, safer waters, saving both the squid and her eggs from a planned military strike. It’s a moment of profound empathy — a recognition that the creature isn’t a monster, but a mother doing what mothers do. The parallel between the squid’s family and Calvin’s own family is impossible to miss, and it’s handled with a subtlety that elevates the entire series.

But the final shot is where Below truly cements its place as something special. As Calvin and Wade head back out to open water, they encounter not one, but multiple giant icebergs on the horizon. The implication is clear: there are more creatures out there. More mothers. More eggs. More danger. The screen goes black, and you’re left sitting in stunned silence.

Will There Be a Season 2?

Netflix has not announced a second season of Below, and creator Jesse McKeown has been candid about his intentions. In an interview with Variety, McKeown explained that the story was designed to work as a complete six-episode experience. “If there’s another story to tell with these characters, great. But that’s not my intention,” he told Time.

That said, the ending leaves the door open — not as a conventional cliffhanger, but as a question about humanity’s future. McKeown described it as “a reprieve” rather than a happy ending. The people of Snook’s Arm get to live to fight another day, but the real catastrophe — climate change, rising waters, the unknown consequences of environmental disruption — is still heading for all of us.

The final image of those approaching icebergs was planned from the very beginning. “The idea of that visual was there from the very beginning, in the outline for the show,” McKeown told Variety. “It’s a happy ending for Calvin and his family, but it’s a reprieve.”

Josh Hartnett’s Triumphant Return to Television

Hartnett has always been a compelling screen presence — from his breakout role in Pearl Harbor to his cult-favorite turn in Penny Dreadful — but Below might be his best work yet. He disappears into Calvin Penney with a commitment that’s remarkable to watch. The Newfoundland accent alone is a masterclass in dialect work — Hartnett spent weeks before production listening to local radio call-in shows, including “The Fisheries Broadcast,” the longest-running radio show in Canadian history, to get the cadence and texture exactly right.

“He was incredible,” McKeown said. “Before he even came, he started listening to Newfoundland radio, the call-in shows and talk radio… He already had it in his head before he set foot on the island.”

The chemistry between Hartnett and Davis is another highlight. Their characters’ slow-burn connection — two lonely people opening up to each other — feels earned and genuine. “It wasn’t in Jesse’s pitch,” executive producer Jessica Rhoades admitted. “We cast Josh and Mackenzie and we all decided it was more about these two coming out of their shells… And then the two of them just up and had some chemistry, and we had to contend with it.”

Why ‘Below’ Stands Out in the Netflix Mystery Landscape

Netflix has no shortage of mystery and thriller content — from the globe-trotting suspense of The Night Agent to the family crime drama of Ozark to the mind-bending puzzles of Alice in Borderland. But Below distinguishes itself in several key ways.

First, the pacing. At six episodes, there’s no filler, no padding, no subplots that go nowhere. Every scene serves the story. McKeown and his team approached the series as an event — “We always wanted to treat it like an event, and that’s what Netflix wanted as well” — and the result is a tight, propulsive narrative that never overstays its welcome.

Second, the environmental themes. Below is, at its heart, a story about climate change — not in a preachy, didactic way, but through the lens of a community that is literally watching their world change around them. The dying fishing industry, the warming waters, the creatures being pushed into new territories — it’s all a reflection of real-world environmental collapse, grounded in the specific reality of Newfoundland’s outport communities.

Third, the creature design. The giant squid — or rather, the previously undetected ancestor of the North Atlantic giant squid — was developed in consultation with real marine biologists, including Dr. Annie Mercier of the Ocean Sciences Centre in Newfoundland. The result is a creature that feels both mythic and scientifically plausible, a monster that is terrifying and sympathetic in equal measure.

The Production: Filming on the Edge of the World

One of the most striking things about Below is its sense of place. The series was shot entirely on location in Newfoundland, and it shows. The landscapes are breathtaking — rugged coastlines, icy waters, small villages clinging to the edge of the continent. But the production was far from easy.

“Newfoundland is a hard place to exist even when you’re not making a giant TV show on the water,” Rhoades told Variety. “It likes to throw a lot of curveballs at you on a good day, and it’s a dangerous place. But I think that comes through on the screen.”

The VFX work on the squid itself was a massive undertaking, requiring coordination between multiple teams to get the scale right. “You don’t want it to be silly, obviously, but you want it to be fun, but it had to be scary,” Rhoades said. “I think one of our biggest challenges was like the scope of the eye outside of the submersible, just getting those things right.”

Final Verdict: A Must-Watch Limited Series

Below is the kind of show that reminds you why limited series can be such a powerful format. It tells a complete, satisfying story in six episodes, with no loose threads and no sense that the creators were stretching material thin. It’s a mystery, a family drama, an environmental parable, and a monster story all at once — and it’s one of the best things Netflix has released this year.

If you’re looking for your next binge, clear your schedule. Below is now streaming on Netflix, and it’s the kind of show that will have you thinking about it for days after that final, haunting shot of icebergs on the horizon.

And if you’re craving more Netflix mysteries after you finish, there’s plenty to explore — from the high-stakes thrills of Stranger Things to the elegant period drama of Bridgerton. But Below stands apart as something special — a show that trusts its audience to sit with ambiguity, to find horror in empathy, and to understand that sometimes the most terrifying thing isn’t the monster in the water, but the world we’re leaving behind for our children.