Below (miniseries)

Main

• Josh Hartnett as Calvin Penney, a fisherman and iceberg harvester in Snook’s Arm
• Mackenzie Davis as Dr. Fonda Howander, a marine biologist at the Seal Cove Ocean Science Centre who is often seen barefoot in her laboratory. McKeown based her off of real-life marine biologist Dr. Annie Mercier.^[2]
• Charlie Heaton as Wade Penney, Calvin's oldest son
• Ruby Stokes as Mary Penney, Calvin's daughter who attends a university in Montreal
• Kaleb Horn as Noah Townsend, Mary's boyfriend from Montreal
• Rohan Campbell as Jay Penney, Calvin's youngest son who works in Alberta
• Willow Kean as Ruth Penney, the harbourmaster in Snook's Arm and Calvin's older sister

Recurring

• Mary Walsh as Linda Best, the Mayor of Snook's Arm who also works as a bartender
• Natasha Henstridge as Jan Hicks, a potter who is the local Resettlement Liaison Officer with a secret of her own
• Joshua Close as Fishery Officer Jaxon Noseworthy, a Fisheries and Oceans Canada officer in Snook's Arm
• Shawn Doyle as Walton Budgell, an old childhood friend of Calvin
• Marthe Bernard as Maggie Budgell, Walton's daughter who was hallucinated as an "old hag"

Guest

• Joel Thomas Hynes as Jerry Biles, a rival iceberg harvester of Calvin
• Darrin Baker as Keith Pratt
• Tantoo Cardinal as Anik, a contact of Dr. Howander
• Jeff Yung as Jojo
• Josh Cruddas as Connor Kopecko, a loan shark that Jay owes money to
• Matthew Worko as Mo Abdullahi, a thug who works for Connor
• David Wenham as Steve Bruner, the commander of the RSV Sir John Franklin
• Alexander Karim as Dr. Hugo Sayed, a legendary marine biologist
• Cathy Jones as Irene Tulk, resident of Snook's Arm and B&B host for Connor and Mo.
• Andy Jones as Clurrance Budgell, Walton's father and Maggie's grandfather.
• Frank Moore as Jim Crocker, a prominent member of the Crockers who are one of Newfoundland's oldest merchant-class families that have power over Snook's Arm and other fishing villages.

Development

The six-episode limited series was ordered by Netflix in February 2025 with Jesse McKeown serving as creator, writer, and showrunner. McKeown believed that Newfoundland would "be a great place for something big and something kind of epic" given its rugged coastlines and close-knit communities.^[3] In choosing to focus on a mysterious sea creature, McKeown cited the province's local supernatural legends:

Folks here have been dealing with unexplained phenomena and tragic events for hundreds of years. [...] Killer storms. Maritime disasters. The collapse of the cod fishery. People going hungry. Surviving the winter here can be a horror movie in and of itself. So, these strange events fit into a long history of unimaginable difficulties.^[4]

Other writers of the series include Karen Walton, Perry Chafe and Natty Zavitz.^[1] Jamie Child, Helen Shaver, Stephen Dunn served as directors of the series.^[5] McKeown, Childs, Jessica Rhoades, Chris Hatcher, Louise Sutton, Sharon Hall served as executive producers of the series.^[6]

Casting

In May 2025, it was announced that Josh Hartnett had been tapped for the lead role of the series, in addition to executive producing.^[7] In June 2025, Mackenzie Davis was cast opposite Hartnett.^[8] In July 2025, Charlie Heaton, Natasha Henstridge, Joshua Close and Rohan Campbell joined the cast.^[9][10][11] In August 2025, Willow Kean, Ruby Stokes and Kaleb Horn joined the series.^[12]

Filming

Production of the series began in June 2025.^[12] Much of the filming was done in Brigus South with the town's existing homes being made to look like other buildings such as a church and a fish plant.^[13] Although the show is set in the fictional town of Snook's Arm, it does share its name with the former Newfoundland village of Snook's Arm which was resettled in 2018.