Jaws fans, take note. Netflix's new sea-creature thriller Below has spent two straight weeks as the most-watched English-language series on the platform, pulling in 21.2 million views in its second week alone. Starring Josh Hartnett, Mackenzie Davis and Charlie Heaton, it's a six-episode limited series you can finish in a single weekend. Here's what you need to know before you hit play.
A Two-Week Run at No. 1
Below dropped all six episodes on Netflix on October 8. It opened at No. 1 on Netflix's English TV chart with 17 million views, which Netflix says is the biggest debut ever for one of its Canadian titles. The following week, from October 12 to 18, it stayed on top and grew to 21.2 million views.
That puts it ahead of every other English-language series on the service, including Florence Pugh's East of Eden, which came in second that week with 6.2 million views.
What Below Is About
The series is set in Snook's Arm, a fictional fishing town in Newfoundland, on Canada's Atlantic coast. When an unidentified creature starts terrorizing the waters around it, a hardened fisherman named Calvin Penney, played by Hartnett, has to protect his family, his neighbors and a way of life that's already disappearing.
The rest of the cast includes:
- Mackenzie Davis as Dr. Fonda Howander
- Charlie Heaton, best known as Jonathan Byers in Stranger Things, as Wade Penney
- Ruby Stokes, Rohan Campbell, Willow Kean and Kaleb Horn as members of the Penney family and town
Jesse McKeown created the show and serves as its showrunner and writer. Netflix rates it TV-MA.
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How Long It Takes to Watch
This is a short commitment. Below has six episodes running between 37 and 47 minutes each, so the full season takes under five hours. You can watch it in one long evening, or spread it over a Saturday and Sunday.
Netflix bills it as a limited series, so it's designed as a one-season story.
Is It Like Jaws?
In some ways, yes. The Playlist called the influence of Jaws “unmistakable,” and the setup will feel familiar: a small coastal town, a threat in the water and a man who refuses to back down. But Below plays its horror slowly. It leans on family drama and dread more than shocks.
That's what critics seem to like about it. RogerEbert.com called it “one of the year's best and most poignant” shows, praising its eerie photography, the performances from Hartnett and Heaton, and the way it avoids jump scares. The reviewer also pointed to its commentary on tech companies and billionaires pushing rural communities aside. On Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an 82% critics' score from 34 reviews.
Should You Watch It This Weekend?
Start it if you like:
- Creature stories in the vein of Jaws
- Slow-burn thrillers where the tension builds before the answers come
- Small-town family dramas with a dark edge
Skip it if you want nonstop action or a scare every five minutes. Below takes its time, and that patience is the whole point.
With six episodes and two weeks at the top of Netflix's charts, it's one of the easiest picks on the service right now. Just maybe don't watch the last episode right before a trip to the beach.
