'Below' Review
Limited Series.
Aired On: Netflix.
Release Date: 10/08/26.
Genre: Drama. Horror. Mystery. Thriller.
The Verdict: A Must-See
There’s a hole under every lake out there. Or so it seems. After Jane Schoenbrun’s Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, every body of water has developed its own hole, lurking beneath the surface and harboring local secrets that may or may not drive the protagonists’ narrative arc. In Camp Miasma, it was Kris’s sexual awakening, but in the Netflix series Below, the secret is far more potent than that.
The miniseries is led by none other than the most charismatic star on earth, a.k.a. Josh Hartnett. Now every millennial gal worth her walkman knew that seeing Hartnett on a movie poster guaranteed a swoon-worthy performance and a massive dose of sex appeal. But even now, as he enters dilf territory, he still carries himself with the nonchalance of superstardom, mixed with the undeniable charm of a star who's seen the highs and lows of the industry.
In Below, Hartnett plays the hottest fisherman anyone could ever find in a small coastal town called Snook’s Arm, where strange incidents are happening partly because of climate change, and there are supernatural elements lurking beneath the water, waiting to swallow everything in their wake. But he has big dreams of becoming an ice harvester while battling traumas of the past, where he witnessed the death of his dad in front of his eyes. Every genre TV lead needs his familial drama, daddy issues, and incurable depression. Luckily for us, Hartnett is joined by the stunning Mackenzie Davis, who plays a highly intelligent, workaholic marine biologist, which immediately brings to mind Dr. Pam Blondell as she investigates the deep waters in the 1995 TV series Flipper, an installment of the long-running movie and TV franchise.
Unfortunately, as with everything in modern TV, the miniseries is part environmental disaster, part creature feature. The environmental part doesn’t work as well as the horror part, and that brings us to the plight of everyday TV (and, sadly, movies). In the past, films were made with entertainment as the main focus. Before film critics, movie analysis websites, and film essay YouTube channels existed, creators made films with the subtext sitting lazily in the back of their minds. Viewers could either dig deeper than the obvious or ignore it and have as much fun as they could with the fantastic sound and graphic effects, and swoon over the hot actors. Nowadays, TV series shove big themes and important global messages down our throats, and if we dare to ignore them, we miss countless, rather pointless, plot points and secondary character arcs.
After the massive success and award sweep of Widow’s Bay, the hunt for miniseries about small coastal towns has never been more fervent. Below offers that with a twist: a little less originality and a much cooler leading man (sorry, not sorry, Matthew Rhys). Despite the drama and intense family dynamics, what makes this series work is the contrast between the cozy, salt-air feel of the coastal city and the looming danger of tentacle-heavy creatures that plan to swallow small towns whole.
Where to Watch:
