Josh Hartnett is back with a spooky thriller that’s keeping fans glued to their screens this spooky season, quickly climbing the charts and becoming a fan favorite. His new Netflix thriller, Below, has climbed to No. 1 on Rotten Tomatoes’ weekly list of the most popular TV shows. It’s a creepy underwater mystery featuring a small town in danger from a threatening sea creature. The limited series isn’t just a Rotten Tomatoes fan favorite; Below has also topped Netflix’s weekly English-language TV chart, making it one of the streaming platform’s most talked-about new releases.
Below Is Rotten Tomatoes’ Most Popular TV Show Right Now
@netflix There’s something in the water. BELOW starring Josh Hartnett is now playing #BelowNetflix
♬ original sound – Netflix – Netflix
In Rotten Tomatoes’ October 13 list of the 25 Most Popular TV Shows Right Now, Below claimed the top spot, ahead of other new and returning series. The show is also popular with Netflix viewers. For the week of October 5 through October 11, Below ranked No. 1 on Netflix’s English-language TV chart with 17 million views. Netflix also reported that the series had the most-viewed debut of a Canadian title on the platform.
What’s Below about? Good question.
What Is Netflix’s Below About?
@netflix SOMETHING’S IN THE WATER 👀 BELOW is now playing on Netflix #BelowNetflix
♬ original sound – Netflix – Netflix
Set in a small Newfoundland town, Below stars Hartnett as Calvin Penney, a fisherman whose community comes under threat from a mysterious sea creature. Calvin’s connection to the danger lurking beneath the water goes back to childhood. As a child, he lost his father in an underwater accident involving an unseen force. Now an adult with a son of his own, Calvin must protect his family and neighbors while grappling with his past and trying to save his community from a mysterious, terrifying sea creature.
Calvin teams up with a researcher played by Mackenzie Davis, but Below is about more than a monster in the water. It also explores family history, community survival and the secrets that can haunt a place from one generation to the next.
Below isn’t your average creature feature. It’s a supernatural mystery about a family and a community trying to survive, making this suspenseful limited series the perfect October binge.
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Josh Hartnett Is Back in the Spotlight
@siriusxmcanada Turns out the key to Josh Hartnett’s Newfoundland accent for Netflix Canada’s Below was a little CBC, a little fisherman shop talk and a whole lot of local help. 🇨🇦🎣 Listen to the full interview with Vicky Sparks on The Boost (Canada Talks, Ch. 160) at the link in our bio 🔗 #JoshHartnett #Newfoundland #BELOW #Netflix #TIFF26
♬ original sound – SiriusXM Canada – SiriusXM Canada
Below is also a reminder of how Hartnett’s career has evolved. After rising to prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s with films including The Faculty, Pearl Harbor and Black Hawk Down, the actor became one of Hollywood’s rare stars to step back from the spotlight. Rather than pursue the nonstop visibility that often comes with leading-man status, he chose a more selective career path.
In recent years, Hartnett has returned to high-profile projects, including Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer and M. Night Shyamalan’s thriller Trap. His role in Below puts him back in the spotlight with a fresh mystery that viewers can’t get enough of.
How Rotten Tomatoes’ Most Popular TV Rankings Work
Rotten Tomatoes’ Most Popular TV Shows list is different from its critics’ rankings. The weekly chart highlights shows attracting attention and engagement from Rotten Tomatoes users, and it is updated regularly. The ranking is separate from the Tomatometer, which reflects the percentage of professional critics’ reviews that are positive.
Rotten Tomatoes’ October 13 list showed Below with an 87% Tomatometer score. That score offers a separate measure of critical reception, while the popularity ranking signals which shows users are checking out and engaging with on the site.
Netflix’s own Top 10 chart measures something different, using viewing data. Below topping both Netflix’s weekly English-language TV chart and Rotten Tomatoes’ popularity list gives the series two distinct signals of momentum, and a suggestion of what you might watch this weekend.
What are you watching this weekend?
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