What to know
- Below is a six-episode Canadian horror miniseries set in the fictional Newfoundland town of Snook’s Arm, where a sea creature threatens a fishing community.
- Rohan Campbell praised Newfoundland as the perfect setting, saying viewers can “feel Newfoundland all over” the series and highlighting the importance of seeing Canada represented on such a large scale.
- Campbell and Ruby Stokes said family, community and the meaning of home are at the heart of the thriller, with the story exploring distance, love and returning to where you come from.
- The cast grew close while filming, including getting Screeched-in together, and Below premieres on Netflix Thursday, Oct. 8, following its TIFF premiere.
A Canadian-based thriller miniseries is coming to Netflix this week after premiering at TIFF last month.
Below is a limited thriller series hitting streaming on Oct. 8, bringing audiences into Newfoundland, where a sea creature wreaks havoc.
Ahead of its Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) premiere, a couple of the show’s star cast sat down inside Now Toronto’s Belvedere suite and spoke about their time filming the project.
‘You can feel Newfoundland all over’
Rohan Campbell and Ruby Stokes play the children of a fisherman father, fighting to protect his family against a mysterious sea creature.
The story takes place in Newfoundland, a choice made by the show’s creator Jesse McKeown, and a location Campbell called “heaven on earth.”
“I think it had to be there because that’s where Jesse’s heart was,” Campbell said. “I think the basis of that reason is Jesse… met his partner and fell in love out there, and you fall in love with Newfoundlanders when you go. It’s not your choice.”
Campbell added that the show itself, which is set in the fictionalized Newfoundland town of Snook’s Arm, captures the province with every scene a viewer sees.
“When you watch the show, there’s no empty spaces. You can feel Newfoundland all over it,” Campbell said.
Being raised in Cochrane, Alta., Campbell explained the significance of seeing Canada on the silver screen.
“It had to be Newfoundland. I don’t think it works anywhere else, and as a Canadian, it’s so exciting to see Canada, on that scale, be represented that way,” he said. “It’s amazing.”
Campbell also joked about how learning the Newfie accent with his fellow castmates was a “trauma bonding” experience.
“We all have to sound like we’re from the same place in Newfoundland, so it’s difficult that way,” he explained. “So, it was amazing to have everybody.”
Family within the suspense
While the story was created to keep viewers on the edge of their seats, it also encompasses nuanced emotion surrounding distance, love, and family.
Both Stokes and Campbell explained how the series kept the theme of family at its centre.
“The heart of the show is family-oriented,” Campbell said. “The core of the show is him fighting to preserve his family and his community and his way of life.”
Campbell’s character Jay lives in Alberta, a point touched on in the series, especially when Jay’s father asks him to move back home.
It’s a message that struck a chord with Campbell personally.
“I’m from a tiny town in Alberta, and I wanted to go away and figure out who I was… and the funniest thing about it is, you are where you come from, and you have to leave to sort of come back to it,” he explained. “We’re in a time where we go out to find community or go to cities, and often the truth is that your community and place in the world is often where you’re deep rooted.”
It brought out a bigger conversation on what “home” meant to the cast.
“What I really realised… was ‘yes, home is a place, but it’s also a feeling,’ and I felt at home in Newfoundland,” Stokes added.
The home and family aspect was evident behind the camera as well, with the cast getting “Screeched-in” together, a ceremony that makes someone an honorary Newfoundlander after declaring a specific decree, eating a piece of bologna, kissing a frozen cod, and taking a shot of Screech rum.
“We went straight in with it. We all met each other, but I think we all got on really well,” Stokes explained. “We got Screeched-in together, and we did lots of activities together, outside of filming because our dynamic as people really worked.”
“[My] favourite thing about loving family is sometimes it’s a choice against things that have happened… that’s like true love to me,” Campbell explained. “I think you can feel it in the show.”
Campbell added that he gets emotional watching some of the show’s scenes, purely out of love.
“I get emotional because I really care about these people; it’s a beautiful moment,” he said.
For anyone also looking to experience a wave of emotions, the six-episode limited horror series Below premieres on Netflix on Thursday, Oct. 8.
