'Below': Canadian Netflix thriller starring Josh Hartnett just broke a major streaming record

The Canadian series Below, set and filmed in Newfoundland, hit a major milestone on Netflix. Created by Jesse McKeown and starring Josh Hartnett, Mackenzie Davis, Charlie Heaton, Natasha Henstridge, Ruby Stokes and Rohan Campbell, the series is the most-viewed debut of a Netflix Canadian title ever.

Since its release last week, the show has achieved 17 million views globally. For comparison, Nobody Wants This Season 1 debuted with 10.3 million views, the first season of The Gentlemen achieved 12.2 million views globally, and the recently released East of Eden series debuted with 6.5 million views on Netflix.

Below has remained the No. 1 series in more than 50 countries and is leading the way in having great Canadian content on Netflix. The show also contributed more than $90 million to Canada's economy, with most of that benefiting Newfoundland and Labrador.

'Every conversation was a detailed one'

While it didn't take long for audiences around the world to be hooked by Below, for McKeown, he described the process of making the series "a very slow light bulb" over 18 years, as he continued to visit Newfoundland with his wife, who is from the province.

"Spending a lot of time in that place and just immediately being struck by the landscape, and what a completely unique and crazy place it is, and just how dangerous it is. And then getting to know the people and getting to know my family, … hearing all the stories and hearing all these pieces of folklore, I just always wanted to set something here," McKeown told Yahoo Canada about his desire to set a show in Newfoundland.

Below isn't just a riveting thriller, it's completely unrivalled because of its originality, largely coming from the fact that McKeown led with specificity in establishing the fictional small Newfoundland fishing town, Snook's Arm, where the series is set.

For producer Jessica Rhoades, who previously worked on Ponies, Black Mirror, Sharp Objects and Station Eleven, to name just a few, she was instantly consumed by McKeown's writing.

"I know it sounds crazy, but I don't read [scripts] in a quiet place. I don't read them tucked away. I try to read … the way you are in the world. We're all busy. … And so I printed the scripts out, and I read them … on a train, because I was in the middle of a press tour," Rhoades shared. "I couldn't stop. … I had to get to a hotel that night and literally pull out the other one and read it before my dinner."

"Jesse's voice is so specific and incredible, and it's funny. … I knew that if we, as a team, struck the balance of his tone, the show would be something really special. … Every conversation was a detailed one. And then Jesse and Chris Hatcher, one of our producers, did an incredible job of immersing everyone who … was from away in this cultural specificity. Jesse's mother-in-law [was] having us over for dinner!"

(L to R) Azriel Dalman as Young Calvin, Kamryn Pliva as Young Ruth, and Rhiannon Morgan as Brenda Penney in episode 101 of Below (Netflix)

'These people are going to keep going and … survive'

Not only did McKeown create this incredibly distinct story, with characters that are specific to Newfoundland culture, he leaned into a side of Newfoundland that's often not shown. It's not the bright postcard images of the Canadian region, McKeown taps into the eerie spookiness and dangerous elements of the landscape.

"It's so beautiful, but it's so rugged on the other hand," McKeown said. "There are these famous Newfoundland tourism ads, which are … so effective, but everybody from Newfoundland is like, 'Yeah, that's not what it's like.' And then surviving the winter is a full-time job in and of itself."

"I just really wanted to tap into that feeling of how dangerous [it is]. People get swept away there. … Cape Spear, which is one of these beautiful places, people go out and get their pictures taken, and they just get swept away to sea. And so there's a constant reminder that you're sort of teetering between life and death. And I just wanted to tap into that sense of resiliency that, no matter what, no matter how hard it is, these people are going to keep going and … survive."

Woven into the story of Below is also exposure to issues of resettlement, which began in the 1950. It's a significant part of Newfoundland and Labrador history that locals are still grappling with today.

"The resettlement story is very well known in Newfoundland, and … it's not very well known outside. Even though versions of that are taking place all over the world," McKeown said. "You talk to anybody in Newfoundland, and they will have either been affected by resettlement, or have somebody in their family, in their past, in their history, who was affected by it. … Whether you're being forced to move just across the bay, or to the other side of the island, or to a different country, it's a very violent experience."

"There are still communities in Newfoundland that are trying to … decide whether they're going to pack up and leave, or not. And so it just felt like that was part of what I wanted to talk about. And with climate change, … we're all going to be climate refugees at some point, the vulnerable among us first."

While Below continues to see great success, McKeown hopes that if viewers take one thing away from the series, aside from being entertained by the mysterious thrills, it's that, in some way, they start "falling in love" with Newfoundland.