For five seasons spanning nine years, Charlie Heaton was a core part of Stranger Things’ survivor squad, portraying the emotionally wavering shutterbug Jonathan Byers. It’s the kind of role the actor will likely always be remembered as, but Heaton won’t be resting on those laurels now that Stranger Things is done. He’s bringing forth a new generation of the Shelby family for a new Peaky Blinders sequel series following the Immortal Man film released in March, and we now know more about his Netflix creature non-feature team-up with Josh Hartnett.
- Premiere Date: October 8, 2026
- Creator and Showrunner: Jesse McKeown (The Umbrella Academy, The Sinner)
- Cast: Josh Hartnett (Penny Dreadful), Charlie Heaton (Stranger Things), Mackenzie Davis (Station Eleven), Rohan Campbell (Halloween Ends), Willow Kean (The King Tide), Ruby Stokes (Lockwood & Co.) and Kaleb Horn (Chucky)
- Episode Count: 6
Heaton will be back on the 2026 TV schedule for the upcoming Netflix series Below, which now has an official premiere date of October 8, with a bunch of new details also revealed for Heaton’s character, as well as those portrayed by the rest of the cast. And it sounds like he’ll once again be squaring off against a mysterious and potentially deadly creature that begins terrorizing a small town. Only this show sounds slightly more rooted in reality, with a pronounced lack of demodogs.
The story sounds a bit like Midnight Mass by way of sea creature features like Jaws and Leviathan instead of vampiric lore. The story is set within a small Newfoundland town, and centers on Hartnett's Calvin Penney, a fisherman and family patriarch whose existence has been darkened for decades by the mysterious death of his father. Things take a harrowing turn once the town becomes the terrorized target of an as-yet-unidentified sea creature.
With his big heart and stubborn head, Calvin is the father of three kids (as portrayed by Heaton, Ruby Stokes, and Rohan Campbell), and of course makes it a priority to keep his family safe from whatever's lurking in those waters. To do so, he partners with a marine researcher visiting the area (played by Mackenzie Davis) to figure out what the creature is, and how its existence ties into the island's own dark mysteries.
To be sure, though Below will be chock-full of scares and moments of high tension, it won't be without the innate humor and heart that comes with stories about close-knit families trying to keep their community from being destroyed. Stress can easily make someone hysterical, after all.
It sounds like Charlie Heaton & Co. will have their work cut out for them when the Canada-set series drops. And yes, there will be twists. (I'm calling it now: Josh Hartnett was the real sea monster all along.)
Below is set to cause a splash or two on October 8 via Netflix subscription, and check out all the other upcoming horror TV shows that are on the way.
