Netflix’s six-episode thriller Below follows a giant squid terrorizing the fictional Newfoundland town of Snook’s Arm. Its coastal setting is rooted in real places and histories, including the resettlement of remote fishing communities and the region’s changing marine environment.
Production designer Emmanuel Fréchette said the history of more than 300 resettled Newfoundland towns helped draw him to the project. Creator Jesse McKeown had also spent years visiting the region and wanted the series to reflect its culture. The production built most of its sets, taking inspiration from the simple, practical homes of the coast, which Fréchette described as architecture shaped by local needs and survival.
The fictional Snook’s Arm was represented by Brigus South, chosen for its deep inlet and connection to the water. The crew built about 80% of the town’s on-screen locations, including a fish plant, a hall and a wharf. Existing buildings were adapted for other scenes, including a home converted into a church.
Twillingate, on Newfoundland’s Iceberg Alley, supplied footage of icebergs for scenes involving Calvin, played by Josh Hartnett, harvesting ice. During location scouting, Fréchette said, the temperature could fall suddenly when an iceberg drifted into the bay. Icebergs typically travel along this stretch of coast from late April through July.
St. John’s served as the production’s base, while the Ocean Sciences Centre north of the city appeared as the marine research facility where Dr. Fonda Howander, played by Mackenzie Davis, works. The production also used the Pouch Cove Heritage Society building as the interior of Fishermen’s Hall. After the structure was found to be unsafe, the production’s carpenter and engineer repaired it for filming, helping with its restoration for the community.
Scenes set in Calvin’s abandoned childhood town were filmed at Biscayne Cove, an actual resettled settlement reached by a dirt road that the production had to grade. The area can also be reached on a 4.3-mile section of the East Coast Trail. Bay Bulls provided a harbor for the research vessel and the submersible scenes, while a lake in Brigus stood in for the sea at Pittman’s fish farm.
The exterior of Linda’s Bar was filmed at a converted home in Brigus South, and its interior was shot at the Rising Tide Convenience shop in Harbour Main. In one scene, Noah’s ceremonial “screeched-in” fish kiss used a prop, but the fish itself was real and frozen.
The locations have attracted increased interest from travelers, according to Booking.com data cited in the report. Searches by Americans for St. John’s rose 16.9% compared with the previous year, while searches for Twillingate increased 123.7%.
Sources: Condé Nast Traveler.