Netflix's Answer To Apple TV's Widow's Bay Is Now Streaming With Glowing Reviews

It turns out that after the booming success of "Widow's Bay," which won a shocking 14 Emmys this year, something else is in the water, only this time it's washing up on Netflix shores and stars Josh Hartnett.

This week saw the release of the six-episode limited series "Below," which follows the former star of cult classics like the alien-invasion movie "The Faculty" and the bone-chilling vampire movie "30 Days of Night" as he goes full Quint from "Jaws." Hartnett plays a fisherman with a dark past that comes back to haunt him as mysterious attacks and boating accidents send his island town into chaos. All answers point to a monstrous presence beneath the waves that Calvin Penney (Hartnett) faced as a child, and he's determined to make sure the creature doesn't take his own kids after all these years.

Just as "Widow's Bay" tapped into the same terror vibe as "Midnight Mass" and Stephen King classics, "Below" seems to use the same bait. Not only is there monstrous activity causing trouble, but there are also visions of mysterious sea hags haunting the island community that refuses to accept the truth. Thankfully, Hartnett finds backup in Mackenzie Davis as a marine biologist, Dr. Fonda Howander, while one of his own kids, Wade Penney, makes first contact with the supernatural goings-on. Thankfully, he's played by Charlie Heaton of "Stranger Things" fame, so it really shouldn't be anything he hasn't seen before.

With Netflix ending its most popular supernatural show and Apple TV dominating with its own, it makes sense that the big red N found a replacement to bring some friendly competition and that critics like what they see. Kaiya Shunyata over on RogerEbert said, "As pressing as it is entertaining, the six-episode series shapes up to be one of the year's best and most poignant." Ed Power of The Daily Telegraph also praised the show for its beastly elements, saying, "When it wants to be just another monster caper, 'Below' more than rises to the occasion."

At the time of writing, the show has earned a commendable 81% on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics praising it for leaning into classic conventions and pulling it off. Sarah Dempster of The Guardian called the show "an old-fashioned tale of sea monsters, isolation and plaid-clad tenacity, replete with exploding viscera and goofy nods to such era-defining horrors as 'The Thing,' 'The Fog' and 'Stranger Things.'"

Admittedly, with all this eerie goings-on, it's hard not to compare Netflix's new show to "Widow's Bay," something even its showrunners have acknowledged; thankfully, the creative crew behind it stayed the course and delivered on what they'd always hoped. There was just a slight sliver of panic when they first got a glimpse of Apple's much-loved series.

With the Matthew Rhys-starring series catching even more attention after its booming success at the Emmys, putting "Below" side-by-side was inevitable. Both shows are driven by plot points involving determined heroes who know the truth and a son who somehow gets caught up in the mix, but executive producer Jessica Rhoades sees some differences.

"Jesse's [McKeown, showrunner and creator] scripts were so different and so specific. And I think it's different when you talk about them in the broad sense, and you talk about them in a logline, or you see maybe even a trailer. But like those were very different scripts," Rhoades explained to The Hollywood Reporter. "There were very different north stars and goals. And for me, I was not worried about that because I knew we were making different shows when they were even on parallel tracks."

McKeown remembered "Widow's Bay" coming to his attention and causing a brief moment of panic. "I wasn't aware of it until after we wrapped, and so my first reaction was, 'Oh s**t,'" the show's creator confessed. "But everyone who watched it assured me that it was very different."

Judge for yourself with "Below," available on Netflix now.