Josh Hartnett reveals police car crash as Below sets Netflix Canada record

Netflix's Newfoundland thriller Below has become the streamer's biggest Canadian launch on record, and star Josh Hartnett has used the moment to reveal a serious car crash during filming.

The six-episode miniseries stars Hartnett and Charlie Heaton as a father and son in a Newfoundland fishing village, the Los Angeles Times reported. Hartnett plays local fisherman Calvin Penney. The show is characterised as a limited series, meaning it is designed as one self-contained story rather than an ongoing drama.

The numbers are big. Below opened to 17 million views in a shortened debut week, then rose to 21.2 million views in its first full week, The Hollywood Reporter reported. That 21.2-million-view week is the most views in a single week ever recorded for a Canadian original title on Netflix.

Hartnett described the crash in an interview published on 20 October. He said he and his driver were coming home from work at about 1 a.m. when a police car running a red light T-boned their vehicle.

He said he was OK afterwards, while his driver suffered whiplash and was still in pain. The impact broke the axle and smashed the engine of his car and broke the front end of the police car, he said.

The incident was first reported in St. John's in September last year. At the time, CBC reported that Hartnett was a passenger in an SUV in a collision with a Royal Newfoundland Constabulary car and was sent to hospital.

Hartnett said he had not spoken about the accident before because he wanted the show to be the story. He also told The Hollywood Reporter he had not heard of Widow's Bay until he saw its trailer.

What makes this stand out is the pairing of breakout viewing with a crew story that stayed quiet until now. For fans, this means the record run and the off-screen scare arrived together.