Netflix's Below Tops Global Charts Despite Low Audience Score

Netflix's Below is the most-watched show on the platform—despite a lukewarm audience score. The Stephen King-esque thriller is already a global phenomenon, but its real test comes next week.

By The Long Shot10 Oct 20261 min read

Current hype level54

Netflix’s latest thriller, Below, has stormed the global charts — just days after Mike Flanagan’s Carrie hit Prime Video. The limited series, starring Josh Hartnett as a fisherman haunted by a childhood sea monster encounter, dropped on October 8 and immediately vaulted to the top of FlixPatrol’s worldwide and US watch lists.

It’s now Netflix’s most-watched show globally, despite a modest 60% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, based on fewer than 50 ratings at press time. That number is expected to climb fast. Critics, meanwhile, are more generous: 82% with 34 reviews, earning it Certified Fresh status. The contrast between audience and critic reception is sharp, but not uncommon for new releases.

What’s unusual is how quickly Below has dominated streaming metrics, especially in a crowded October lineup. The show’s eerie small-town setting, trauma-driven plot, and supernatural undertones have drawn early comparisons to Stephen King’s work. Even though it’s not adapted from any of his novels. Charlie Heaton plays Hartnett’s son, Mackenzie Davis is the town’s enigmatic doctor.

The timing is no accident: Below arrived the same day Flanagan’s Carrie premiered, marking a high-stakes showdown between two horror-adjacent prestige projects. One is a streamer’s gamble on psychological dread. The other, a legacy adaptation. For now, Below is winning the race.

But with only 50+ audience votes logged, its true verdict remains fluid. The next week will tell if the hype holds, or if viewers find the atmosphere too heavy, or the pacing too slow. Either way, the conversation isn’t just about the show anymore. It’s about what kind of stories audiences want when they click play.

And whether a 60% score can still mean a hit.