Josh Hartnett kicked off his career in a manner few actors could only dream of. He made his feature film debut in 1998’s Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later opposite Jamie Lee Curtis, which released six days after his 20th birthday and was a commercial success. Then, Robert Rodriguez’s The Faculty, which marks Hartnett’s first leading role in a feature-length film, released on Christmas Day that same year, achieving similar success at the box office and it is now considered a cult classic.
By 1999, Hartnett was one of Hollywood’s most promising young heartthrobs and was highly sought after accordingly. In the years that followed, Hartnett would go on to land prominent, if not leading roles in a flurry of major productions, including Sofia Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides, Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down, Michael Bay’s Pearl Harbor, the hit rom-com 40 Days and 40 Nights, neo-noir masterpiece Sin City, and the vampire horror flick 30 Days of Night.
Hartnett had established himself as a bankable star with the acting chops to match, yet from 2008 onwards his star began to wane, starring in a slew of commercial flops and B-movies that weren’t all bad, but it was certainly a far cry from his peak. The only production of real note during this period of his career was John Logan’s popular TV show Penny Dreadful, which ran for three seasons between 2014 and 2016.
However, the actor’s career has experienced a recent resurgence, after landing key roles in Christopher Nolan’s 2023 Oscar-winning juggernaut Oppenheimer (with the ‘Barbenheimer’ phenomenon certainly introducing the actor to a new generation of viewers), M. Night Shyamalan’s 2024 psychological thriller Trap (which was shot in Ontario) and most recently, 2025’s Fight or Flight, with critics singling out Hartnett’s performance in the latter two films in particular. As for Oppenheimer, being cast by Christopher Nolan is testament enough of your acting ability.
He also made notable guest appearances in the acclaimed and hugely popular TV shows Black Mirror and The Bear, and just a few days ago one of his next projects was announced, a yet untitled limited series that is set in Newfoundland, as well as being filmed there. The show will focus on a small Canadian town that is being terrorized by a mysterious sea creature, with the official logline describing Hartnett’s character as “a hard-bitten fisherman [who] must fight to protect his family, his community and his vanishing way of life.” Intriguingly, the show’s description alone is reminiscent of 30 Days of Night, so Hartnett could really thrive with such material.
Canadian writer Jesse McKeown, who has previously worked on the likes of The Umbrella Academy, The Sinner, and Canada’s own Letterkenny, will serve as the lead writer and showrunner. Hartnett, meanwhile, will also serve as an executive producer alongside Jessica Rhoades, who has previously produced acclaimed shows such as Station Eleven, Sharp Objects, The Affair, and Black Mirror. The involvement of industry heavyweights such as Hartnett and Rhoades could very well signal this as a show to watch out for, and it could mark another hit for Hartnett, and indeed Canada!
Little else is known about the series so far, but in the coming months expect to hear further details on the cast, crew, and, of course, the show’s title.
