St. John’s-born Stephen Dunn (Closet Monster) along with veteran director Helen Shaver (The Penguin), from St. Thomas, Ont. and the U.K.’s Jamie Childs (The Sandman), are set as the directors of Netflix’s untitled Newfoundland limited series.

The six-episode project was announced in February and is created and showrun by Toronto-born Jesse McKeown, who was a writer and co-showrunner for Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy. It follows a hard-bitten fisherman who, when his town is terrorized by a mysterious sea creature, must fight to protect his family, community and vanishing way of life.

McKeown is an executive producer alongside Childs, Sweet Angel Baby producer Chris Hatcher and Sharon Hall. Previously announced as series writers are Toronto-based Karen Walton (Orphan Black), St. John’s-based Republic of Doyle co-creator and co-showrunner Perry Chafe and Toronto-based Natty Zavitz (Edging).

In March, Netflix Canada tapped Armand Leo as its new senior manager of production management. Leo’s roster of productions includes the Newfoundland series.

“There’s an atmosphere here in Newfoundland that defies simple description – a place rich with folklore and quiet magic, where reality blurs into the surreal,” said Childs in a statement. “Jesse McKeown’s story doesn’t explain it – it evokes it – and I’m so excited to help bring that feeling to audiences everywhere.”

Image courtesy of Netflix; Pictured (L-R): Jamie Childs, Stephen Dunn (photo by JJ Geiger) and Helen Shaver