Netflix’s latest offering, The Waterfront, plunges viewers into the dark, turbulent world of a powerful family in a small North Carolina coastal town. Created by Kevin Williamson, known for hits like Scream and Dawson’s Creek, this new crime drama is described by Williamson himself as his most personal work yet, drawing inspiration from his own upbringing on a North Carolina creek.
The series positions itself as a pulpy family saga steeped in violence, secrets, land disputes, and complex legacies, earning comparisons to the popular Yellowstone formula but with a distinctive coastal twist.
Meet the Buckleys: Local Royalty with Deep Secrets
At the heart of the drama are the Buckleys, a family that holds significant sway in the fictional town of Havenport. Far from merely being well-known, they operate a struggling fishery and are determined to maintain their dominance, resorting to illegal activities to survive. They are local royalty, yes, but also deeply fractured, burdened by circumstances and harboring profound resentment for one another, even as a fierce duty to protect the family name prevails.
Harlan Buckley (Holt McCallany): The gruff patriarch is a morally ambiguous figure described as a complex mix of flaws and good qualities. Despite recent health issues prompting him to step back, Harlan, a man known for drinking, womanizing, and a shady past, is fiercely protective of his family and the land they’ve held for generations—land he sees as their legacy.
Belle Buckley (Maria Bello): Harlan’s wife and the family’s matriarch, Belle is a survivor with immense tenacity. She secretly runs the fishery through questionable means, driven by a singular goal: saving the family, often by manipulating situations and trying to save Harlan from himself. Williamson credits his own mother as an inspiration for Belle’s strength.
Cane Buckley (Jake Weary): The younger Buckley sibling, Cane has a complicated relationship with his father. He’s described as raw, charismatic, and complicated, wearing his heart on his sleeve. While central to the fishery’s business and enjoying the money, he views it as an escape from the life he truly wanted. Cane finds himself in trouble with a drug ring, turning a side hustle into a major problem.
Bree Buckley (Melissa Benoist): The intelligent daughter of the family, Bree is recovering from addiction and battling demons from her past. Having lost custody of her teenage son, Diller (Brady Hepner), she faces his resentment while trying to rebuild their relationship and earn a more significant role in the family enterprises. Bree’s struggles are deeply rooted in trauma from her childhood.
Shawn (Rafael Silva): A newcomer bartender, Shawn integrates into the family with a secret: he is Harlan’s illegitimate son from an affair decades prior. He came seeking his father after his mother’s death and gradually finds acceptance, though his presence adds complexity, particularly with Cane.
Other key figures include Cane’s resilient wife Peyton (Danielle Campbell), who is more observant than she seems, and Jenna (Humberly Gonzalez), Cane’s high school sweetheart who complicates his marriage.
Escalating Crime and Deadly Secrets
The Waterfront quickly establishes its intense pace. The early episodes don’t start slow; they know how to escalate swiftly. Bodies begin to pile up surprisingly fast, double-crossing commences immediately, and flirtatious glances rapidly turn into dangerous trysts. Mysterious strangers don’t remain mysterious for long.
The series leans into its coastal setting, incorporating dark and moody crimes that range from murder by fishing net to intimidation involving shark bait and hiding bodies in swamps hoping alligators will do the rest.
The family’s entanglement in crime is central. Beyond their own operations, they become linked to more powerful organizations, including the Parker family, described by Williamson as a “school of sharks” compared to the Buckleys’ “big fish” status in Havenport. The show explores the dark underbelly of the town, revealing figures like the mysterious “Owen,” who is eventually unmasked as Sheriff Porter (Michael Gaston), a childhood friend of Harlan driven by jealousy and greed.
A Shocking Season Finale
The first season culminates in a series of dramatic events that raise the stakes considerably. Antagonists like Sheriff Porter and the ultrawealthy heroin kingpin Grady (Topher Grace), whom Williamson wrote specifically to be a “delicious, interesting bad guy,” meet their ends. Cane Buckley notably kills Grady during a rescue mission, a pivotal moment that Jake Weary describes as a fight-or-flight response to protect his family, though one that leaves Cane conflicted.
The finale also reveals significant family secrets and shifts power dynamics. Shawn is fully accepted into the family after the reveal of his parentage. Perhaps most shockingly, matriarch Belle Buckley secretly aligns herself with Emmett Parker, a powerful drug kingpin whose father killed Harlan’s father years ago. The Parkers see Belle as pragmatic and levelheaded, someone they can truly partner with, positioning her to potentially usurp Harlan’s role as patriarch. This clandestine meeting forms a major cliffhanger, especially considering the Parker family’s history with the Buckleys.
Other plot lines converge violently; a betrayal by Belle’s lover, Wes (Dave Annable), leads to potential financial ruin for the Buckleys, culminating in Wes being beaten and forced into loyalty with the Parkers, naming Belle as his “boss.” Bree’s near-death experience underscores the real danger the family faces, while Peyton’s ominous statement in the finale hints at her growing awareness and potential future role within the criminal world.
Kevin Williamson emphasizes that the show is fundamentally about “messy, broken families trying to fix themselves,” grappling with unresolved past issues. Characters like Bree are confronting deep trauma, while Cane struggles with regret over the path he’s taken. The intense, sometimes gory moments are deliberate, designed to jolt the audience and explore the aftermath of visceral events.
The Waterfront* delivers a potent mix of family drama, crime, and small-town secrets, promising a wild ride as the Buckleys navigate internal power struggles and external threats in their fight for survival and legacy on the North Carolina coast.
