Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this article:
- The new Netflix show The Waterfront was created by North Carolina native Kevin Williamson.
- The family crime drama is inspired by true events from Williamson’s own life, including his father’s criminal history.
- Williamson made a specific promise to his dad before the making of the show.
With his fishing empire on the verge of ruin, North Carolina father Harlan Buckley proves he will use whatever means necessary to preserve his family’s legacy. That’s the premise of The Waterfront, a new Netflix show arriving Thursday.
For series creator and executive producer Kevin Williamson, the series is both a twist-filled spectacle and lovingly-crafted tribute to his own family. “It’s just about a bunch of people who make mistakes. They do some bad things and then they get in deeper and deeper and deeper,” Williamson said.
Although the family crime saga isn’t a true story, The Waterfront is loosely inspired by real events from Williamson’s life and showcases the geography of his home region. Here’s what we know about the show’s setting and plot as well as their real-life significance.
The series was actually filmed in North Carolina
The eight-episode saga of the Buckley family is set in the coastal city of Haventown, North Carolina. Haventown isn’t a real place, but Netflix’s Tudum has shared The Waterfront was filmed in real locations around Wilmington and Southport in the Tar Heel State. According to Southport officials, several of the city’s popular restaurants are featured prominently in the show, including the Fishy Fishy Cafe.
The region is familiar territory for Williamson, who was born a couple hours northeast in New Bern. Several of Williamson’s other notable projects—including the cult classic 1997 horror film I Know What You Did Last Summer and Dawson’s Creek—were also filmed in the area.
According to the series creator, the picturesque geography of the Carolina coast provides an appropriate locale for the morally-conflicting actions of the Buckleys and their accomplices. “All of our characters are full of light and dark,” he said. “You never know what you’re going to get. The worst things can happen during the day, and the best things can happen at night. We can have a beautiful walk along the moonlit ocean, and then, of course, someone can also get their face blown off.”
There are parallels between the Buckleys and the show creator’s family
The Waterfront stars Holt McCallany, Maria Bello, Jake Weary, and Melissa Benoist as various members of the Buckley family. McCallany tackles the role of Harlan, while Bello plays his wife, Belle. The couple has two children, Cane (played by Weary) and Bree (Benoist). All of the characters are fictional, but their story does include elements from Williamson’s own life.
In the series trailer, it’s strongly hinted that Harlan—who needs to raise $2 million in less than three months—turns to smuggling for a financial windfall. He’s seen interacting with a mysterious drug dealer named Grady (Topher Grace).
Williamson explained to Tudum that, similar to Harlan, his own late father, Ottis Wade Williamson, was a fisherman who turned to trafficking to support his family. “The fishing industry sort of upturned in the ’80s—it all started to go away, and my dad couldn’t feed his family,” the veteran screenwriter said. “So someone came along and said, ‘Hey, if you do this one thing, you can make all this money.’ And it was hard to say no to.”
That thing Ottis agreed to was carrying drugs on his sea trolley. Few specific details about his business and arrest are public, but the elder Williamson did serve time in prison. “My dad—a very, very good man—got tempted to do some things that weren’t so legal and got in some trouble. [But] it put food on the table, helped me go to college,” Kevin said.
The Waterfront isn’t the first time Kevin has trawled his family history for television. He previously alluded to his father’s backstory in the first episode of Dawson’s Creek, in which Katie Holmes’ character, Joey Potter, explains her father is incarcerated for conspiracy to traffic marijuana. “That was exactly my dad’s charge—that’s why he went to prison,” he said.
Williamson got his father’s blessing for the series
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Williamson said he had the idea for The Waterfront for years but honored his father’s request to make it only after his death. Ottis died in October 2020. According to his obituary, he was preceded in death by Kevin’s mother, Lily Faye Williamson. Like the Buckleys, the Williamsons were also a family of four. Kevin has a brother named Johnny.
Before he died, Ottis even requested that Oscar winner Kevin Costner play his fictionalized character onscreen. Although that demand couldn’t be met, McCallany proved a more-than-capable substitute. “What he doesn’t know is Holt is more like him than anyone,” Kevin said. “It’s perfect casting.”
Tyler Piccotti joined the Biography.com staff as an Associate News Editor and is now the News and Culture Editor. He previously worked as a reporter and copy editor for a daily newspaper recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors. In his current role, he shares the true stories behind your favorite movies and TV shows and profiles rising musicians, actors, and athletes. When he's not working, you can find him at the nearest amusement park or movie theater and cheering on his favorite teams.
