Kevin Williamson plus a quiet fishing town plus fisherman—why does it feel like we have been here before? No, this is not an I Know What You Did Last Summer reboot, although one comes to cinemas in July. The Waterfront, inspired by true events, gives genre vet Williamson a chance to dip his toes into the crime/thriller genre. Familiar to TV fans as the showrunner of The Vampire Diaries, Dawson’s Creek, and The Following, cinema goons will know Williamson for his stellar 90s output that includes the Scream franchise and The Faculty. His newest series is unlike any project he has done before, though there are definitely some shades of Creek in the setting. Mining from his own life and his father’s troubles with the law, Williamson crafts a sprawling familial story of retribution and desperation. Peppered with an excellent ensemble of television vets and a twisty, semi-autobiographical story straight from the pen of Kevin Williamson, The Waterfront is a wildly entertaining crime thriller that stings like a jellyfish.
Set in the fictional town of Havenport, North Carolina, we follow the Buckley family as they navigate financial hardships, a criminal empire, and shifts in the power dynamic. The chemistry of this family at its core makes the beating heart of The Waterfront, steering the ship of intrigue while having fun playing with the interconnectivity of their relationships. The Buckley name is everything in Havenport, between their flourishing restaurant and a massive fish house. They provide job stability for hundreds of folks within the town. How, then, has their money all but dried up?
Meet the Buckleys: hardened patriarch Harlan (Holt McCallany, Mindhunter, Fight Club), facing heart health issues and attempting to take a backseat in the grand scheme of things; kind mother Belle (Mario Bello, Coyote Ugly, Beef), who has resorted to running drugs through their boats to keep the businesses afloat; son Cane (Jake Weary, Animal Kingdom, It Follows), trying to run the family business and drug trade post-Harlan but caught between morals and obligations; and recently-sober daughter Bree (Melissa Benoist, Glee, Supergirl), the family screw-up desperately trying to get in good graces to win over her son, Diller (Brady Hepner, The Black Phone, The Holdovers), despite losing custody. Swirling around their orbit are new bartender Shawn (Rafael L. Silva, 9-1-1 Lone Star, Fluidity), sharply sarcastic Grady (Topher Grace, That ’70s Show, Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!), town sheriff Clyde (Michael Gaston, The Leftovers, Daredevil: Born Again) and DEA Agent Marcus (Gerardo Celasco, Swimming with Sharks, Devil in Ohio). There’s even something of a love triangle between Cane, his former high school flame, Jenna (Humberly Gonzalez, Ginny & Georgia, In the Dark), and his wife, Peyton (Danielle Campbell, The Originals, Tell Me a Story).
The push and pull between the family members as they go on their own separate journeys always manages to find interesting pairings. Silva and Bello share many scenes together, strengthening the bond between Shawn and Belle, respectively. Benoist’s Bree spends the bulk of the season trying to stay sober, and her moments with Diller range from upsetting to warm; their bond in particular grows as the season kicks into high gear. McCallany being the centerpiece is more than up for the task. Harlan maintains a grip over Cane especially, who cannot seem to escape the man’s shadow. Though Harlan tries to relinquish his role, he slowly becomes more ingrained as the Buckleys slip deeper into troubled waters.
The Waterfront is refreshingly past-paced—where most series often take their time to build to explosive events, or even to prolong their arrival, this one embraces the craziness head-on. In terms of energy, there’s a bit of Ozark and Animal Kingdom here, but with Williamson’s exceptionally strong character work to back it up. If there’s a stale storyline among the bunch, it gets drowned out by the power of the others. Perhaps Belle’s land deed workings and love life are not the most intriguing, but even they have a payoff that promises to spread into subsequent seasons, should we get them. Each character remains distinct enough throughout that they are all flawed but memorable. Any given viewer may have entirely different favorites, speaking to the high quality of the writing.
Given that this is a family-based series, the actual functionality of said family is essential. What sets it apart is the emotional complexity: the Buckleys are not just criminals, they are a fractured unit trying to stay afloat, sometimes literally. A balance of soapy drama and violent realism produces potent and binge-worthy episodes that go down quickly. As is typical with the Netflix model, most of them end with a cliffhanger that calls for an immediate play through of the next. If there was one complaint, the addition of a proper opening title sequence with a strong theme would have been a cherry on top of an already great series. Until our next visit to Havenport, Kevin Williamson’s Scream 7 promises to deliver more mayhem and trademark character-first trappings. Packed with shocking twists and compelling moral dilemmas, The Waterfront brings The Buckleys to the world stage in a major way.
Book your stay at The Waterfront, drifting to Netflix on Thursday, June 19th.
