The Waterfront is a Netflix drama series that's inspired by true events and follows the fictional Buckley family and their battle to protect their fishing business legacy.
Written by Scream and Dawson’s Creek creator Kevin Williamson, the eight-part series stars Holt McCallany as patriarch Harlan Buckley whose family has ruled the small coastal town of Havenport, North Carolina, for decades. But when their empire comes under threat, how far will the Buckleys go to protect it? The series also stars Maria Bello, Melissa Benoist and Jake Weary.
With all the likely family squabbles and intrigue, The Waterfront sounds like it could be the next Succession, but more Southern and a fishing rather than media empire.
Here’s everything you need to know about The Waterfront on Netflix…
The Waterfront release date
All eight episodes of The Waterfront are now available worldwide on Netflix, having been released on June 19, 2025.
Is there a trailer?
Yes, take a look at the family saga below...
The Waterfront plot
Over eight episodes, The Waterfront follows Harlan Buckley (Holt McCallany) and his family who dominate everything in the town of Havenport, from the local fishing industry to the town’s restaurants. But their fishing empire has started to crumble in the wake of Harlan’s two heart attacks and his wife Belle (Maria Bello) and son Cane (Jake Weary) are desperately trying to keep the business afloat. Meanwhile, daughter Bree (Melissa Benoist), a recovering addict who’s lost custody of her son, becomes entangled in a complicated relationship. And when volatile drug smuggler Grady (Topher Grace) enters their lives, could he end up sinking them all?
Their efforts to keep their enterprise from capsizing lead to murky dealings as they become entangled in a dangerous net of drug-smuggling. As the sharks begin to circle and Harlan learns the truth about Bell and Cane’s sideline, will he clean up their act or dive straight in himself?
"This is about a working man who’s trying to make a go of it for his family," says writer-producer Kevin Williamson, creator of teen dramas Dawson’s Creek and The Vampire Diaries, plus the Scream horror franchise. "They’ve pulled themselves up from nothing and they’ve built this fishing empire in their small town. Now it’s being taken away from them bit by bit and they’ll do anything to hold onto it because it represents their family. They make mistakes and do some bad things, but then they get in deeper and deeper. They turn to some dark means to keep afloat.
"Grady is unpredictable, and you never know if he’s going to hug you or shoot you," says Williamson. ‘He’s searching for a paternal figure and finds it in Harlan. But Harlan doesn’t necessarily want to play that role. It’s a complicated relationship."
The Waterfront cast — Holt McCallany as Harlan Buckley
The lead actor of The Waterfront is Holt McCallany as Harlan Buckley. Holt has previously played Bill Tench in the series Mindhunter and Neil Bishop in the series The Lincoln Lawyer. He’s also been in The Amateur, Fight Club, Lights Out, Sully and 61st Street.
Who else is starring?
Other cast in The Waterfront are Maria Bello who plays Belle while Jake Weary is Harlan's son Cane. Melissa Benoist is Bree while Rafael L. Silva, Humberly Gonzalez, Danielle Campbell, Gerardo Celasco, Michael Gaston and Brady Hepner also star.
The Waterfront cast: who's who guide
Behind the scenes, locations and more on The Waterfront
The Waterfront was filmed in North Carolina, US. Although Havenport is fictional, this series has locations around Wilmington and Southport, which have been home to many Kevin Williamson projects, including I Know What You Did Last Summer and Dawson's Creek.
Joining writer/creator Kevin Williamson behind the scenes is Marcos Siega (You, Dexter: New Blood), who will direct the first two episodes and serves as executive producer on the pilot, and Ben Fast, who executive produces for Outerbanks Entertainment. The series comes from Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.
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