A New Coastal Drama Series Just Hit Netflix

Netflix is bringing a new coastal drama to your screens this summer.

The streamer, which has had other North Carolina-based hits like Outer Banks, debuted The Waterfront on Thursday.

The eight-episode family drama from Dawson’s Creek and The Vampire Diaries creator Kevin Williamson stars Mindhunter‘s Holt McCallany and Supergirl‘s Melissa Benoist and is inspired by true events in Williamson’s own life.

“For decades, the Buckley family has ruled Havenport, North Carolina, dominating everything from the local fishing industry to the town’s restaurant scene,” according to the show’s description. “But their fishing empire has started to crumble as patriarch Harlan Buckley (McCallany) recovers from two heart attacks, and his wife Belle (Maria Bello) and son Cane (Jake Weary) venture into the deep end to keep the family businesses afloat.”

As their attempts spiral out of control, Harlan steps back in to take command. Meanwhile, Buckley daughter Bree (Benoist) fights her own demons as the recovering addict finds herself entangled in a complicated relationship “that could threaten the family’s future forever.”

The drama is sure to thrill fans with its twists and turns, but viewers might be even more shocked to learn that the exploits of Williamson’s father inspired the series. The TV creator and writer told Netflix’s Tudum in May 2025 that his father used his fishing trolley to smuggle marijuana in the 1980s when his family began to struggle financially.

“The fishing industry sort of upturned in the ’80s – it all started to go away, and my dad couldn’t feed his family,” Williamson told the outlet. “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.”

Ultimately, Williamson’s father was caught and put behind bars. “My dad – a very, very good man – got tempted to do some things that weren’t so legal and got in some trouble,” he revealed. “[But] it put food on the table, helped me go to college.”

Williamson has been open about Dawson’s Creek being inspired by his childhood, and he told TV Insider that The Waterfront is a darker aspect of that inspiration. “This is another side of me. This is the darker side of me,” he said. “Dawson’s Creek was sort of the coming of age, the teenage drama, the first love and all of that. I have always wanted to tell this story, too, but I wanted to wait until my dad died. I told him, ‘When you die, I’m gonna tell your story.’ He was always like, ‘Okay.’”