The Waterfront Review
Director: Marcos Siega, Liz Friedlander, Erica Dunton and Jann Turner
Date Created: 2025-06-19 19:04
3.5
The Waterfront Review: Directed by a team of veteran helmers such as Marcos Siega, Liz Friedlander, Erica Dunton and Jann Turner, this Netflix series is written by Kevin Williamson of the “Scream” franchise. It is a crime drama which is well performed by a fine ensemble cast like Holt McCallany as the controlling patriarch Harlan Buckley, Melissa Benoist as the troubled daughter Bree, Maria Bello as Belle Buckley, Jake Weary as Cane Buckley, Rafael L. Silva as Shawn West, Humberly González as Jenna Tate, Danielle Campbell as Peyton Buckley, Brady Hepner as Diller Hopkins and others. The show consists of eight episodes, each around 50 minutes, and is set in the coastal North Carolina town of Havenport.
The Waterfront Review
It’s the story of the Buckley family, who have run the town’s fishing industry and restaurants for generations. But things are not as rosy as they seem. Homestead With Harlan sidelined by a couple of heart attacks, other relatives are doing their best to take his place, not always for the best reasons. Battling to keep the family business alive, secrets emerge, follies of the family past and rash decisions are revealed. As the show’s title might imply, the series is shot on location by the sea, but the actual drama is within the Buckleys’ power games and interpersonal relationships.
As soon as I found out that Kevin Williamson, the mastermind behind The Waterfront series, was involved, I was interested. His thriller background had me thinking we would get some twisty stuff, and the show certainly delivers on that front. But it is not without its faults, either. For me, the show had some downright fantastic moments when it played with the emotional tension between the family members. The acting is adequate, and the setting gives it a particular hue. But there were some deliberate narrative choices that made the ride kind of uncomfortable.
The only one that really surprised me was Melissa Benoist. I’d only ever known her play sunny, tough characters like Supergirl, but here she’s portraying Bree, an addict and shattered woman with a shattered history. It’s a totally raw, totally emotional performance, and you can just feel her pain emanating through every scene. Bree is attempting to repair them, especially her son, but her efforts always seem to fail, which makes her tale all the more tragic and fascinating.
And then there’s the actor who is the total MVP—Topher Grace as Grady, the villain. He will not appear in all the episodes, but whenever he does, it is hard not to look away. He is a drug dealer who is cool but funny in his weird kind of way. He has this presence on screen that adds flavour to the entire show. God, I was just sitting through the movie, just waiting for him to come on screen because he added so much flavour to the movie.
Another thing I adored about The Waterfront was its look. The show is filmed in a sun-kissed, idyllic beachside town, and it does not let down. Even as the plot gets darker and nastier, the sunny attitude prevents things from ever becoming too dark. But don’t confuse it — there are some genuine heavy moments, especially when secrets start spilling and the family’s power structure starts to collapse.
As much as I loved Netflix’s The Waterfront, I would be negligent not to say that only the pacing was slightly wrong in a few ways. The show is extremely secretive initially. You are just supposed to figure some things out about the characters, foremost about Bree’s past and her relationship with her brother and son. This did puzzle me for a little time. It’s a strict formula, and you can do only so much with it, but I don’t mind. There is a real enjoyment in seeing the pieces fit together, and all fit into place, without really realising how cleverly it has been done, just before it is too late to repair it.
Another issue was with the handful of moments when parts of the story were too unrealistic. It’s a drama, I grant you, but when a series is an “inspired by true events” exercise in promotion, I at least expect a little bit of realism. Some of their decisions and actions were too over-the-top, and I couldn’t help but feel as if I couldn’t relate to what they were experiencing.
Still, I think that Kevin Williamson’s The Waterfront series is worth watching. Excellent performances and in-depth characterisations make it worth holding on. And although sometimes the story is loose, the final few episodes get it back together well.
Netflix The Waterfront Review: Summing Up
Netflix’s The Waterfront is not a perfect show, but it’s one where you can jump in. The acting is decent, the location work is stunning, and oh man, that family drama is packed with intensity. If power struggles, backstabbing, and dysfunctional families fighting for survival are your cup of tea, you’ll be addicted to this show.
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