A gritty eight-episode saga dropped on Netflix on 19 June 2025, The Waterfront marries coastal-town atmosphere with a crime-family drama rooted in creator Kevin Williamson’s own North Carolina upbringing. The show follows the once-proud Buckley clan, whose struggling fishing empire lures them into drug-running and escalating violence. Anchored by an ensemble that includes Holt McCallany, Maria Bello, Melissa Benoist, and Jake Weary, the series has already sparked talk of a second season while drawing notice for on-location shooting around Wilmington, Southport, and Carolina Beach.
The Waterfront Plot Overview
Set in the fictional seaside town of Havenport, North Carolina, the story begins when a mysterious shipwreck and mounting debt push the Buckleys to traffic narcotics to keep their fishery afloat. Patriarch Harlan Buckley grapples with failing health while trying to steer the family business back from bankruptcy, only to discover that each risky decision drags the clan deeper into crime. Throughout the season, betrayals, DEA investigations, and a violent finale death leave the family’s fate hanging in the balance.
The Waterfront Episode 1 – “Almost Okay”
Harlan Buckley staggers home from semi-retirement and a recent heart-attack when a cartel shipment his son Cane arranged washes ashore with two dead deck-hands. He quickly learns Cane and matriarch Belle plugged the family’s debt by smuggling for shady middle-man Hoyt Piper. Harlan forces Hoyt to reveal his buyer via the infamous “shark-bait” interrogation, only for Sheriff Clyde Porter—secretly the kingpin “Owen”—to shoot Hoyt and conscript the Buckleys into his operation. Meanwhile, black-sheep daughter Bree is quietly feeding DEA agent Marcus Sanchez information, setting up a season-long double game.
The Waterfront Episode 2 – “Taking Control”
The Coast Guard recovers Curtis and Troy’s corpses, and Porter orders Harlan and Cane to run the next load personally despite DEA heat. Mounting bills ($6.8 million in arrears) push Belle to court real-estate developer Wes Larson—and also to kiss him. New bartender Shawn West claims Harlan fathered him years ago. Bree hacks Cane’s computer for incriminating manifests while deepening her motel-room liaison with Marcus. A short shipment exposes a bigger supplier named Grady, and Porter’s masked goons douse Cane’s wife Peyton in gasoline as a warning, ending the episode on literal sparks.
The Waterfront Episode 3 – “Playing with Fire”
Porter’s arson stunt leaves Peyton shaken but alive. Bree sneaks Marcus onto the Buckley boat to swab for drugs, while Belle keeps meeting Wes and suspects Shawn’s motives. Harlan’s chest pains flare during a face-off that ends with him fatally stabbing Porter; Belle helps stage the body under a crushed-car “accident,” elevating cousin-in-law Drew Jr. to sheriff and deepening their cover-up.
The Waterfront Episode 4 – “You Can’t Trust a Buckley”
Belle and Harlan engineer Porter’s fake accident, but DEA scrutiny grows when Marcus notes the rushed cremation. Belle aborts Wes’s lucrative land deal, fearing exposure. Harlan finally meets Grady—charismatic, psychopathic, and working out of a high-tech opium farm—and watches him mow down disgruntled henchman Stevie with an LMG. Peyton leaves Cane over mounting lies; Harlan publicly acknowledges Shawn as his son, hoping family loyalty will shore up crumbling alliances.
The Waterfront Episode 5 – “I’m a Hugger”
Marcus obtains trail-cam footage placing Harlan and Belle at Porter’s garage and gives Harlan 24 hours to name his supplier. Rather than sacrifice her father, Bree spikes Marcus’s sobriety drugs, photographs him using, and inadvertently causes his fatal overdose—then hands Cane the evidence-laden camera. Grady brazenly tours the Buckley businesses, terrorises teenage grandson Diller, and drags Sheriff Drew to his farm until Harlan brokers silence. Shawn’s paternity becomes public, widening intra-sibling suspicion.
The Waterfront Episode 6 – “Hunting Season”
Bree and Cane bond over childhood trauma after Marcus’s death. Belle learns Wes has quietly bought the Buckleys’ bank debt, threatening foreclosure. Grady retaliates for Harlan’s resistance by taking Diller on a “hunting trip” and accidentally shooting him; Belle decks Grady outside the ER, and Shawn demolishes two of Grady’s thugs. That night Grady’s crew pins Harlan down and dumps Portuguese man-o’-war on him, leaving acid stings as a standing threat.
The Waterfront Episode 7 – “Nice Try”
With only 43 days of solvency left, Cane courts the powerful Parker cartel—who once ordered a hit on Harlan’s father—offering exclusive use of Buckley boats for $12 million and a promise to “take care” of Grady. Grady pre-emptively kidnaps Harlan and Shawn; Cane blows up an opium shed, rescues them, but loses loyal henchman Tim in the firefight. At the fishery Belle and Bree discover two Parker enforcers murdered and iced by Grady (“Nice Try” signs stapled to their chests) and have to dispose of the bodies together—just before Bree herself is abducted.
The Waterfront Episode 8 – “Lost at Sea” (Finale)
Grady holds Bree—and stowaway Diller—hostage on his yacht, serenading her with “Brandy” before shooting her in the leg and tossing her overboard. Harlan, Cane and Shawn race to ransom her; aboard the yacht Cane finally guns Grady down with two point-blank shots, ending the supplier’s reign. Bree survives thanks to Diller’s flare and life-raft. Back home Belle forges an alliance with Emmett Parker: the Parkers erase lingering evidence (including iced corpses and Wes’s battered body) in exchange for Belle, not Harlan, fronting the Buckley empire—setting up a matriarchal power shift for a potential Season 2.
The Waterfront Main Cast & Instagram
| Actor | Character | Instagram (Verified) | Snapshot of Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Holt McCallany | Harlan Buckley | @holtmccallany | Tough patriarch fighting to save the family fishery. |
| Maria Bello | Belle Buckley | @officialmariabello | Pragmatic matriarch who keeps the business—and family—afloat. |
| Melissa Benoist | Bree Buckley | @melissabenoist | Eldest daughter battling addiction while seeking redemption. |
| Jake Weary | Cane Buckley | @thechakeweary | Fiercely loyal son whose violent streak drives much of the plot. |
| Danielle Campbell | Peyton Buckley | @thedaniellecampbell | Youngest sibling trying to stay moral amid family chaos. |
| Rafael L. Silva | Shawn Wilson | @actuallyrafa | Sheriff’s deputy—and Bree’s ex—probing the Buckleys’ crimes. |
The Waterfront Key Character Relationships
Harlan & Cane: Fathers, Sons, and Violence
Actor Jake Weary describes Cane as a man “shaped by his fraught relationship with his father,” culminating in a finale where Cane kills Grady to protect Harlan — an act that forever alters their bond.
Belle & Bree: A Mother-Daughter Cold War
Williamson drew Bree’s sense of exclusion from his own feelings of being the “outsider” in a tight-knit community; Belle’s stoic pragmatism often clashes with Bree’s quest for approval, fueling emotional fireworks beneath the crime plot.
Siblings in Turmoil
Peyton seeks normalcy while her older siblings spiral, and Cane’s attempts at protection frequently undermine Bree’s recovery, illustrating how loyalty and resentment coexist in the Buckley bloodline.
The Waterfront Filming Locations
Wilmington, NC — Production Hub
EUE/Screen Gems Studios
Most interiors—including the Buckley home, DEA briefing room, and Havenport police station—were built on Stage 4 and Stage 7 at EUE/Screen Gems (now Cinespace). Port City Daily’s production notices show the crew occupied the lot from August 2024 through December 2024.
Downtown & Riverwalk
Establishing shots of fictitious Havenport’s skyline were filmed along the Wilmington Riverwalk and Market Street; ScreenRant and Time Out both highlight quick glimpses of the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge in Episode 1.
Southport, NC — The Heart of “Havenport”
| Real-World Site | On-Screen Identity | Episodes |
|---|---|---|
| Fishy Fishy Café (106 Yacht Basin Dr.) | Buckley Crab Shack exterior/interior | 1, 2, 6 |
| Morningstar Marina | DEA stake-out dock | 4 |
| Old Smithville Burying Ground | Carter family flashback cemetery | 7 |
Local reporters from News & Observer and Charlotte Observer confirmed that Fishy Fishy’s deck was repainted in Buckley-blue for filming, and the owners kept the signage up for weeks so visitors could take selfies. Brunswick-Islands tourism boards add that morning shoots wrapped before lunch to avoid disrupting the restaurant’s peak hours.
Wrightsville Beach & Carolina Beach — Action Sequences
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Wrightsville Jetty hosts the Episode 5 drug-drop that goes awry; Moviedelic and Sportskeeda both reference the crew’s pre-dawn helicopter shots over the stone breakwater.
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Carolina Beach Boardwalk provides the neon-lit backdrop for Cane’s nighttime boat chase in Episode 3, a detail Netflix’s Tudum blog spotlights in its behind-the-scenes interview with creator Kevin Williamson.
Masonboro Island — Marshland Backdrop
Williamson told the Los Angeles Times he grew up “camping and clamming on Masonboro,” so the protected barrier island was the obvious choice for Peyton’s hideout scenes in Episode 7. Access required special permits from the NC Coastal Reserve, limiting the crew to boats under 25 ft and battery-powered lighting to protect nesting birds.
Courthouse & Hardware Store Stand-Ins
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New Hanover County Courthouse on N. Third Street plays the fictional Carter County Courthouse where Harlan pleads his fishing-quota case.
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William E. Poole Designs (1801 Market St., Wilmington) became Havenport Hardware—note the hand-painted “Since 1893” sign added by the art department.
The Waterfront Production & Future
The Waterfront is produced by Universal Television and Williamson’s Outerbanks Entertainment, running 42–55 minutes per episode. All eight episodes dropped simultaneously, a release strategy Netflix touted as letting viewers “wash ashore” with the Buckleys in one binge.Star Jake Weary and TV Insider both note that a Season 2 renewal is under discussion, contingent on viewership metrics.