Kevin Williamson's Netflix Series The Waterfront Debuts Inspired by Father's Drug Trafficking Past

Kevin Williamson's new Netflix series, The Waterfront, is a crime drama inspired by his late father's real-life struggles with drug smuggling in the 1980s to support his family amid the decline of the fishing industry. The show centers on the Buckley family in North Carolina, who turn to drug trafficking to save their fishing business, reflecting Williamson's personal experiences growing up in a small North Carolina town. Williamson has drawn from his father's story before, notably in Dawson's Creek, where a character's father faces similar legal troubles. Despite his father's criminal past, Williamson remembers him as a good man who paid the price for his mistakes, and he incorporates this complexity into the series' narrative. The Waterfront marks a return to Williamson's roots of personal and relationship-driven storytelling, blending his background in horror and drama across his TV universe. The series stars Holt McCallany as the patriarch, with Williamson noting the actor's close resemblance to his own father in spirit and character.