The Waterfront: release date, cast, plot and everything we know

The Waterfront is a Netflix drama, inspired by true events and follows the fictional Buckley family and their battle to protect their 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 will be available worlwide on Netflix from Thursday June 19 2025.

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.

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.

Is there a trailer?

Not yet but if one becomes available, we’ll add it to this page.

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.