The Waterfront Review: This Netflix crime drama blends summer noir with soapy family secrets and is bingeable in parts

The Waterfront is streaming on Netflix

A crime drama based around a family’s interpersonal issues is a staple of American TV. Netflix’s ‘The Waterfront,’ based on the semi-autobiographical experiences of creator Kevin Williamson (‘Scream,’ ‘The Vampire Diaries,’ ‘Dawson’s Creek’), builds on this premise to deliver a bingeable story of half-truths, histories of violence, drug-related crime, and betrayal. It is a classic American TV drama packaged in the format of a web series, and this will test your patience in parts, but the surprising conclusion to each episode will keep you hooked.

The Buckley family lives in a fictitious town on the North Carolina waterfront, with a fishing and seafood business empire to their name, which is now struggling to survive. As the business suffers from changing realities, the son Cane (Jake Weary) cuts a drug-running deal that ends badly for the boatmen, triggering a series of events that compels his semi-retired, decadent father Harlan (Holt McCallany) to give up retirement and firefight to save his family. His wife, Belle (Maria Bello) runs a seafood restaurant and is in agreement with their son’s decision to dip into minimal drug runs while working out a side effort to save the business by selling family property.

In the mix is their daughter Bree (Melissa Benoist), who is on the side of the DEA and is bent upon exposing her brother. She has lost custody of her teenage son due to her erratic past behaviour. As resentment, hatred, anger, and grudges simmer in this picturesque touristy town, a series of violent acts gets triggered, bringing out the most intriguing character, Grady, played by Topher Grace.

This show is produced with high production values, with episode directors Marcos Siega (‘Dexter,’ ‘New Blood’) and Liz Friedlander (‘The Lincoln Lawyer’), who bring successful shows in their credentials, and with slick editing supporting the narrative. At over 50 minutes, each episode does weigh heavily on the viewer, at times making one wonder about the direction of the plot. But the element of unexpected reactions that closes each episode is enough to sustain interest through this Southern-style, partially overcooked crime drama.

For those who have viewed American soaps, touches of 90s shows like ‘Dallas,’ ‘Melrose Place,’ and even elements of ‘Dynasty’ will be reminiscent, but the treatment resembles a slick crime and cop drama in bits. Here, though, the law is not clean and transparent; every character has an agenda. Writers of this series have utilised the trope of desperate choices efficiently to build drama, and the veneer of polish and understated wealth makes the duplicity of the Buckleys all the more effective. Heroin smuggling has also been part of the family business, and while each member other than the sister agrees on using it to clear their mounting debt, no one seems to agree on how to actually go about doing it.

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Performances from Holt McCallany and Michael Gaston (as Sheriff Clyde Porter) are the most effective ones. Maria Bello does her part well, but it is Topher Grace, portraying a shady sociopathic character, who makes this partly grotesque family story enjoyable. The actor brings a jittery unpredictability that stands out in an otherwise familiar narrative arc. His presence adds menace but also a strange charm, disrupting the family’s power dynamics in interesting ways. The writing gives him sharp lines and calculated ambiguity, which Grace clearly enjoys sinking his teeth into. This series is recommended for fans of crime dramas that go beyond guns and violence—and for those who love a slice of overdone, stylish American soap opera layered with secrets, power plays, and morally compromised characters.

Cast: Holt McCallany, Melissa Benoist, Jake Weary, Topher Grace, Danielle Campbell, and Michael Gaston

Director: Marcos Siega, Erica Dunton, Liz Friedlander, and Jann Turner

Rating: 3/5

(‘The Waterfront’ is streaming on Netflix)