I always write about what I know,” Kevin Williamson, creator of the new Netflix series The Waterfront, told Tudum in June 2025. That’s an ideology he employed while creating his hit 2000s series Dawson’s Creek and Vampire Diaries,

While it's set in the fictional town of Havenport, the new drama series is indeed based on a real story - one pulling from the creator's past. The eight-episode series centers around the Buckleys, who rule the local fishing industry and some of the town's biggest restaurants.

Like a surface-level blend of "Ozark" and "Yellowstone," Kevin Williamson's first Netflix series follows a North Carolina family who keeps their seaside fishing empire afloat by ferrying drugs.