Latest news with #HarlanBuckley
Forbes
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Is ‘The Waterfront' Based On A True Story? Meet The Family Who Inspired The Buckleys
The Waterfront. (L to R) Holt McCallany as Harlan Buckley, Jake Weary as Cane Buckley in episode 105 ... More of The Waterfront. Netflix's new southern crime drama The Waterfront has already proven to be a hit for the streamer. The series is currently the No. 1 TV show on the site, and fans are already wanting a second season. However, what viewers might not know is that the series is actually based on a true story and is deeply personal to the show's creator. The freshman series comes from famed screenwriter Kevin Williamson, best known for the beloved teen drama Dawson's Creek and cult‑favorite horror films like Scream (1996), Scream 2 (1997), Scream 4 (2011), I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) and more. At the forefront of Williamson's latest project is the Buckley family, who are struggling to regain control of their North Carolina fishing empire. After patriarch Harlan Buckley suffers two heart attacks, his wife Belle and son Cane must do whatever's necessary to keep the family business from crumbling beneath them. 'As their attempts spiral out of control and into treacherous waters, Harlan steps back in to take command," the official synopsis reads. "Facing her own demons, Buckley daughter Bree – an addict in recovery who's lost custody of her son Diller – finds herself entangled in a complicated relationship that could threaten the family's future forever. As you're watching Season 1, you might be wondering: Is the Buckley family real? Was Harlan Buckley an actual person, or is he based on someone else? Here's everything to know about the inspiration behind The Waterfront. Is The Waterfront Based On A True Story? The Waterfront. Holt McCallany as Harlan Buckley in episode 101 of The Waterfront. The Waterfront draws inspiration from creator Kevin Williamson's family and his childhood in coastal North Carolina. Like patriarch Harlan Buckley, Williamson's father 'got tempted to do some things that weren't so legal and got him in some trouble," he told Netflix Tudum. He further clarified that unlike Harlan, his father wasn't a member of an organized crime syndicate. "My dad was a very, very good man," he said. Just like in the series, Williamson's father, Wade, was a hard-working fisherman, while his mother, Fayee, worked at a hotel. 'I come from a family of fishermen — not just my dad, but the entire family,' he said in an interview with 'Everyone I knew was a fisherman.' However, in the 1980s, fishing began to decline due to factors like overfished waters and strict environmental regulations. As a result, Williamson's father struggled to provide for his family and, like many other fishermen in the area, was drawn into a difficult situation. 'Someone came along and said, 'If you do this one thing, you can make all this money.' And it was hard to say no,'' the creator told Tudum. He explained that his father agreed to run drugs on his fishing trawler but later got into trouble. 'He got caught, he served his time, he got out, and I graduated." Kevin's father, Wade Williamson, was arrested for conspiracy to traffic 20,000 pounds of marijuana. Ultimately, he served less than a year behind bars and the arrest was part of a larger sting operation in the community. 'They didn't just arrest my dad,' Williamson recalled to 'They arrested a whole bunch of people. It was part of a cartel. They were the low men in the operation.' As for the other characters, Belle (Maria Bello), the matriarch of the Buckley household, is representative of Williamson's love for his mother and strong women, according to Tudum. Benoist's troubled Buckley daughter, Bree, is meant to symbolize how broken people put themselves back together. 'That addictive part of me, that's where I wrote from,' he told 'I took her to the extreme, but it's personal.' What Scenes In The Waterfront Are Based On Real Moments In Williamson's Life? The Waterfront. Jake Weary as Cane Buckley in episode 101 of The Waterfront. Several moments in The Waterfront are recreations of Williamson's childhood. For example, the terrifying shark scene in Season 1, Episode 1, titled 'Almost Okay,' is directly inspired by his experience. When he was 10 years old, Williamson went out on a boat with his father and uncle. When they woke up the next morning, "as far as you could see, there were sharks,' he recalled. 'My uncle held me over to see them. It terrified me. That one little moment always stayed in my head. It traumatized me to such a degree that I knew one day I was going to write that scene.' Where Was The Waterfront Filmed? The Waterfront Season 1 Williamson, who grew up in the small town of Oriental, N.C., chose the North Carolina coast as the backdrop for The Waterfront. The fictional town of Havenport was filmed in Wilmington, NC, and nearby Southport, NC. 'I absolutely love North Carolina. Through and through, I'm a Carolina boy,' Williamson said to 'Southport looks very much like how I grew up.' He added that the production frequently rented real fishing boats from Oriental to utilize them as stunt boats. 'It's a seafood fresh-off-the-boat type of town,' he told the site. 'That's where I got the idea for the Buckley fish house. It's common in little port towns: restaurants attached to fish houses.' Season 1 of The Waterfront is streaming on Netflix. Watch the official trailer below.
Elle
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Elle
'The Waterfront': The Real Story Behind Netflix's Latest Dark Crime Thriller Family Drama
There's something about a TV series that sees a family struggle to maintain their dominance as their empire begins to crumble that we can't quite get enough of. And Netflix's latest series The Waterfront on June 19 is all about this. Said to be a blend of Succession, Outer Banks and Ozark, the eight part series follows the Buckley family living in the fictional coastal city of Haventown, North Carolina. After becoming a prominent family in the region following their success in operating fishing and restaurant businesses, they take drastic measures to stay afloat when hardship strikes. To find out all that there is to know about the real story behind the series, keep reading below. The official logline is as follows: 'For decades, the Buckley family has ruled Havenport, North Carolina, dominating everything from the local fishing industry to the town's restaurant scene. But their fishing empire has started to crumble as patriarch Harlan Buckley (Holt McCallany) recovers from two heart attacks, and his wife Belle (Maria Bello) and son Cane (Jake Weary) venture into the deep end to keep the family businesses afloat.' 'As their attempts spiral out of control and into treacherous waters, Harlan steps back in to take command. Facing her own demons, Buckley daughter Bree (Melissa Benoist) — an addict in recovery who's lost custody of her son Diller (Brady Hepner) — finds herself entangled in a complicated relationship that could threaten the family's future forever.' Kevin Williamson calls The Waterfront his most personal story yet, the writer and creator of the series drew directly from his own upbringing and family's past. 'I come from a long line of fishermen,' he told Tudum. Further into the interview, he revealed that due to the fishing industry's collapse in the 1980s, his father was forced into making desperate and illegal choices. 'The fishing industry sort of upturned… my dad couldn't feed his family. So, someone came along and said, "Hey, if you do this one thing, you can make all this money." And it was hard to say no to.' His father became a drug runner, transporting them on his boat. 'My dad — a very, very good man — got tempted to do some things that weren't so legal… it put food on the table, helped me go to college.' As for the family dynamics seen in The Waterfront, many of the characteristics of his family members echo throughout the Buckley family. 'I had my dad in my head,' Williamson said of the character Harlan Buckley. Belle Buckley, the matriarch of the family is based on his actual mother, William revealed. 'Mine kept everything going. I got to school and graduated college because of the fire she lit under my butt.' ELLE Collective is a new community of fashion, beauty and culture lovers. For access to exclusive content, events, inspiring advice from our Editors and industry experts, as well the opportunity to meet designers, thought-leaders and stylists, become a member today HERE.
The Review Geek
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Review Geek
The Waterfront – Season 1 Episode 1 'Almost Okay' Recap & Review
Almost Okay Episode 1 of The Waterfront begins with a couple of fisherman, Curtis and Troy, smuggling drugs. It's dark, misty, and the perfect place for an ambush. Several goons show up, steal their gear and wrap them in a net, throwing them overboard. This ends up being big news as their boat, Miss Glory, washes up on shore. The hull has been completely cleared out and the authorities are swarming all over this. The boat is registered to Cane Buckley, a prominent business owner around these parts who owns the fishery. They're a big family in town that everybody knows, so naturally it's the first port of call for the DEA. One of the more prominent agents here is a guy called Marcus Sanchez. More on him shortly! Cane Buckley has a nice house and a good family. He has a little girl called Savannah and a loving wife called Peyton. However, his money is not entirely clean. Having heard about the earlier boat, he rushes to get the date of registration changed on the official documents, erasing his own involvement in ownership. Things are estranged between Cane and his father, Harlan, who isn't in the best state. He has heart issues, he's having affairs behind his wife Bella's back (although she seems to know and not care much) and he's drinking heavily. Harlan has run the fishery into the ground and when things went off the rails a while back, he dumped the business – and all its financial woes – in Cane's lap. Marcus shows up asking questions though, but Cane lies and claims Curtis bought the boat from him a few months back. Harlan catches wind of what's happening and shows up at the office, punching Cane in the face. It turns out Cane has been mixed up with drug runners, although he shrugs it off and claims they've only run the drugs three times in total. Cane is working with a man named Hoyt Piper, but he's only a small-bit player that answers to someone called Owen. Cane was determined to try and run down their debt and thought smuggling drugs was the easiest way to get ahead. The haul was upwards of about $10 million, and Hoyt was the one setting the meetings up, so Cane is very much in the dark here. He has no idea who he's really working for. Harlan is not happy, and speaks to Belle that night about what's been going on. She admits to being aware of Cane's issues, given he came to her 6 months back for help. It was only supposed to be a couple of easy runs to get afloat but that's clearly escalated in a big way now. While Harlan was too busy getting blind drunk and sleeping around, Belle was working with Cane to try and save the business. This seemed like the only viable option. Harlan though is ready to take the reigns of this business again, and demands Hoyt come and see him so they can strike up a deal. They're joined by ex-offenders Tim and Reggie, who work at the fish house and are the only other ones who know about this drug operation. Harlan believes Hoyt is the one behind Curtis and Troy being killed. After dumping some Chum in the water, they drop Hoyt down so the sharks can force him into submission. Well, it works and he admits the drugs are locked in a shed in the middle of the woods. Harlan finds the drugs… but so too does Clyde Porter, the local sheriff. He and Harlan go way back and we've seen them friendly with each other across the season. Unfortunately, he shoots Hoyt dead and reveals that he's the one in charge here. He is Owen. The Buckley family now owe Clyde Porter and he has them right where he wants them. The pair deal with Hoyt's body, dumping him in a swamp full of alligators, before working out how to play this next. It's a stressful ordeal for Cane, who finds his whole life crumbling around him. The one bright spot though comes from an old flame back in town, Jenna. She's married, just like Cane is, but the pair have clear chemistry together. Everybody knows it, and it seems the pair are lying to themselves over what they could have been. Cane has been following Jenna's writing online for a while and even heads over to hers and propositions her, in a roundabout way. She shoots him down, but it's clear this isn't the end of things. As the episode closes out, Bree heads to a seedy motel in town, where Marcus Sanchez opens the door and invites her in. Is she working with the feds? The Episode Review The Waterfront gets things off to a decent start with its opening episode, combining elements of Ozark, Bloodlines and Outer Range, into this soapy crime drama. The estranged family clearly have a lot of demons to iron out and the episode does a good job of introducing everybody and quickly establishing their ties. Cane and Harlan are the lifeblood of this family and you can already see that these two and their bond is going to be the driving force of the show. Along with that, we've also got the situation involving Bree, who appears to be working with the DEA to take down her own family. We know she has an estranged relationship with her son but we don't know how or why. That, of course, pales compared to the drama involving Porter, and the nice little twist that Clyde is actually the big boss. Whether there's someone else higher up the food chain though remains to be seen. So far though, this looks like it could be quite the intriguing watch. Next Episode Expect A Full Season Write-Up When This Season Concludes!
