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The Buckley family rules the North Carolina fishing town of Havenport with an iron fist. Violence and corruption are the cards they deal in and debts are paid in blood. But when patriarch Harlan Buckley (Holt McCallany) suffers two heart attacks, his wife Belle (Maria Bello) and their son Cane (Jake Weary) must step up to run the family businesses—but other players in the area sense weakness and go in for the kill. 

Meanwhile, another member of the Buckley clan, Bree (Melissa Benoist), is recently sober and entangled in an addictive relationship with someone looking to take her family down. With more than just their own lives and damn near the entire town’s livelihoods on the line, the series takes a long, hard look at what people will do to protect their power. 

The Waterfront is a pulse-pounding drama that doesn’t waste time easing you in. With Dawson’s Creek/Vampire Diaries showrunner Kevin Williamson behind the wheel, you can expect hook-worthy revelations that hit timed to what should be commercial breaks on a network show. But the hour-long Netflix episode format means you don’t get a break from the theatrics. It also means it’s hard to get invested in the characters as they’re all either downright diabolical or destined to wind up sleeping with the fishes (and sometimes, both). 

The brutal violence and betrayals are a thrill but can’t save the often stilted dialogue and budget special effects, which take you out of the show’s grittiness. The cast keeps everything together, though, working hard to pull your attention back in any time it wanders. McCallany in particular holds his own with an enigmatic performance as this story’s core, as does Benoist who delivers a nuanced and winning portrayal of a mother, daughter, and partner pushed to her limit.

The gorgeous North Carolina backdrop plays up the more glamorous side of the show, where money and appearances do the heavy lifting, while the country-tinged soundtrack lends itself to the show’s Southern living with a side of danger. With that said, you can’t help but feel as if it’s all surface-level. If you’re a fan of Ozark and Narcos and you’re looking for some more twists and tension, The Waterfront has that on deck, but it lacks the depth of its counterparts; instead, it seems it’s not all smooth sailing towards the golden hall of truly gritty Netflix dramas.