Kevin Williamson‘s life inspired his new Netflix show The Waterfront — but which details about the world of drug trafficking actually happened?
The prolific screenwriter, director and producer got his start in the horror space with Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer before eventually pivoting to the small screen. Williamson has been synonymous with shows about life in a small town, including Dawson’s Creek, The Vampire Diaries and more.
Over the years, Williamson has discussed how growing up in North Carolina influenced his work, from James Van Der Beek’s Dawson from Dawson’s Creek sharing Williamson’s love of film to Katie Holmes‘ Joey having a fisherman father in prison for dealing drugs.
“Her dad is in prison for conspiracy to traffic marijuana in excess of 20,000 pounds,” Williamson told TV Insider in June. “That was my dad’s charge. That’s what put my dad in prison.”
Williamson noted that I Know What You Did Last Summer had a nod to his origin story as well, adding,”My dad was the fisherman in I Know What You Did Last Summer,” he says. “My dad has been very, very helpful in my career.”
Netflix’s The Waterfront, meanwhile, offered Williamson more space to explore his dad’s issues with the law. The crime drama, which premiered on Thursday, June 19, follows the fictional Buckley family, who have ruled the North Carolina town of Havenport for decades. Their attempt to retain control of their fishing empire ultimately leads them to more dangerous activities.
“This is another side of me. This is the darker side of me,” Williamson told TV Insider. “Dawson’s Creek was sort of the coming of age, the teenage drama, the first love and all of that. I have always wanted to tell this story, too, but I wanted to wait until my dad died. I told him, ‘When you die, I’m gonna tell your story.’ He was always like, ‘OK.’”
Williamson’s dad died before The Waterfront was released. “He was like, ‘Oh, I wish you had told the story a lot sooner than now. I’m not gonna be around for it,’” he recalled. “He didn’t make it, but he got so close, and he would have loved it.”
Despite his father’s life setting up the backstory for The Waterfront, Williamson clarified that the show took many creative liberties, adding, “He’s not the show.”
Keep scrolling for a breakdown of what is real — and what isn’t — in Williamson’s The Waterfront:
What Actually Happened?
“Back in the ʼ80s, my dad got into some trouble,” Williamson told Entertainment Weekly in June. “He was a fisherman, and he got hooked up with some people that offered him some money to run [drugs] on his fishing boat.”
Williamson confirmed that his father had a run-in with the law.
“Back then, everything was starting to change and that’s when the fishing business just sank in America, certainly on the Eastern Seaboard,” he added. “So he was a good man who did some bad things, and he ended up paying the price for it. And he went to prison. He was in prison during my college years.”
Reel talk! North Carolina may be known for its unmatched coastline, the Blue Ridge mountains and Cheerwine, but it’s also the backdrop of some of your favorite movies and television shows. It wasn’t always that way, however. The Tar Heel state — once home to celebrities including Julianne Moore, Zach Galifianakis and Michael C. Hall […]
What Is Different?
During Williamson’s interview with TV Insider, the outlet noted that Williamson’s own family never owned a restaurant and weren’t the driving force of a coastal North Carolina town that depended on them financially.
Williamson’s father also helped traffic marijuana, while the show deals with the opium trade. (Wade Williamson, who died in 2020, was arrested in the 80s for his part in an elaborate smuggling ring that used fishing boats to transport millions of dollars worth of drugs along the North Carolina coast. The commercial fisherman was ultimately charged with conspiracy to traffic marijuana in excess of 20,000 pounds.)
What Did the Cast Know About the Show’s Origins?
“The Waterfront was its own particular magic,” Danielle Campbell, who plays Peyton, exclusively told Us Weekly. “Because the show was taking place where he grew up and was talking about his personal story. That’s such a rare occurrence that gets to happen in film and TV when something is based on actual events. This is not one of the stories that you picture being real.”
