Kevin Williamson, the genius mind behind The Vampire Diaries and Dawson’s Creek, is rolling out another emotional series, “The Waterfront”. But this time, the series is not merely about storytelling skills. It’s extremely personal. Kevin Williamson has recently said that the emotional core of his new series drew inspiration from his father’s life as his fishing business slowly gets caught up in shady and illegal deals.
He tells Entertainment Weekly, “Back in the ʼ80s, my father got into some trouble.” “He was a fisherman, and he got hooked up with some people that offered him some money to run [drugs] on his fishing boat.”
“Back then, everything was starting to change, and that’s when the fishing business just sank in America, certainly on the Eastern Seaboard,” Williamson says. “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.”
The creator, Kevin Williamson, clarifies that his show (featuring stars like Melissa Benoist, Jake Weary, Maria Bello, Danielle Campbell, Rafael Silva, and others) is entirely fictional. He compares the series to Dawson’s Creek and claims that this show was also fictional, but its inspiration was taken from his life. He explains, “I really did grow up near a creek and used to make movies in my backyard.”
When talking about the Waterfront series, he said that Kevin Williamson had been thinking about this particular idea for many years. He said, “I’ve always wanted to do this.” My dad said, ‘Wait till I’m dead.’ He also said to get Kevin Costner to play him, so I got one out of two,” he added.
In the Waterfront, Holt McCallany has replaced Costner as the head of the family. He portrays Harlan Buckley in the series.
“What he doesn’t know is Holt is more like him than anyone,” Williamson said with a laugh. “It’s perfect casting for the Waterfront.”
There are many times Williamson has used his father’s story for inspiration. On Dawson’s Creek, Joey’s (played by Katie Holmes) father ends up in jail due to selling drugs. Williamson’s connection to fishermen will not only come to this series. He has a long list of iconic fishermen characters. “My dad was the fisherman in ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’,” he told.
Owing to the real-time storytelling and amazing characters, critics have already started praising The Waterfront. But for Williamson, the biggest gain is only honoring the person who shaped so much of who he is today. He said with a smile, “I just hope my dad would be proud.”
The Waterfront will premiere on Netflix on June 19.
