Kevin Williamson returns to North Carolina with ‘The Waterfront,' but with less soapy fun than ‘Dawson's Creek'
A hijacking at sea opens the first episode, setting the tone for the fairly generic crime story to come, as the once-powerful Buckley family faces off against various ruthless underworld kingpins. There are no Buckleys on the commandeered vessel, though, and family patriarch Harlan (Holt McCallany) is introduced in bed with a woman who isn't his wife, possibly having a heart attack after overindulging in sex and booze. There's nothing new about this situation for Harlan's wife Belle (Maria Bello), who nods to the mistress as she arrives to take care of her husband.
(L to R) Humberly González as Jenna Tate and Jake Weary as Cane Buckley.
Dana Hawley/Netflix/DANA HAWLEY/NETFLIX
That scene hints at a playful dynamic that only intermittently returns during the rest of the season, as the Buckleys are consumed by the dangers of their ill-advised smuggling operation. At first, lumbering failson Cane (Weary) is in charge of the drug running, but the opening boat attack proves that he's in over his head, and he soon seeks help from his father, who has been trying to leave his own criminal past behind. It doesn't take long to get the whole family involved, including recovering-addict sister Bree (Melissa Benoist) and even her dopey teenage son Diller (Brady Hepner).
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The kid's main function is to be a constant Diller in distress, and the Buckleys in general do not live up to their supposed reputation as shrewd dealmakers. They find themselves outmatched by one murderous drug lord after another, always bumbling their way toward survival just until the next threat arises. Topher Grace enlivens the stock crime storyline when he pops up in the fourth episode as disturbingly friendly heroin supplier Grady, who brags that he's been diagnosed as a narcissistic sociopath. Grady quickly falls into his own repetitive pattern, though, offering generous terms only to turn violent when he makes more urgent demands.
(L to R) Topher Grace as Grady, Josh Crotty as Nate, and Brady Hepner as Diller Hopkins in "The Waterfront."
Dana Hawley/Netflix/DANA HAWLEY/NETFLIX
Meanwhile, the campy soap opera continues in the background, although it's increasingly out of place as the dead bodies pile up. Cane is torn between his picture-perfect wife Peyton (Danielle Campbell) and his more grounded ex-girlfriend Jenna (Humberly González), who returns to town to care for her ailing father and take over the family hardware store. A late-season bonding scene between the two women delivers a satisfyingly sharp catharsis, but it comes off as slightly absurd when the man they both love is simultaneously being menaced by armed thugs.
Bree has it even worse, complaining about being sidelined by her family only for the show to do the same thing to her. Her addiction functions as a plot device to connect her with a shady DEA agent who's nosing around the Buckley family's suspicious finances, and her fraught relationship with Diller is poorly developed, with vague references to a past alcohol-fueled mishap that led to her burning down their house. Her custody battle with her ex-husband amounts to a handful of shouting matches before she's back playing catch-up with her family's nefarious deeds.
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As the soft-spoken but savvy matriarch, Maria Bello gives the show's best performance — and is the only actor to attempt a credible Southern accent — but her Belle too has to take a backseat to her male relatives. Her brief dalliance with a real-estate developer played by Dave Annable gives her a spark of sensual energy, but that also eventually plays into the overarching criminal enterprise.
Annable's presence is a reminder that 'The Waterfront' could have turned out like his enjoyably cheesy ABC soap 'Brothers & Sisters,' with enough intricate family dynamics that the escalating crime plot wouldn't be necessary. Instead, Netflix appears to be positioning the show as the new 'Ozark,' but it's not dark or nasty enough to emulate that hit thriller. It more closely recalls Netflix also-ran 'Bloodline,' a Southern-set family crime drama with a fantastic cast and mostly inert drama.
'You're either all-in or dead,' Harlan tells Cane as the younger Buckley wavers on their criminal activities. 'The Waterfront' goes all in, but too often that leaves its most entertaining elements dead in the water.
THE WATERFRONT
Starring: Holt McCallany, Jake Weary, Maria Bello, Melissa Benoist. On Netflix
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