EXCLUSIVE: Netflix will not be proceeding with a second season of Kevin Williamson‘s crime drama series The Waterfront, Deadline has learned. According to sources, Williamson has told the cast about the streamer’s decision, and crew members also have been informed that there would be no Season 2, sources said.
The news is somewhat surprising because the twisted tale about North Carolina’s influential Buckley family did solid business, spending five weeks in Netflix’s global Top 10 for English-language series, including a rare three-peat at No.1, peaking at 11.6M views for its first full week of release.
That is above the delivery of another freshman drama series, which was recently renewed by Netflix, Ransom Canyon, which spent four weeks in the Top 10, peaking at No. 2 with 9.4M views for its first full week. (Fellow renewed freshman 2025 drama Forever also was in the Top 10 for four weeks, rising to No.3 with 6.7M views.)
The Waterfront did significantly better than the two other dramas Netflix has canceled so far this year after one season, Pulse and The Residence, which both spent four weeks in the Top 10, peaking at No. 3 with 8.5M views and No. 2 with 8.8M views, respectively.
In their renewal decisions, Netflix executives typically lean into performance vs. cost, with other factors, like awards recognition, social media buzz and the type of audience tuning in, also taken into account. In addition to number views, performance includes completion rate, which is not made public. Sources close to the production told Deadline earlier this month that the rate for The Waterfront was good. I hear that Netflix didn’t feel that the viewership and the completion rate were high enough to secure a renewal.
Like Ransom Canyon, headlined by Josh Duhamel and Minka Kelly, The Waterfront, starring Holt McCallany, Jake Weary, Melissa Benoist and Mario Bello, is a character-driven family drama.
Unlike Ransom Canyon, which is a Netflix production — as is Forever — The Waterfront comes from Universal Television. It is unclear whether the streamer’s renewal threshold is higher for outside series; Universal TV scored quick renewals for its two most recent new scripted shows at Netflix, The Man On Inside and Four Seasons.
They are among the string of new Netflix scripted series to get a second season over the past eight months, along with the Warner Bros. TV-produced Untamed and Running Point, 20th Television’s Nobody Wants This as well as Dept. Q, Beauty In Black, Ransom Canyon, Forever, North of North, The Vince Staples Show, the animated Devil May Cry and Canadian entries Bet and Geek Girl. Overall, Netflix has renewed almost 20 scripted shows over that period.
The Waterfront‘s first season scored 68% on Rotten Tomatoes. Its premise: 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 (McCallany) recovers from two heart attacks, and his wife Belle (Bello) and son Cane (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 (Benoist) — an addict in recovery who’s lost custody of her son — finds herself entangled in a complicated relationship that could threaten the family’s future forever.
Rafael L. Silva, Humberly González, Danielle Campbell, and Brady Hepner also star in the series, executive produced by Williamson and Ben Fast for Outerbanks Entertainment, Michael Narducci, and Marcos Siega. Topher Grace guest stars.
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