When “Scream” creator Kevin Williamson’s newest tv sequence, “The Waterfront,” hit Netflix on June 19, 2025, it struck many critics as an entertainingly pulpy crime drama that may doubtless stick round for at the very least one other season. The sequence stars Holt McCallany as Harlan Buckley, the patriarch of a distinguished North Carolina household that primarily runs the fictional coastal city of Havenport. A few coronary heart assaults have compelled Buckley to cede management of the clan’s numerous companies to his spouse Belle (Maria Bello) and son Cane (Jake Weary), however they’ve solely succeeded in accruing crushing debt. So, Harlan dangers his life to step again in and proper the ship, which entails coping with some remarkably shady figures (like Topher Grace as a drug cartel kingpin named Grady).
The present drew largely optimistic critiques (it holds a 68% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes) and evidently carried out nicely for the streamer. “The Waterfront” didn’t look costly, nor did it boast a forged of vastly expensive expertise (although McCallany, Bello, and Grace are established TV and movie performers who’re value each penny they obtain). Nonetheless, Netflix has introduced that the primary season of “The Waterfront” can be its final. Why is the streamer reducing bait on a comparatively promising sequence after it appeared primed for a simple renewal? Netflix is not explicitly saying, however Deadline’s sources counsel that the present fell quick by a number of essential metrics.
Individuals would possibly’ve watched The Waterfront, however did they full full episodes?
On the floor, “The Waterfront” regarded like a modest hit. It ranked first in Netflix’s international, English-language High 10 for 3 weeks, which, Deadline famous, positioned it nicely above the renewed-for-a-second-season Western drama “Ransom Canyon.” However Netflix has been on a cancellation spree this yr in the case of new reveals, because the creators of the freshman dramas “Pulse” and “The Residence” found.
What provides? Whereas these High 10 rankings are excellent for a brand new present with modest star energy, Netflix takes funds, awards potential, social media exercise, viewers demographic, and episode completion fee into consideration. The streamer is notoriously secretive in the case of disclosing a few of these numbers, however, judging from the nice (however not stellar) critiques, “The Waterfront” appeared unlikely to get Primetime Emmy consideration. And whereas Deadline’s sources informed the outlet that the completion fee for Williamson’s sequence was good, it appears like these numbers weren’t as much as snuff for Netflix.
So, one other high quality Holt McCallany Netflix sequence bites the mud (although the “Mindhunter” devoted haven’t given up on the potential of a film). Williamson followers can take coronary heart understanding that he has a number of reveals in improvement at Common Tv (together with sequence variations of “Rear Window” and “The Recreation”), however they won’t be making a return journey to “The Waterfront.”
