Dark TV show ‘compared to Ozark’ dominates Netflix charts

Last month Netflix dropped all eight episodes of a new drama that’s been compared to Ozark and it’s now dominating the Netflix charts.

The Waterfront, which was created by Dawson’s Creek and Scream writer Kevin Williamson, is currently number one on the Netflix charts and has been watched an impressive 11,600,000 times.

So what’s it about? Well, set against the backdrop of coastal North Carolina… [The Waterfront] centres on the fictional Buckley family and their crumbling fishing empire.’

Starring 90s movie star Holt McCallany, Coyote Ugly actress Maria Bello, and Supergirl legend Mellisa Benoist, The Waterfront ‘explores family dynamics and the lengths people will go to when their legacy is on the line’.

The series has proven to be wildly popular and many fans were excited about The Waterfront before they’d even seen it.

@Superpidge said: ‘The Waterfront, a new series is coming! From Kevin Williamson. This is definitely giving me the same vibes as Ozark did!’

@AlexisD6575 said of the trailer: ‘I was originally interested because Melissa Benoist is in it, but the rest of the cast got me even more, and honestly it looks like the show could be really fun too!’

However, now that the show’s been released, it’s earned a host of new fans who’ve taken to social media to shower the series with praise.

‘I’ve finished watching The Waterfront,’ wrote @VivQi on X. ‘It was definitely intense, chaotic, fast paced and entertaining to watch!’

@benoistpost added: ‘We need season 2 of #TheWaterfront please @Netflix’.

Meanwhile, @dariacott admitted they, ‘Came for Melissa Benoist, stayed for the plot! Overall, really good show.’

On Reddit, Liltwaunnysquirt wrote: ‘I enjoyed the show. Reminded me of Ozarks a little bit, certainly not as good, but still thought it was solid.’

‘I loved the show,’ said Basic-Insect3214. ‘Maybe it is because I have not watched the other shows that it is being compared to constantly, so for me as a standalone, it was a good watch.’

The series has been compared to Ozark not just because they’re both on Netflix, but because both shows depict an otherwise ordinary family pulled into the criminal underworld.

In Ozark, the Byrde family moved to the titular region to continue laundering money for a large Mexican drug cartel, leading to several violent confrontations.

The Waterfront creator Kevin Williamson told Netflix: ‘We’ve never really seen a story about the commercial fisherman told before in any sort of dramatic way in a family drama.

‘[The fishing industry] is being taken away from them bit by bit. [The lead characters] will do anything to hold onto it – it represents their family. They also care about the town, and so many people depend on them.’

He continued, talking about the plot, which sees the characters having to make millions of dollars very quickly: ‘It’s about a bunch of people who make mistakes, they do some bad things, and then they get in deeper and deeper and deeper.

‘When you have all these people doing bad things, it’s always nice when they do that one good thing that can bring hope back.’

Kevin also revealed that the story behind the series is, in part, a personal and autobiographical one, with his father involved in the fishing industry once upon a time.

‘The fishing industry upturned in the ’80s – my dad couldn’t feed his family. So, someone came along and said, “Hey, if you do this one thing, you can make all this money” and it was hard to say no to.

‘My dad – a very, very good man – got tempted to do some things that weren’t so legal and got in some trouble. [But] it put food on the table and it helped me go to college.’

The Waterfront is available to watch on Netflix now.

(This article was first published on June 19, 2025.)

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