"If they all grew up and turned to a family life of crime": The Waterfront creator addresses the show's similarities to another of his classic hits

Scream franchise fame Kevin Williamson's latest crime drama series, The Waterfront, is receiving positive reviews from the audience and has quickly climbed the platform's top charts.

The show, which is shot in the same location as Williamson's other classic hit Dawson's Creek, debuted on Netflix on June 19, 2025.

Since the show is set in the same rural coastal town setting and follows similar themes to his classic series, fans are comparing The Waterfront to Dawson's Creek.

While the creator agreed that both shows have some similar themes and are partly inspired by his childhood in North Carolina, the latest Netflix show is more mature and darker than his 1998 series.

Discussing their similarities, Williamson noted with ScreenRant that Dawson's Creek would be similar to the new series:

"If they all grew up and turned to a family life of crime.''

Talking about The Waterfront's unique story, he added:

"But this is more about just a generational family, and their legacy, and how they have turned to a life of crime. It's sort of when really good people do really bad things."

More on this in our story.

The Waterfront: Exploring Kevin Williamson's latest show's similarities with Dawson's Creek

After Dawson's Creek, which became one of the flagship shows for The WB in 1998, Kevin Williamson is back with another coastal setting show. The Waterfront has already received positive reviews from the audience, and its popularity is growing by the day.

While the latest Netflix show is much more mature, with twistier family drama, fans are already comparing it to Dawson's Creek, one of Williamson's classic hits.

Both shows pay homage to the creator's childhood spent with his family in North Carolina and are set in coastal settings.

In addition to the setting, both shows also explore the dangers of the drug business. The Buckleys were suddenly thrust into financial debt, which led them into the drug world in The Waterfront. Joey Potter's father also went to prison for similar reasons in Dawson's Creek.

Not only do the shows explore the themes of dysfunctional families in a small coastal town, but they also feature similar themes of growth and understanding within that chaotic family.

Kevin Williamson fictionalised his childhood in both The Waterfront and Dawson's Creek

While Dawson's Creek was a fictional story, parts of it were autobiographical as Williamson also comes from a fishing family and grew up in the small town of New Bern, North Carolina.

While his classic show had some elements from his childhood, The Waterfront is inspired by the true story of his father.

In an interview with ScreenRant, Williamson revealed how the fishing industry took a major hit during the 80s, which forced his father to turn to drug trafficking. He chose this dangerous path (just like Harlan Buckley) to support his family during a bad time and to put Williamson through college:

''He was trying to support his family, and he made a decision, and he ultimately was caught, and he paid the price, and he went to prison, very much like Jody Potter's dad. If you watch Dawson's Creek, Joey Potter's dad was in prison for conspiracy to traffic marijuana in excess of 20,000 pounds. That was my dad's charge. Exactly.''

While Williamson partly paid homage to his childhood and his father through Dawson's Creek, he wanted to bring his father's story to the small screen. Discussing the inspiration and importance behind The Waterfront to UK News, he noted:

"It’s a little more adult Kevin. It’s me looking back on my life growing up. It’s reflection, it’s nostalgic, it’s a little bit of a memory piece. But it’s also set in today’s world, it’s current, and it’s a story about a broken family trying to fix themselves and not really knowing how."

While Dawson's Creek was also inspired by his experience in North Carolina, the latest Netflix show pays a direct homage to his father, who chose a dangerous way to save his family from a dire situation.

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