Where Was ‘The Waterfront’ Filmed?

Drugs. Murder. A dysfunctional family struggling to keep each other and a failing business afloat. And, in the background, a drop-dead gorgeous view of the seaside off North Carolina. After recovering from the shock and chaos of Netflix’s The Waterfront, viewers find themselves yearning for a visit to Havenport — or whatever the real-world equivalent may be.

In the new drama, Cane Buckley (Jake Weary) must take over the family fishing empire along with his mother Belle (Maria Bello) when his father Harlan (Holt McCallany) is hospitalized after two major heart attacks. The fishery is, for lack of a better word, drowning, and Cane pursues a deal with an underground drug cartel in order to make ends meet and squash mountains of debt. The family also must support Bree (Melissa Benoist), Cane’s hotheaded sister who inherited her father’s vices with alcohol and has lost custody of her son.

Utilizing stunning wide shots of the shimmering North Carolina coast, the series uses the beauty of its setting to offset the darkness of its plot and character dynamics. But where exactly is the titular Waterfront located? Is there any way for viewers to see the sights in Havenport? Here’s what we know about The Waterfront’s filming locations.

Where Was The Waterfront Filmed?

Havenport may be fictional, but the North Carolinian towns of Wilmington and Southport are very real. As The News & Observer reports, several landmarks in these two towns were utilized in the filming of The Waterfront. For instance, the Fishy Fishy Cafe stands in as Buckley Crab Shack, the Buckley’s family restaurant in episode one. The Carter County Courthouse is really a Wilmington U.S. postal house, just as the town’s William E. Poole Designs became Havenport Hardware and its Chamber of Commerce became the emergency room to which Harlan was rushed after his heart attacks. 

Some other real-world locales that appear in the series include Wilmington’s The Basics and The Cotton Exchange, Southport’s Morningstar Marinas, Wilmington’s Suites on Market, Wilmington’s Thalian Hall, the Southport Community Building, and Southport’s International Longshoremen’s Local 1838.

Why Was The Waterfront Filmed In North Carolina?

Series creator Kevin Williamson has a penchant for basing his creative projects in North Carolina, as he demonstrates with works like Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and Dawson’s Creek. Since The Waterfront is based on Williamson’s father’s fishing business in North Carolina and his desperate turn to drug-dealing in the ‘80s, it was imperative for Williamson to return to the proverbial scene of the crime for an added sense of authenticity. Also, the place is just plain beautiful. Williamson tells Netflix’s Tudum, “I love North Carolina; I would shoot everything here if I could. It’s gorgeous, people come here because it’s just such a coastal destination. I can’t take credit for that. I can take credit for being inspired by it.” 

Viewers can stream all episodes of The Waterfront on Netflix.