In a surprising move, Netflix has canceled its crime drama series The Waterfront after just one season.
The show, created by Kevin Williamson, followed the story of the Buckley family, a North Carolina fishing dynasty that turns to crime to save their business.
Despite its promising premise and talented cast, including Holt McCallany, Maria Bello, and Melissa Benoist, the series failed to find a large enough audience to justify a renewal.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Williamson had discussed his plans for a potential second season. "We have the Parker family that will come into play," he said.
"They have such a backstory with the Buckleys already. The Parker family would become season two's big conflict. We've only met Emmett [Terry Serpico] and his father. There are more Parker family members and they will prove to be equally as complicated as the Buckleys — and more dangerous than Grady could ever be."
Unfortunately, it seems those plans will not come to fruition.
Despite its cancellation, The Waterfront did show some promise, earning comparisons to popular Netflix family crime dramas like Ozark and Bloodline.
The show spent five weeks in Netflix's global Top 10, peaking at 11.6 million views in its first week. However, its scores on Rotten Tomatoes were lukewarm, with a 68% critic score and a 66% audience score.
The Hollywood Reporter's review was mixed, praising Topher Grace's performance while criticizing the show's thin characters and artificial settings.
The cancellation of The Waterfront is part of a larger trend at Netflix, where the streamer is carefully evaluating the performance and cost of its shows.
According to Deadline, Netflix executives typically consider factors like viewership, completion rate, awards recognition, and social media buzz when deciding whether to renew a show.
In the case of The Waterfront, it seems that the show's viewership and completion rate were not enough to secure a renewal.
