“The Waterfront,” which premiered on Netflix on Thursday, tells the story of a family fishery that holds a dark secret: selling drugs to keep the business alive. From the creator of “Scream,” “Dawson’s Creek” and “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” Kevin Williamson adds another piece of his work to the Wilmington and Southport locations.
The action-packed, drama-filled show takes viewers on a journey of love, heartbreak, addiction and the search for family roots like never before. The show follows Harlan Buckely—played by Holt McCallany, known for his role in the 2024 movie “Iron Claw”—and Cane Buckley—played by Jake Weary—on their mission to keep the family business alive while being disguised as a fishery.
In an interview, Brady Hepner—who played the character Diller Buckely—shared insight to the filming process as well as behind-the-scenes of his time on set. Hepner, originally from North Carolina, is also known for his roles in “The Black Phone” (2021) and “The Holdovers” (2023).
With filming taking around five months to wrap up, Hepner explains that “The Waterfront” is his first TV show that he has acted in and learned about the fast paced environment.
“They are basically shooting twice as much in one day,” said Hepner. “They shoot a lot every single day. Whereas in a movie you might get three scenes, we are pushing six scenes.” Hepner shared that screenwriters and directors were writing scripts as the show was being filmed. In addition, he also noted that different directors came on set to film select episodes throughout the filming process.
Bird’s-eye views and scenes of Southport, historic downtown Wilmington and Wrightsville Beach were shown to enhance the overall setting.
“Southport was very new to me. I’ve always wanted to make it down there and I’m glad I did. I got to go to Oak island too,” said Hepner. “But for Wilmington—I have been here at least 30 plus times.” Hepner said he used to participate in soccer tournaments when he was in high school.
Other scenes that were filmed in the show, such as the fishery and hospital scenes, were filmed at Screen Gem Studios in Wilmington. Other scenes, such as the boat scenes, were filmed on physical boats and yachts which were docked in the U.S. Coast Guard base.
On a hunting trip with Grady—played by Topher Grace, best known for his lead role as Eric Forman in “That 70s show”—and Diller, a tragic hunting accident takes place. Hepner completed his own stunts for the scene.
“I ran right to the producers when I found out I was getting shot,” said Hepner. “I was like, there is no way you’re killing me in season one.”
Hepner explains his concerns about how he was going to act out being shot on screen and described some of the background mechanics of the show.
“Imagine taking a camping trip with 100 people,” said Hepner. “That’s what the set was like because you’re out in these hunting fields and there are all of these vans for equipment. Everybody from every department is hunkered down underneath these trees and we [Topher Grace and Holt McCallany] look like total idiots with these fake guns acting like we are hunting.”
During high adrenaline scenes, Hepner describes how he is able to keep that energy up while also keeping his composure on set. He describes how he would have to go for extended time periods with high emotions to make sure he was displaying the same emotion in every shot.
“It was a really great learning experience for me. I learned so much about the TV world outside of what I would normally do,” said Hepner. “It gave me new respect for it and what a lot of these crew members do.”
“The Waterfront” is now available to stream on Netflix.
