Is The Waterfront based on a true story?

But is the series based on a true story or is it entirely fictional? And what has Williamson said about his inspiration for the twisting, turning drama?

Read on for everything you need to know about The Waterfront.

Is The Waterfront based on a true story?

It is. While it isn't a one-to-one recreation of a true story, the series has been inspired by the life of series creator Kevin Williamson as he was growing up.

Williamson has described the series as a "memory piece", but the characters, although based around crucial figures in his life, are nominally fictional.

The series is also set in the present day, rather than recreating Williamson's younger days. He has called it "all fiction", but the characters and elements of the story have been drawn from his memory.

What has Kevin Williamson said about his inspiration for The Waterfront?

Williamson has said he always writes about what he knows – for instance, his show Dawson's Creek was about his life growing up in a small town on the creek in North Carolina, while The Vampire Diaries was inspired by his childhood passion for Dark Shadows.

He told Tudum of this new show: "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."

Williamson has also noted that Holt McCallany's character Harlan is based on his own father, saying: "I had my dad in my head. I was like, 'How do you cast Superman? What I found in Holt was his connection to the character.

"He’s a bit of a mystery box. You’re either going to get rugged and tough and hardcore or you’re going to get vulnerable and emotional and honest. I love those qualities."

Meanwhile, Maria Bello's character Belle is inspired by Williamson's mother.

He explained: "A lot of families have that strong matriarch at the centre that keeps everything floating. Mine kept everything going. I got to school and graduated college because of the fire she lit under my butt."

Williamson further explained how the series is linked with his real life when speaking with Entertainment Weekly.

"Back in the '80s, my dad got into some trouble," he said. "He was a fisherman, and he got hooked up with some people that offered him some money to run [drugs] on his fishing boat.

"Back then, everything was starting to change and that's when the fishing business just sank in America, certainly on the Eastern Seaboard. So he was a good man who did some bad things, and he ended up paying the price for it. And he went to prison. He was in prison during my college years."

Williamson explained that his dad told him to "Wait till I'm dead," and to cast Kevin Costner, to which he said: "I got one out of two."

The Waterfront is available to stream in full on Netflix now. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

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