[The following interview contains some spoilers for “The Waterfront.”]
Kevin Williamson was able to put down his pen. In late 2019, following the cancellation of his CBS crime thriller “The Following,” the creator behind genre- and culturally-defining hits similar to “The Vampire Diaries,” “Dawson’s Creek” and the “Scream” movie franchise was feeling burnt out.
“I used to be in a deal at Warner Bros. the place you must sing on your supper slightly bit, when it comes to making a pilot each season. And in case you don’t have a pilot, then, what good are you? So I spotted I didn’t have a pilot to point out,” Williamson instructed IndieWire throughout a current interview. “I used to be doing TV exhibits I didn’t need to do. I used to be making exhibits I wouldn’t watch. And as quickly as you begin doing that, you’re in hassle. So I finished and I give up, and I mentioned, ‘No extra TV.’”
However on the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, with most productions left at a standstill throughout the business, Williamson started feeling more and more stressed. The copious quantities of alone time had compelled Williamson to begin considering how he would lastly inform his most private story up to now: a drama collection, set in his native North Carolina, loosely impressed by his business fisherman father’s points with the legislation.
In 1983, throughout Williamson’s transition from highschool to varsity, his father, Wade, was arrested for utilizing his personal boat to take part in an elaborate drug smuggling operation, and he was later convicted of conspiracy to site visitors marijuana in extra of 20,000 kilos — the identical crime that Joey Potter’s dad was arrested for in “Dawson’s Creek.” On reflection, Williamson insists that his father did what he felt he wanted to help his household, as a result of the fishing enterprise in North Carolina at the moment was about to go “stomach up.”
“I at all times teased my dad that I used to be going to do a present about him, and at first he would joke and say, ‘Effectively, simply wait till I’m lifeless.’ After which I lastly mentioned, ‘No, actually, Dad.’ He goes, ‘Effectively, I don’t need to be lifeless and not see it,’” Williamson mentioned, including that Wade, a “Yellowstone” superfan, at all times wished Kevin Costner to play him. “I began writing it, after which sadly, he handed [in 2020], however he was tremendous proud. He was tremendous excited for me. He was a really humorous man, and I believe he would’ve had an enormous smile on his face as a result of he would’ve cherished all of the issues we did.”
The ultimate result’s “The Waterfront,” which premiered this week on Netflix. Set within the fictional city of Havenport, North Carolina, the collection stars “Mindhunter” star Holt McCallany as patriarch Harlan Buckley who, whereas recovering from two coronary heart assaults, decides to retake management of his household’s crumbling fishing empire after his spouse Belle (Maria Bello) and son Cane (Jake Weary) resort to more and more harmful means to maintain themselves afloat. A kind of means? Smuggling opium on the whim of a mercurial drug kingpin (Topher Grace).
On condition that he had simply been considering retirement a number of years in the past, Williamson, who simply turned 60 final yr, admits that telling such a private story has given him a second wind. “I’m not going to take a seat down but — at some point quickly, however not as we speak,” he mentioned with a playful smile. “Look, I’m not writing youngsters anymore. I can’t preserve writing youngsters my complete profession, so it was good to take a seat down and write some adults.”
Talking on the finish of one other lengthy day of enhancing the following “Scream” sequel, Williamson opens up in regards to the real-life parts which knowledgeable his long-awaited return to TV, how that explosive finale units up a possible sophomore outing, the keys to constructing an epic love triangle — and why he thinks there’ll at all times be room for a superb vampire story.
The next interview has been edited and condensed for readability.
IndieWire: “The Waterfront” is just not solely about Harlan, however he’s actually the centrifugal drive of this collection. What elements of your individual late father did you attempt to incorporate into the character that we see on this present?
Kevin Williamson: I actually wished to include his humorousness. My dad had an enormous humorousness, and he had that kind of self-awareness the place he might touch upon any given state of affairs that he was really standing in. He had that capability, and I believe he handed it to me. I discovered that to be a part of one thing that Holt does as Harlan — he does a working commentary on what’s taking place. That inside voice turns into the surface voice. With Harlan, Holt actually captures the spirit of my dad, however I believe Holt drew on his personal father and his personal background to determine who Harlan was. I believe he did a lovely job as a result of he’s simply very sincere.
You will have at all times been recognized to create characters who’re actually an extension of the way you see your self. How did that manifest this time round? Are there any parts of your self that you may acknowledge within the Buckley clan?
Cane is that misplaced particular person who looks like he’s second-guessing each selection he’s ever made in his life, and I can spiral that means for positive, and I’m positive lots of people can. I believe [Melissa Benoist’s] Bree speaks to the outsider. She’s by no means felt like she belonged, and she or he additionally suffers from dependancy points, and I relate to her loads. Belle was lots of my mother. She was onerous and chilly when she wanted to be; light, heat and nurturing when she wanted to be. She was tremendous in cost. My dad was a quite simple however very sophisticated man, and he didn’t present his emotions. However when he did, he felt them.
You will have described “The Waterfront” nearly as good people who find themselves compelled to do very dangerous issues. The enjoyable of a present like that is watching the road that the Buckleys have drawn within the sand transfer as they get deeper and deeper enmeshed on this world of crime. How would you describe the Buckley household’s ethical compass? Does the tip actually justify the means for them?
I believe they’ve labored actually, actually onerous to not do what they’re doing. In fact, Cane will get caught up in it, after which Harlan goes in and tries to repair Cane’s state of affairs, after which they only find yourself getting deeper and deeper into it. One of many issues that occurs from a personality standpoint is Harlan reignites [as a person]. Crime agrees with him, and he begins to get again his mojo and his swagger, and that a part of him he had been lacking. I believe Belle says it within the first or second episode: She is aware of he can see all of it ending, and this can be a means for him to return again to life slightly bit.
And, in fact, Cane is the one who has to morally determine: How far is he keen to go? He’s by no means actually held a gun, a lot much less pulled the set off. We watch him undergo all of these issues, and his ethical compass additionally comes within the type of his highschool sweetheart who exhibits up. She’s kind of the highway not taken, and she or he’s there to characterize each selection he didn’t take — and each selection possibly he nonetheless might. And in case you’ve seen the present, what occurs.
The finale ends with Belle seemingly taking the reins of the fishing empire proper from below Harlan’s nostril — and Harlan seems to be none-the-wiser proper now. How does that cliffhanger arrange a possible second season?
I believe Belle, till this level, has stood by her husband. She married into the household. She wasn’t a Buckley. And I believe it was across the seventh episode when she actually lays it out on [Harlan] and she or he’s like, “I earned my title. I earned the title Buckley. I’m a Buckley extra so than you’re.” I believe proper round there, she’s beginning to determine that, “You already know what? I can’t stand within the shadows anymore. I’ve sat by, and he simply makes a multitude, and I’m at all times there to scrub it up. Now I must get in entrance of him so he simply received’t make the mess to begin with.”
So I believe her level on the finish is she’s simply going to take management the identical means Cane received into hassle, and she or he’s simply going to only push him apart and stand tall and cope with it. However I believe she’s going to take management. She is aware of that she will be able to do it. After which, in fact, we now have the Parkers [another crime family] who they’re now beholden to, and I believe there’s an entire household there of fascinating individuals. We had one, [played by] Topher Grace, this yr. I believe we’re going to have a number of extra subsequent yr.
How did you land on the endings for the remainder of the Buckleys? Given that you simply put all of them at risk this season, did you ever think about killing any of them off?
Effectively, we are able to nonetheless try this! I wished to play out the dynamics of the household. I actually love the dynamic between Bree and Cane and the way she sees him because the golden boy, and he doesn’t really feel like a golden boy in any respect. He sees his sister’s hassle, and now they’ve this third sibling that has entered the combination who’s form of good. He really walks within the door — sensible, clever, with all of it collectively — and the one factor improper with him is he’s residing with some grief and he’s in search of a spot to belong. It’s like, how far will he go to have a household? I believe that’s going to be Shawn’s [Rafael L. Silva] burden subsequent season, which is, precisely how far will he go? Can he turn into a Buckley — and a real Buckley?
This present is slightly bit in regards to the sins of our father, and I wished to place Bree on the fitting path in order that she might maybe have an entire totally different viewpoint subsequent season. So I simply wished to get to the basis of her drama, which was what she witnessed [as a child, with the killing of her paternal grandfather] and the way [her family] simply ignored her alcoholism. So now, possibly she and her brother can come collectively and combat a much bigger enemy. I additionally wished to see Cane and his spouse, [Danielle Campbell’s] Peyton. She was the second selection, and she or he is aware of it. She is aware of she wasn’t the primary choose. And now, on the finish of the season, she is decided to turn into the primary choose. So she’s married this man, she had a toddler with him, and I believe now it’s time to see them fall in love. They’re doing it within the reverse means.
This present is sort of actually going to attract comparisons to current exhibits which have hit the cultural zeitgeist — “Ozark,” “Narcos,” possibly slightly little bit of “Succession.”
It’s not any of these issues. [Laughs.]
Be that as it could, individuals will nonetheless attempt to match this collection into a selected field or style. As a creator and author, though the inspiration for this present is extraordinarily private, how cognizant are you about creating one thing that will have widespread enchantment and that will faucet into the cultural zeitgeist in the identical means? Is that one thing that you simply ever take into consideration or that an government has ever introduced as much as you?
I don’t consider it possibly the best way that you simply simply expressed it — which was nice, by the best way. I consider it otherwise. I consider what’s not on tv proper now. What’s the present that I need to see? And extra importantly, what’s a present that I can write that nobody else can? What’s a present that I might create that nobody else can create? I believe I’m the one one that might have written that pilot script as a result of I wrote it from a private place. I wrote it from a spot of household. I perceive the [fishing] enterprise. I understand how it went stomach up. And naturally, lots of writers got here in and helped with the opposite episodes, and it was superior. However I felt like this can be a world that nobody else was doing, so I selected to do it. I really like returning to North Carolina, and I really like simply residing in that panorama. It’s stunning down there. It’s nonetheless stuffed with a lot, so I simply need to convey that to the display screen.
We’re just a few years away from the 30-year anniversary of “Dawson’s Creek.” How have you ever seen the enterprise, and particularly the panorama for TV, evolve?
It’s utterly totally different than after I first began, and I didn’t know tips on how to make tv again then. I used to be simply thrust into it, and it was learn-as-you-go, however I cherished it. “Dawson’s,” as soon as once more, was a really private story, and nobody else was telling that story, so I wished to inform it. And the identical with “Scream” as a film. Nobody was making horror motion pictures at that second. So I mentioned, “Alright, I need to make a horror film that I need to see. I’ve seen all of the horror motion pictures now. I need to make one which speaks to that.” And that’s how “Scream” took place. I believe you actually simply have to go searching you and say, “What’s not there? What are you able to convey to this world?”
Tv has modified a lot. We’ve got streaming. There’s so some ways everybody could be watching [content]. A part of me simply loves it, and a part of me is like, “Oh man, I want we might return.” However you may watch this hour-long drama and go, “Oh, this can be a household drama. I’ve seen a household drama, however it’s not fairly like this [other show].” However hopefully, there’s one thing comfy about it; there’s some consolation meals there for individuals to faucet into, they usually’ll simply sit again and benefit from the eight episodes and binge them and simply have a enjoyable time. That’s what I need. We dwell in a extremely bizarre place proper now. We’re in a bizarre time on the planet, and I simply need individuals to take a seat again and revel in one thing for eight hours. I binge the whole lot, so I’m hoping it’s a really bingeable present. That’s what we had been making an attempt to make — and to entertain and have enjoyable. These had been our targets.
I really feel like they had been the identical targets 20 years in the past when TV was in a unique world. They’re the identical ones now — and it’s not “Succession.” [Laughs.] This can be a story in regards to the Buckleys, and I really like “Succession,” however I wouldn’t make that comparability. Folks could be sadly upset. I’ve learn that comparability, and I’m like, “Oh no.” [Laughs.]
We additionally simply handed the 15-year anniversary of “Vampire Diaries.” It’s so humorous to me looking back that you simply and Julie Plec didn’t assume there could be a requirement for extra vampire content material after “Twilight,” however right here we’re all these years later, and the style appears to be en vogue greater than ever.
You by no means know what’s going to resonate. I want I had a magic ball, however I don’t. I believe there’s at all times room for a terrific vampire story. “Interview with the Vampire” — that e-book got here out in 1976, and now we’re seeing it as a TV present. I watched Season 1, and I cherished it. So I assume they’re en vogue now, however I don’t know. I really like style. You’re asking somebody who simply lives on the planet of style, so I’m at all times going to be up for a superb vampire story.
Why do you assume vampires have stood the take a look at of time?
Vampires are simply darkish and attractive and mysterious, they usually dwell on the perimeter of society and are available out of the darkish. I simply assume this concept that there’s this individual that would kiss you or chunk you — I imply, there’s this inherent attract to vampires of their capability to seduce and do the whole lot, they usually’re very harmful. I simply assume they’re attractive. I believe they’re romantic. I believe they’re scary. They’re all these issues. So in case you faucet into a terrific story with them, it’s at all times enjoyable.
“Vampire Diaries,” was, as soon as once more, one other very, very private story. It was me coping with somebody who had died and I used to be in grief over somebody, and I sat down and wrote a narrative a couple of lifeless vampire and a lady who was lifeless inside, they usually introduced one another again to life.
Out of curiosity, have you ever seen Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners”?
Sure, I’ve. [Smirks.]
And what did you assume?
I actually, actually cherished it. I believed it was superior, and I cherished the little “College” shout-out too. [Williamson penned the screenplay for Robert Rodriguez’s 1998 sci-fi horror film, and Coogler cited the film as one of his inspirations.]
You’re no stranger to creating iconic love triangles — each on “Dawson’s Creek” with Dawson-Joey-Pacey and “Vampire Diaries” with Damon-Elena-Stefan. What do you assume are the keys to creating an epic love triangle?
Effectively, all of them three must be profitable; all of them three must be heroes. You may’t have a villain within the bunch. That’s how I have a look at it. If in case you have a villain, then you definitely’re going to know precisely who to root for. I believe it was really easy to painting Damon because the dangerous one, and also you wished Elena to select Stefan. However I believe we rapidly divulged one thing very, very private about Damon that made us understand that possibly there’s something in him that may love and possibly love will put it aside. So we simply set it up the place everybody has a love for the triangle, but additionally a need that in the event that they don’t get who they need, in the event that they don’t get their soulmate, in the event that they don’t get the individual they love, then it is going to utterly have an effect on the remainder of their life.
In “Vampire Diaries,” it was so superior as a result of the whole lot was epic and the stakes had been so excessive on a regular basis, and we had been simply turned as much as a ten on a regular basis. Our purpose was simply to make the whole lot epic after which sluggish it down and shock the viewers once in a while with one thing tender and candy. That was one other present the place we wished to be surprising, so we’d kill somebody in the course of one thing.
You’re in the course of doing post-production for “Scream 7,” which is able to heart on Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), and that is your first time within the director’s chair since 1999’s “Instructing Mrs. Tingle.” Is it true that Neve was liable for convincing you to direct this sequel?
Sure! It was a Zoom, so she received to see me cry. [Laughs.] No, it was pretty. She referred to as with the studio, and she or he wished to be the one to ask me to do it. I believe by some means there have been all of the conversations that had been had with out me, after which they Zoomed me and requested me, and it was superior.
What have you ever fabricated from the expertise of returning to “Scream,” and the way are you seeking to breathe new life into the franchise? [Williamson agreed to direct amid a period of upheaval following the departures of stars Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega.]
I don’t know. [Imitates the shrug emoji.] Look, we had a blast doing it. It was an exquisite time. I by no means actually left the franchise. I used to be at all times there on the sidelines [as an executive producer] all through all of it, and the rationale I stepped away was primarily Wes [Craven], as a result of I used to be like, “Our time has handed. How can I make a ‘Scream’ with out Wes?” I wasn’t going to be part of any of it, after which I spotted I didn’t need there to be a “Scream” made with out me, so I stayed concerned and I’m actually glad I did. The identical means Wes created a household, I believe this group of individuals have created a household, and it’s been fairly fantastic to be part of it.
I can’t actually speak about it with out giving stuff away, however I did go down a highway that has by no means been gone down earlier than, I believe… [Pauses.] No, that’s not true. Nevermind. That’s a lie! [Laughs.] It’s “Scream 7.” I did the whole lot I might to make it really feel new and contemporary, so we’ll see what occurs.
All episodes of “The Waterfront” at the moment are streaming on Netflix.