Williamson grew up in the oceanside town of Oriental, North Carolina, which served as the inspiration for The Waterfront ’s fictional location, Havenport. The show was filmed in Southport, where Williamson filmed his classic slasher film, 1997’s I Know What You Did Last Summer.

The Waterfront, which follows the Buckley family and their attempts to maintain their North Carolina fishing empire, is based on the life of Williamson's father, Wade, a fisherman. “We've never really seen a story about the commercial fisherman told before in any sort of dramatic way in a family drama,” he told Tudum.

Kevin Williamson, best known for 'Scream' and 'Dawson's Creek,' based the new drama on his own dramatic upbringing in North Carolina.