Why Does Bree From Netflix's ‘The Waterfront' Look So Familiar?
Netflix's new hit series The Waterfront stars Melissa Benoist as Bree Buckley. What else has Benoist starred in?
Inspired by true events, The Waterfront began streaming on Netflix on Thursday and is currently No. 1 on Netflix's list of U.S. Top 10 TV Series. The summary for The Waterfront reads, 'For decades, the Buckley family has ruled Havenport, North Carolina, dominating everything from the local fishing industry to the town's restaurant scene. But their fishing empire has started to crumble as patriarch Harlan Buckley (Holt McCallany) recovers from two heart attacks, and his wife Belle (Maria Bello) and son Cane (Jake Weary) venture into the deep end to keep the family businesses afloat.
'As their attempts spiral out of control and into treacherous waters, Harlan steps back in to take command. Facing her own demons, Buckley's daughter Bree (Benoist) — an addict in recovery who's lost custody of her son Diller (Brady Hepner) — finds herself entangled in a complicated relationship that could threaten the family's future forever.'
Born Oct. 4, 1988, Benoist's screen career kicked off in 2008 with a supporting role in the indie road trip comedy-drama Tennessee, which starred Ethan Peck and Mariah Carey.
In 2010, Benoist starred in a string of guest roles, in such shows as Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Blue Bloods, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and The Good Wife, followed by Homeland in 2011.
Benoist's breakthrough came in 2012, role, in a series that displayed her talents and both an actress and a singer — and her career has been soaring ever since. Listed below are some of the high-profile projects she has starred in, which will explain why she looks so familiar to viewers of The Waterfront.
'Glee' (2012-2104)
Melissa Benoist brought her acting and voice prowess to Glee when she joined the FOX Television musical series as a cast regular in Season 4.
Benoist starred as Marley Rose in Glee through Season 5, appearing in 42 episodes. During Benoist's run in the series, she performed several covers of classic songs, from Miley Cyrus' 'Wrecking Ball,' Billy Joel's 'New York State of Mind' and ABBA's "Mamma Mia" to Olivia Newton-John's Grease tune 'Look at Me I'm Sandra Dee,' Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" and Bonnie Tyler's 'Holding Out for a Hero.'
Benoist continued to sing after Glee in such musical projects as Beautiful: The Carole King Story, where she starred as the legendary singer-songwriter for a seven-week run on Broadway in 2018.
'Whiplash' (2014)
Melissa Benoist stars as Nicole, whose romantic relationship with Andrew (Miles Teller) is fractured because of Andrew's obsession with drumming in writer-director Damien Chazelle's psychological drama Whiplash.
In the film, Andrew is constantly at odds with Terence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons), a jazz instructor at a prestigious New York City music conservatory who tests the limits of his students with his mentally and verbally abusive teaching methods.
'Supergirl' (2015-2021)
Melissa Benoist played Superman's cousin, Kara Zor-El/Supergirl, aka Kara Danvers, on the CBS/CW's hit DC Comics series Supergirl.
During her time on Supergirl, Benoist played the character in several crossover appearances in The CW DC series Arrow, DC Legends of Tomorrow, The Flash and Batwoman.
'Waco' (2018)
In between her work on the Supergirl series, Melissa Benoist starred as Rachel Koresh — the first wife of Branch Davidian leader David Koresh (Taylor Kitsch) — in the miniseries Waco, which originally aired on the Paramount Network.
Directed by Drew Dowdle and John Erick Dowdle, Waco is a six-part miniseries that chronicles the 51-day standoff between David Koresh's religious sect and the FBI and AFT at the Branch Davidians in Waco, Tex., in 1993, which ended with a fatal fire at the compound.
Melissa Benoist in "The Girls on the Bus."
'The Girls On The Bus' (2024)
Melissa Benoist played one of the four leads in the Max series The Girls on the Bus, which ran for 10 episodes in 2024.
A political drama, The Girls on the Bus follows four journalists — Sadie McCarthy (Benoist), Grace Gordon Greene (Carla Gugino), Lola Rahaii (Natasha Behnam), and Kimberlyn Kendrick (Christina Elmore) — on a campaign bus during a presidential race.
All eight episodes of The Waterfront, created by Kevin Williamson and starring Melissa Benoist, Holt McCallany, Maria Bello and Jake Weary, are streaming on Netflix.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
10 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Janel Grant's representation calls Brock Lesnar's return to WWE 'attempt to sweep misconduct under the rug'
Brock Lesnar put a punctuation mark on WWE SummerSlam Sunday night with his return to the ring after a two-year absence from the promotion. Lesnar came out to confront John Cena following his defeat to Cody Rhodes and loss of the WWE championship, eventually attacking Cena and using his signature F-5 finishing move on him. Yet while the excitement of a feud with Cena was the takeaway from SummerSlam, Lesnar's return also raises reminders of why he took a two-year hiatus. The seven-time WWE champion was named in a federal lawsuit against former WWE chairman and CEO Vince McMahon. The lawsuit was filed against the company by former WWE employee Janel Grant, alleging that McMahon had sexually assaulted and trafficked her. On Monday afternoon, Grant's represenation issued a statement regarding Lesnar's return to WWE. "For far too long, abuse was allowed to thrive under WWE's leadership," the statement says. "Instead of righting this wrong, WWE has done nothing to ensure those responsible are held accountable." "This attempt to sweep misconduct under the rug will backfire," the statement added. "We look forward to the full set of facts, including those about Mr. Lesnar, coming out in a court of law where they belong but, in the meantime, we refer you back to Janel Grant's updated complaint, which outlines, in detail, the abuse she endured by McMahon and others while employed at WWE." The full lawsuit can be read here, via the Wall Street Journal. One of the claims in the complaint alleges that McMahon shared "sexually explicit photographs and videos of Ms. Grant (including pornographic content he recorded) with other men both inside and outside the company." That included "a world-famous athlete and former UFC Heavyweight Champion with whom WWE was actively trying to sign to a new contract (and ultimately did sign that contract)." Lesnar was not initially named beyond that description in the lawsuit, but that has since been changed to outright name him in the complaint. McMahon denied all allegations in Grant's lawsuit, but resigned as WWE chairman in January 2024. Lesnar hadn't appeared for WWE since then, with the company shelving plans to feature him in that year's Royal Rumble. However, Lesnar was apparently cleared by WWE's lawyers to return as a performer four weeks ago, according to reporter Dave Meltzer (via Cageside Seats). Though Meltzer was not able to provide details, he speculated that being cleared meant that the lawsuit may go to arbitration and Lesnar faced no legal jeopardy. His return to WWE appears to support that notion.
Yahoo
10 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Loni Anderson Stood By Burt Reynolds as He Was Bedridden for 2 Years, Taking Up to 50 Pain Pills a Day
Despite their bitter divorce in 1994, Burt Reynolds also once praised his ex-wife for sticking by him as he battled addiction and dramatic weight lossNEED TO KNOW Burt Reynolds admitted he once took up to 50 pills a day to treat pain from an on-set injury He praised his then-partner Loni Anderson for sticking by his side at his lowest point The couple later waged a media war during their bitter divorce, accusing each other of cheating and moreBy the end of their five-year marriage in 1994, there was certainly no love lost between actor Burt Reynolds, who died on Sept. 6, 2018, at age 82, and Loni Anderson, who died on Aug. 3, 2025, at age 79. Their bitter split actively played out in the media and tabloids, with both parties regularly dishing on the other to the National Enquirer, accusing one another of cheating, and in Reynolds's case, accusing Anderson of being an unfit mother to their adopted son Quinton, 36. But before the ugliness, there was a lot of love and support, with Reynolds publicly praising Anderson for sticking to his side as he battled morphine and sleeping pill addiction in the early '80s after he shattered his jaw on the set of the Clint Eastwood film City Heat. During the 1984 filming, Reynolds was accidentally clobbered with a wrought-iron chair during a fight scene. The blow fractured his temporomandibular joint, damaged his inner ear, and resulted in a two-year bout with almost constant pain and nausea. His weight dropped from 200 to 138 lbs, and the press was rife with erroneous reports that he had AIDS. To dull the pain, he took morphine and at one point was admittedly downing an astonishing 50 tablets a day of the controversial antidepressant and sleeping pill Halcion. At the time, Reynolds told TV Guide that the pain was immeasurable: "It's worse than a migraine," he said. "It is like having an army of people inside your head trying to get out through ears, eyes, your nose. It never stops." He said that he took five to six pills at a time and as many as 50 a day to dull the pain. For the two years after the injury, he was virtually bedridden in his darkened room. He endured another difficult year of medically supervised detox afterward. ''This wonderful lady never left my side,'' he later said of Loni, whom he'd been dating since 1981. ''How can you not be in love with somebody like that?'' The couple went on to marry in 1988, welcoming Quinton in 1988. Throughout most of his life, Reynolds would have battles with pain pills, owing to other injuries from his college football career, and a brief stint as a stuntman. In 2009, he went through back surgery and again became addicted to pain pills. He went to rehab that same year. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Despite their ugly split in the early '90s, after Reynolds' death in 2018, Anderson told FOX News that she had made peace with her ex-husband. "Quinton and I are extremely touched by the tremendous outpouring of love and support from friends and family throughout the world," she told the outlet. "Burt was a wonderful director and actor. He was a big part of my life for twelve years and Quinton's father for thirty years. We will miss him and his great laugh." Read the original article on People Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
10 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Stephen Colbert's New Gig Revealed Following 'The Late Show' Cancellation
Colbert has landed a guest role on 'Elsbeth' after previously asking to play a "corpse" on the CBS seriesNEED TO KNOW Stephen Colbert has landed a guest role on Elsbeth season 3 The news comes weeks after CBS canceled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Colbert will be playing a late-night talk show host in an episode of ElsbethWeeks after CBS canceled Stephen Colbert's The Late Show, the comedian has landed a new gig. PEOPLE has learned that Colbert will guest star on Elsbeth season 3. Better yet, art will imitate life, as he will play a late-night talk show host. CBS declined to comment when reached by PEOPLE. Elsbeth stars Carrie Preston as the titular Elsbeth Tascioni, an attorney from Chicago who utilizes her equally unique and quirky perspective to help the New York Police Department solve crimes. The show also stars Wendell Pierce as the NYPD captain overseeing Elsbeth, and Carra Patterson plays an NYPD officer who befriends Elsbeth. Colbert will join the star-studded list of celebrities who have made guest appearances on . The show, a spinoff of The Good Wife and The Good Fight, kicked off with a True Blood reunion between Preston and Stephen Moyer. Additional season 1 guest stars included Jane Krakowski, Linda Lavin, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Retta, Blair Underwood, Gina Gershon, Keegan-Michael Key, Laura Benanti and more. The list of guest stars only grew larger for season 2. It included Nathan Lane, Vanessa Williams, Pamela Adlon, Vanessa Bayer, Laurie Metcalf, Eric McCormack, Matthew Broderick, Jordana Brewster, Alyssa Milano, Mary-Louise Parker, David Alan Grier and Ethan Slater, to name a few. Colbert previously voiced his desire to appear on . Pierce stopped by The Late Show in February, and Colbert asked the actor if he could help him fulfill his dream "to be a corpse on one of these shows." "I want to be the body that's found behind the pile of lettuce boxes," Colbert pleaded. Pierce responded with a laugh, "I can make that happen. I know a guy who knows a guy. We can get you on." News of Colbert's new gig comes after he announced that was ending in May 2026 during the July 17 episode. "Before we start the show, I want you to know something that I found out just last night. Next year will be our last season. The network will be ending The Late Show in May," Colbert, who began hosting the show in 2015, told the studio audience. "It's not just the end of our show, but it's the end of The Late Show at CBS. I'm not being replaced," he added. "This is all just going away. And I do want to say that the folks at CBS have been great partners." In a statement shared with PEOPLE, CBS called the move "purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night." "It is not related in any way to the show's performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount," the statement continued, with the network expressing "admiration, affection, and respect" for Colbert, which it added "made this agonizing decision even more difficult." The timing of The Late Show's cancellation came days after Colbert criticized the network's parent company, Paramount, for reaching a $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump earlier in the month. The settlement also came in the midst Paramount's plans of a merger with the entertainment company Skydance, a move that would require approval from Trump's administration. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Elsbeth is streaming on Paramount+. Read the original article on People
