Latest news with #MissGlory
IOL News
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- IOL News
Hooked on drama: 'The Waterfront' reels in streamers with a gripping crime family saga
Holt McCallany as Harlan Buckley, Jake Weary as Cane Buckley in 'The Waterfront'. Image: Dana Hawley/Netflix © 2025 If you enjoyed 'Ozark', then 'The Waterfront' is a must-see. My curiosity was piqued after seeing countless binge-watchers rave about it on social media, and I can confirm: it did not disappoint. Interestingly, the eight-part series is inspired by real-life events. The dysfunctional Buckley family is at the heart of the narrative. The Buckleys are an influential family that dominates the local fishing industry in Havenport, North Carolina. Aside from their fishing empire, they run a restaurant, which has been in the family for a long time. Unfortunately, the health setback of patriarch Harlan (Holt McCallany), who has survived two heart attacks and is not entirely out of the woods, has seen him step back from operations, leaving the business in a precarious financial position. As such, his wife Belle (Maria Bello) and their son Cane (Jake Weary) agreed to do a few drug runs with their fleet of fishing boats to keep the debt collectors at bay. Of course, the family isn't unfamiliar with criminal activity. Harlan's father ran a cartel before he was executed by rivals. Meanwhile, their recovering drug addict daughter Bree (Melissa Benoist) is fighting her own battle, having lost custody of her teenage son Diller Hopkins (Brady Hepner). Topher Grace as Grady, Josh Crotty as Nate, Brady Hepner as Diller Hopkins in 'The Waterfront'. Image: Dana Hawley/Netflix © 2025 The first episode kicks off on a tense note when the family's sold boat, the Miss Glory, is found beached, the heat is on them. With allegations of drug-running swirling around, especially with the dirty local sheriff Clyde Porter (Michael Gaston) sniffing around. Clyde has his own side drug business going, and he blackmails the Buckleys into working for him. Having grown up watching his father navigate this world, Harlan, supported by Cane, takes the reins in getting the family out of the current mess. However, the situation is compounded by Bree's relationship with DEA agent Marcus Sanchez (Gerardo Celasco), who is a recovering heroin addict looking to cement his career by taking down the Buckleys. To settle a score with her brother Cane, who testified against her and cost her her son, Bree feeds Marcus information until she realises the ramifications of her actions. Amid Harlan and Cane attempting to put out fires, Belle tries to save the family legacy by getting into bed, literally, with Wes Benson (Dave Annable). Harlan attempts to outsmart Clyde by directly approaching his supplier, Grady (Topher Grace). This decision leaves him in a difficult position, caught between safeguarding his family and appeasing his new psychopathic boss's excessive demands. Holt McCallany as Harlan Buckley and Maria Bello as Belle Buckley in 'The Waterfront'. Image: Dana Hawley/Netflix © 2025 'The Waterfront' is laden with plenty of tense moments and curveballs. And it is compounded by the arrival of Shawn West (Rafael L. Silva), the new bartender who also happens to be Harlan's illegitimate son. That's not forgetting Cane's high school sweetheart Jenna Tate (Humberly González) moving back to town to take care of her ailing father. Despite both of them being married, the chemistry is unmistakable, especially to Cane's wife, Peyton (Danielle Campbell). The casting is phenomenal in this series. McCallany's commanding presence is wonderfully offset by Bello as his take-charge wife. Confident, unfazed and ambitious, she brings a forward-thinking dynamic to the family. Weary initially comes across as endearingly naive, but streamers quickly warm to him. He proves his mettle and demonstrates he is his father's son through his sacrifices and occasional blunders. Benoist commendably portrays her conflicted character, balancing her role as a mother striving to reconcile with her rebellious son and her duty to her family. Despite being the black sheep of the family, she's as tough as nails and doesn't buckle under pressure. Grace wields his ruthless side with wild abandon and commendable dexterity, all while maintaining a dangerously calm disposition and an undeniable charm. 'The Waterfront' seamlessly blends the gritty intensity of 'Ozark' with the compelling drama of 'The Sopranos'. Its script is a taut, engaging, and adrenaline-fuelled, masterfully navigating between danger and drama. It can get a bit soap-esque at times, but you will lap up every bit of mayhem and victory, especially with a sequel hinted at the end. ∎ Rating: 4/5 **** a standout series with exceptional qualities.
The Review Geek
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Review Geek
The Waterfront – Season 1 Episode 1 'Almost Okay' Recap & Review
Almost Okay Episode 1 of The Waterfront begins with a couple of fisherman, Curtis and Troy, smuggling drugs. It's dark, misty, and the perfect place for an ambush. Several goons show up, steal their gear and wrap them in a net, throwing them overboard. This ends up being big news as their boat, Miss Glory, washes up on shore. The hull has been completely cleared out and the authorities are swarming all over this. The boat is registered to Cane Buckley, a prominent business owner around these parts who owns the fishery. They're a big family in town that everybody knows, so naturally it's the first port of call for the DEA. One of the more prominent agents here is a guy called Marcus Sanchez. More on him shortly! Cane Buckley has a nice house and a good family. He has a little girl called Savannah and a loving wife called Peyton. However, his money is not entirely clean. Having heard about the earlier boat, he rushes to get the date of registration changed on the official documents, erasing his own involvement in ownership. Things are estranged between Cane and his father, Harlan, who isn't in the best state. He has heart issues, he's having affairs behind his wife Bella's back (although she seems to know and not care much) and he's drinking heavily. Harlan has run the fishery into the ground and when things went off the rails a while back, he dumped the business – and all its financial woes – in Cane's lap. Marcus shows up asking questions though, but Cane lies and claims Curtis bought the boat from him a few months back. Harlan catches wind of what's happening and shows up at the office, punching Cane in the face. It turns out Cane has been mixed up with drug runners, although he shrugs it off and claims they've only run the drugs three times in total. Cane is working with a man named Hoyt Piper, but he's only a small-bit player that answers to someone called Owen. Cane was determined to try and run down their debt and thought smuggling drugs was the easiest way to get ahead. The haul was upwards of about $10 million, and Hoyt was the one setting the meetings up, so Cane is very much in the dark here. He has no idea who he's really working for. Harlan is not happy, and speaks to Belle that night about what's been going on. She admits to being aware of Cane's issues, given he came to her 6 months back for help. It was only supposed to be a couple of easy runs to get afloat but that's clearly escalated in a big way now. While Harlan was too busy getting blind drunk and sleeping around, Belle was working with Cane to try and save the business. This seemed like the only viable option. Harlan though is ready to take the reigns of this business again, and demands Hoyt come and see him so they can strike up a deal. They're joined by ex-offenders Tim and Reggie, who work at the fish house and are the only other ones who know about this drug operation. Harlan believes Hoyt is the one behind Curtis and Troy being killed. After dumping some Chum in the water, they drop Hoyt down so the sharks can force him into submission. Well, it works and he admits the drugs are locked in a shed in the middle of the woods. Harlan finds the drugs… but so too does Clyde Porter, the local sheriff. He and Harlan go way back and we've seen them friendly with each other across the season. Unfortunately, he shoots Hoyt dead and reveals that he's the one in charge here. He is Owen. The Buckley family now owe Clyde Porter and he has them right where he wants them. The pair deal with Hoyt's body, dumping him in a swamp full of alligators, before working out how to play this next. It's a stressful ordeal for Cane, who finds his whole life crumbling around him. The one bright spot though comes from an old flame back in town, Jenna. She's married, just like Cane is, but the pair have clear chemistry together. Everybody knows it, and it seems the pair are lying to themselves over what they could have been. Cane has been following Jenna's writing online for a while and even heads over to hers and propositions her, in a roundabout way. She shoots him down, but it's clear this isn't the end of things. As the episode closes out, Bree heads to a seedy motel in town, where Marcus Sanchez opens the door and invites her in. Is she working with the feds? The Episode Review The Waterfront gets things off to a decent start with its opening episode, combining elements of Ozark, Bloodlines and Outer Range, into this soapy crime drama. The estranged family clearly have a lot of demons to iron out and the episode does a good job of introducing everybody and quickly establishing their ties. Cane and Harlan are the lifeblood of this family and you can already see that these two and their bond is going to be the driving force of the show. Along with that, we've also got the situation involving Bree, who appears to be working with the DEA to take down her own family. We know she has an estranged relationship with her son but we don't know how or why. That, of course, pales compared to the drama involving Porter, and the nice little twist that Clyde is actually the big boss. Whether there's someone else higher up the food chain though remains to be seen. So far though, this looks like it could be quite the intriguing watch. Next Episode Expect A Full Season Write-Up When This Season Concludes!
