There's a new Netflix number one show — and it's a crime drama written by a horror legend

Kevin Williamson, the mind behind horror classic Scream and teen drama Dawson’s Creek, has a new show that’s just arrived on Netflix, and it’s taking the streamer by storm.

According to FlixPatrol, the new show has been at the top of the charts since its release on 19th June, climbing above previous hit Ginny & Georgia — an impressive feat considering Williamson’s project is a brand-new show.

Titled The Waterfront, it follows a dysfunctional family whose fishing empire is gradually beginning to crumble in a North Carolina town. It’s the story of a family trying to cling to its former glory before the patriarch steps back in to take the wheel.

True events inspire the eight-episode run — it's inspired in part by Williamson's own family — but who knows if we will get to see another season, given how prone Netflix is to canning shows that are seemingly doing well.

Holt McCallany stars (The Iron Claw, Mindhunter) alongside Maria Bello (BEEF), Melissa Benoist (The Girls on the Bus), and Jake Weary (How to Blow Up a Pipeline), with Topher Grace also swinging by, although it’s unlikely he’s here to take pictures of Spider-Man.

The Waterfront | Official Trailer | Netflix - YouTube

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The show has only continued to grow in popularity since its release, but reviews have been a bit more mixed, with Collider giving the show a nine out of ten and describing it as “one of this year’s best shows”.

Whilst The Guardian weren’t quite so hot on the Netflix Original, only giving it three out of five stars and adding “It is escapist summer nonsense with — God, I hope — no pretensions to being otherwise. Dive into the adult creek and wallow in nostalgia as the waves of absurdity sweep towards shore.”

IndieWire were one of the more negative reviews, giving the show a D+ using the site's unique grading scale, going on to add “Nothing that happens has to evoke any real emotions, it just has to remind you of shows that did. Even if you haven’t seen Ozark or Yellowstone — heck, even if The Waterfront is the first series you’ve ever seen — there’s no mistaking a sinking ship. Let’s just hope Holt — a mercurial bulldog of an actor worth building a real show around — makes his way back to solid ground.”

Given the popularity of the series, it's almost as if critical opinion doesn't matter in the face of Netflix's almighty algorithm.

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