New TV series from 'Dawson's Creek' creator to shoot in Wilmington this year
Ever since news broke in May that Kevin Williamson's new TV series "The Waterfront" would be set in North Carolina, people have been asking: Will it shoot in Wilmington?
After all, Williamson is known for creating the teen drama "Dawson's Creek," which shot here in the late '90s and early 2000s. Wilmington still attracts fans of the show more than 20 years after the final episode aired in 2003.
As it turns out, Williamson will return to Wilmington to shoot "The Waterfront," a representative with Universal Studio Group, which is producing the show with Williamson's Outerbanks Entertainment production company, has confirmed. "The Waterfront" is also listed on the website of the Wilmington Regional Film Commission as being in pre-production.
"The actual town the show will be 'set in' is still TBD," the rep said, but "The Waterfront" will shoot in Wilmington later this year and is opening offices at Cinespace Studios on 23rd Street. Once completed, it will air on Netflix.
The show's Internet Movie Database page describes "The Waterfront" as following the "damaged" Buckley family as "their storied North Carolina fishing empire decays (and they) grapple to revive their imperiled maritime heritage."
The show's actors have yet to be revealed, but Williamson, a native of New Bern, is credited as the writer.
It won't be the first time Williamson has returned to Wilmington for a TV or movie project since his "Dawson's Creek" days.
In 2020, the fifth installment of the meta slasher movie franchise "Scream," which Williamson created, shot here and showcased many area locations.
In 2019, Williamson appeared at an event at EUE/Screen Gems Studios, now Cinespace Studios, announcing the shooting of "The Exorcism," a horror movie starring Oscar-winning actor Russell Crowe that filmed here under the title "The Georgetown Project."
“It’s like coming home,” Williamson told the StarNews during the event. He is listed as a producer of the film.
"The Exorcism" will premiere at Thalian Hall in downtown Wilmington June 12 before opening in theaters nationwide June 21.
Williamson also co-wrote 1997 horror film "I Know What You Did Last Summer," which shot largely in Southport.
No news yet on when "The Waterfront" will begin production, but when it does it will join an increasingly busy year for film and TV in Wilmington after the strike-driven downturns of 2023.
Amazon's Prime Video drama "The Summer I Turned Pretty" is currently filming its third season here, and a movie for Prime Video starring Zooey Deschanel, "Merv," is in production here as well.
Yet another Prime Video series, "The Runarounds," from Wilmington resident Jonas Pate, co-creator of hit Netflix series "Outer Banks," is also expected to shoot here later this year.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: New Kevin Williamson TV series The Waterfront to shoot in Wilmington
