Netflix's crime drama series The Waterfront had all the makings of a hit series before its premiere this summer, and it fulfilled the prophecy. From its incredible cast to Dawson's Creek, Scream, and The Vampire Diaries creator Kevin Williamson leading the ship, the series had no choice but to become a new Netflix original series that everyone couldn't stop watching.
Since its debut on June 19, The Waterfront hasn't left the daily top 10 most popular shows ranking on Netflix in the United States (as of July 24, it's still hanging on at No. 10), and the show has also spent five weeks in the global top 10 most-watched English-language show list. Its first three weeks were spent at the No. 1 position before being knocked down by The Sandman and again by Untamed.
While the show didn't make a massive splash quite like Untamed in its debut frame, as the limited series bowed with 24.6 million views, The Waterfront's viewership numbers have displayed consistency and have also added up. To date, the drama has amassed a total of 31.2 million views and over 200 million hours viewed. It's the kind of modest success Netflix needs to take a risk on.
Take a closer look at The Waterfront's viewership numbers via Netflix below:
Week | Ranking | Views | Hours Viewed |
|---|---|---|---|
June 16-22, 2025 | 1 | 8.3 million | 53.3 million |
June 23-29, 2025 | 1 | 11.6 million | 74.3 million |
June 30-July 6, 2025 | 1 | 5.6 million | 36 million |
July 7-13, 2025 | 2 | 3.6 million | 22.9 million |
July 14-20, 2025 | 7 | 2.1 million | 13.6 million |
Sure, Untamed is on pace to lap the crime drama, having debuted just 6.6 million views shy of The Waterfront's current five-week total. But it's all relative. The Waterfront has proven its longevity. People are still watching it over a month after its premiere, which isn't something Netflix can say for some of its other original series. Daily and weekly, it's still a show viewers are enjoying.
After all, Netflix needs to start filling its lineup with mid-range series that will draw an audience, even if it's not the size of an audience quite like Stranger Things, Wednesday, or Squid Game can draw. If shows like Virgin River and Sweet Magnolias can continue to be renewed, because they have an audience that will tune in for new seasons, then The Waterfront can and should be, too.
These numbers make a renewal for The Waterfront season 2 feel like all but a guarantee. It's not a matter of if Netflix will renew the series, it's when. A similar scenario arose this spring with the Western romantic drama Ransom Canyon, which put up modest but stable numbers and proved to be a show with some staying power. Netflix announced season 2 a little over two months after its debut.
As of this writing, we're still just a bit over one month removed from The Waterfront's premiere on June 19, which means we could be waiting until sometime in August for the streamer to reveal the official renewal. Of course, we're remaining hopeful that an announcement could arrive sooner. Until then, keep watching the series only on Netflix to help better its chances!