Movies and TV shows like The Waterfront
If you like "The Waterfront" you are looking for tense, intense and moody movies or TV shows about / with family drama, inheritance, survival, working class, coastal town, resilience and harbor themes of Crime and Drama genre shot in USA.
Find your next favorite and similar movies in two steps:
1. Identify all themes of interest from this film (block below).
2. Look for them in the presented list.
The Waterfront (2025)
17K
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 45 min.
TV show
Story:
A prominent North Carolina fishing family wades into treacherous waters to keep their crumbling business empire afloat.
Style:
tense, intense, moody
Plot:
family drama, inheritance, survival, working class, coastal town, resilience, harbor, blue collar, seafaring, family secret, nostalgia, slow burn, betrayal, corruption, reconciliation, male nudity, fishing, empire, opium, gay, bartender, small town, bare chested male, cheating wife, female nudity ...
Time:
2020s, contemporary
Place:
north carolina
Movie in categories
Most similar movies to The Waterfront
The list contains related movies ordered by similarity. Recommendation engine sorted out tense, intense, dark and suspense films and TV series with plots about betrayal, moral ambiguity, investigation, corruption, family drama, urban and small town mostly in Drama, Crime and Thriller genres. Some movies like The Waterfront: Family Secrets (2021), The Last Will (2025), Rebel (2021), interrogation (2024), A Season in Purgatory (1996). The matching attributes are highlighted in bold.
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: Turkey
Duration: 150 min.
TV show
Story:
A lawyer and a prosecutor, whose paths cross with a murder case, will have to work together to find the murderer, and this will create an irreversible breaking point in their lives.
Style:
crime drama, tension, suspense, tense, intense ...
Plot:
investigation, prosecutor, justice, secrets, family secret, murder mystery, family drama, courtroom drama, defense attorney, courtroom, moral ambiguity, legal system ...
Place:
istanbul turkey
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama
Country: Portugal
Duration: 50 min.
TV show
Story:
It is possible to start over even after experiencing hell. An unexpected inheritance and a crime give an unjustly treated woman the opportunity to change her life.
Style:
emotional, suspense, intense, suspenseful, tense ...
Plot:
inheritance, redemption, female protagonist, second chance, family drama, resilience, betrayal, moral ambiguity, moral dilemma, investigation, justice, family secret ...
Time:
2020s
Similarity:
43%
4K
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
TV show
Story:
Annie “Rebel” Bello is a blue-collar legal advocate without a law degree. She’s a funny, messy, brilliant and fearless woman who cares desperately about the causes she fights for and the people she loves. When Rebel applies herself to a fight ...
Style:
disturbing, captivating, tense, emotional, dramatic ...
Plot:
legal, lawyer, female lawyer, working class, social justice, female protagonist, attorney, law and order, lawyer client relationship, underdog, fighting the system, resilience ...
Time:
2020s, 21st century
Place:
california
Similarity:
39%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: Turkey
Duration: 45 min.
TV show
Story:
Cihan discovers her father's body; the case, assigned to her colleague Metin, tests their love as suspects emerge in this unconventional murder mystery.
Style:
crime drama, suspenseful, twisted, tense, atmospheric ...
Plot:
investigation, suspicion, murder mystery, family drama, intrigue, family secret, police procedural, urban, workplace romance, grief, interrogation, betrayal ...
Time:
2020s
Similarity:
36%
Movie in collections
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 150 min.
TV show
Story:
True story about a kid from rich family with political ties who covers up a suspicious death of a young woman. This comes back to haunt him later.
Style:
dark, intense, tense, suspenseful, serious ...
Plot:
cover up, lie, guilt, family secret, investigation, betrayal, corruption, moral ambiguity, high society, political scandal, privilege, trial ...
Time:
90s
Place:
new england
Similarity:
34%
52
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 92 min.
Story:
In the suburb of Lille, Stéphane holds a tobacco shop with his father, Maurice, a retired military officer. Although feeling trapped in his marriage, Stéphane doesn't want to leave his wife, Elise, a lawyer, and is currently having an affair ...
Style:
bleak, intense, tense, psychological
Plot:
family drama, guilt, infidelity, ethical dilemma, family secret, adultery, moral ambiguity, betrayal, suburbs, social realism, midlife crisis, grief ...
Time:
2010s
Similarity:
32%
Genre: Drama
Country: Turkey
TV show
Story:
In a land where people are accustomed to battling fierce waves and constant storms, the story of a woman who stands tall on her feet, with all her emotional strength, resilience and endurance, and a man who is passionate about his "love" ...
Style:
heartfelt, atmospheric, tense, poetic, romantic ...
Plot:
resilience, love, conflict, endurance, perseverance, survival, rivalry, suffering, seafaring, redemption, loss, working class ...
Place:
black sea
Similarity:
32%
64K
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story:
An FBI agent heads a Task Force to put an end to a string of drug-house robberies led by an unsuspecting family man in the working class suburbs outside of Philadelphia.
Style:
suspenseful, crime drama, crime thriller, tense, realistic ...
Plot:
task force, fbi, investigation, police procedural, double life, cat and mouse, manhunt, working class, moral ambiguity, fbi agent, suburbs, home invasion ...
Time:
2020s
Place:
philadelphia, pennsylvania
Similarity:
31%
564
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: Turkey
Duration: 50 min.
TV show
Story:
After his sister’s sudden death, a doctor finds himself entangled with a local crime syndicate and forging a tentative alliance with its new leader.
Style:
crime drama, suspense, dark, tense, intense ...
Plot:
organized crime, crime boss, family tragedy, ethical dilemma, criminal syndicate, moral ambiguity, corruption, power struggle, urban, union, urban decay, mistrust ...
Similarity:
30%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: Colombia
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story:
La Victoria is a town that could well be defined as a green hell where the law of the strongest prevails, fueled by the greed that emeralds arouse. The Guerrero family will arrive at this place. Alejandro Guerrero, father of Ricardo, Eduardo and ...
Style:
dramatic, captivating, exciting, suspenseful, bleak ...
Plot:
power struggle, survival, legacy, secrets, love, greed, family drama, struggle for survival, couple relations, fight, war, male female relationship ...
Place:
latin america, colombia
Similarity:
30%
175
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: Israel
Duration: 42 min.
TV show
Story:
The series begins one night at the height of the bachelor party of Eyal Malka on the family yacht, one of the largest crime families in Israel. Until they board the yacht and assassinate all the men and soldiers of the family. The women of the Malka ...
Style:
tense, suspense, captivating, disturbing, dark ...
Plot:
crime family, revenge, israeli, mafia, family drama, women, female protagonist, widow, murder, assassination, dysfunctional family, political conspiracy ...
Place:
middle east
Similarity:
29%
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK
TV show
Story:
Follows a witness protection officer who finds herself at the center of a breach; compromised by an extramarital romance with a coworker; but resolute in her resolve to fight back and unearth the real cause of corruption within her unit.
Style:
suspenseful, tense, realistic, intense, grim ...
Plot:
witness protection, betrayal, corruption, moral corruption, secrets, conspiracy, police procedural, moral ambiguity, investigation, suspicion, ethical dilemma, resilience ...
Time:
2020s
Similarity:
29%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story:
The series centers on 17-year-old Joshua "J" Cody, who moves in with his freewheeling relatives in their Southern California beach town after his mother dies of a heroin overdose. Headed by boot-tough matriarch Janine "Smurf" ...
Style:
tense, captivating, exciting, sexy, erotic ...
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
crime family, criminal, danger, escapades, heist, family conflict, gay brother, twists and turns, dysfunctional family, brother brother relationship, friendship, closeted homosexual ...
Time:
2010s, 2020s, 21st century
Place:
usa, california, southern california, new zealand
Similarity:
28%
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK
TV show
Story:
Morfa Halen is a tight-knit Welsh town precariously nestled between towering mountains and a fast-encroaching sea that threatens its very existence. As a once-in-a-generation storm begins to gather far out at sea, former detective turned teacher ...
Style:
detective, atmospheric, emotional, dark, suspense ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
cold case, secrets, small town, investigation, coastal town, community, grief, trauma, loss, isolation, family drama, realism ...
Place:
wales
Similarity:
28%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story:
For two friends on the brink of losing everything, a dusty pipe dream of opening up an upscale restaurant in their hometown of the Bronx is all they have left to turn their lives around. Together, they take on the insanity of the New York restaurant ...
Style:
tense, serious, sincere, suspenseful, dark ...
Plot:
restaurant, corruption, food, restaurant owner, mobster, father son relationship, love interest, single father, bandit, self destructing, urban, struggle ...
Place:
bronx new york city, new york
Similarity:
27%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: Russia
Duration: 47 min.
TV show
Story:
Olga, a "self-made woman" who’d rather not gain than lose, she avoids risks and contact with the criminal world and law enforcement, seeing them as interfering freeloaders. The price of her company rises when mineral water is found on ...
Style:
suspenseful, dramatic, captivating, bleak, serious ...
Plot:
organized crime, murder, female protagonist, kidnapping, crime boss, woman in danger, money, criminal, bandit, threat, son, gang warfare ...
Time:
2020s
Place:
russia
Similarity:
27%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: Argentina
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story:
Five female prisoners forge a unique bond after a deadly accident... until corruption and turf wars within a ruthless prison threaten to destroy them.
Style:
crime thriller, suspense, emotional, intense, tense
Plot:
women's prison, power struggle, survival, corruption, organized crime, betrayal, violence, female friendship, abuse of power, sisterhood, moral ambiguity, anti hero ...
Similarity:
26%
188
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: Bulgaria
Duration: 30 min.
TV show
Story:
The story tells about the irreconcilable family war between the Donkovi brothers - the investigator from the General Directorate for Combating Organized Crime Boris Donkov, head of the anti-drug department. turned into an unscrupulous, cynical, ...
Style:
dark, tense, suspenseful, noir
Plot:
sibling rivalry, brothers, family drama, drug lord, manipulation, family secret, revenge, police, betrayal, love triangle, organized crime, moral ambiguity ...
Similarity:
26%
Movie in collections
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 290 min.
TV show
Story:
Band of Gold is a British drama series written by Kay Mellor and produced by Granada Television. It was originally shown on ITV between 1995 and 1997. Starring Geraldine James, Cathy Tyson, Barbara Dickson and Samantha Morton, the series revolves ...
Style:
crime drama, dark, tense, intense, noir ...
Plot:
female friendship, brothel, prostitution, sex worker, red light district, sex work, sexploitation, working class, realism, social realism, loan shark, survival ...
Time:
90s
Place:
northern england, yorkshire, england
Similarity:
25%
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Canada, Ireland
Duration: 52 min.
TV show
Story:
Shelly Mohan is a regular mum who juggles the lives and schedules of three children and a husband who is a local detective. It’s a chaotic and mostly thankless life, but one with which she is happy…until a dark secret emerges from her past.
Style:
tense, suspenseful, psychological thriller, crime thriller, atmospheric ...
Plot:
female protagonist, family drama, domestic drama, motherhood, family secret, suspicion, double life, small town, betrayal, hidden identity, investigation, moral ambiguity ...
Similarity:
25%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: UK, USA
TV show
Story:
As WWI ends, housewife Kate Galloway sets up a nightclub in Soho to support her daughters. But Kate must contend with a dangerous gangster family and the police to survive.
Style:
suspense, period drama
Plot:
nightclub, gangster, survival, resilience, female empowerment, post war, organized crime, single mother, ambition, danger, crime family, gender roles ...
Time:
1920s
Place:
london
Similarity:
25%
686
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: South Africa
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story:
To save a kidnapped family member, an enterprising furniture tycoon must use his secret diamond smuggling operation to transport guns across the border.
Style:
suspenseful, tense, dramatic, harsh, dark ...
Plot:
smuggling, kidnapping, murder, criminal, mogul, diamonds, relatives, gangster, abduction, family drama, organized crime, black market ...
Place:
africa
Similarity:
24%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 200 min.
TV show
Story:
Chris Maurer is killed the day after his 21st birthday and his grieving mother, Angela Maurer, is unable to come to grips with that fact. She is taken advantage of by a self-interested journalist who only cares about getting a front-page story and ...
Style:
emotional, melancholic, tense, realistic, intense ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
grief, murder, loss, bereavement, investigation, whodunit, family drama, motherhood, journalism, motive, suspect, witness ...
Place:
england
Similarity:
24%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: Mexico
TV show
Story:
Olivia Zamora disappears without a trace the day before her wedding. What initially appears to be an accident at sea soon points to murder. On investigating his mother's disappearance, Francisco discovers things about her he never suspected.
Style:
suspense, captivating, tense, disturbing, twisted ...
Plot:
investigation, family secret, missing person, family problems, uncover truth, private investigation, crime solving, family relations, mysterious disappearance, murder, family drama, secrets ...
Place:
latin america
Similarity:
24%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina
Duration: 50 min.
TV show
Story:
A single mother of a teenager in the midst of a divorce, Nevena Murtezic struggles to balance her life between her 17-year-old son, Dino, and a job constantly under pressure from politics and the public.
Style:
emotional, realistic, tension, psychological, tense ...
Plot:
family drama, mother son relationship, female protagonist, single mother, divorce, coming of age, resilience, empathy, slice of life, intimate, teenage angst, urban ...
Place:
balkan, serbia
Similarity:
23%
Genre: Drama
Country: Taiwan
TV show
Style:
family saga, melancholic, atmospheric
Plot:
family drama, domestic drama, homecoming, coastal town, nostalgia, resilience, reconciliation, slice of life, social change, working class, island life, bittersweet
Similarity:
23%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: Mexico, Argentina
TV show
Story:
A seemingly perfect family secretly kidnaps wealthy people for ransom to maintain their high standard of living and social status. Based on a true story.
Style:
captivating, thrilling, tense, suspense, black comedy
Plot:
kidnapping, secrets, family relations, money, abduction, money problems, ransom, ransom demand, teamwork, criminal, secret, class conflict ...
Time:
2020s
Place:
latin america
Similarity:
23%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
TV show
Story:
Complex, urgent, and intensely engaging, Money and Violence is an immersive and revealing glimpse inside a brutal and little-understood subculture. Drugs, petty larceny, and casual violence.
Style:
suspenseful, intense, crime drama, psychological, thrilling ...
Plot:
violent, gang, criminal underworld, survival, street life, battles, problem, bandit, organized crime, criminal gang, fight, violence ...
Place:
brooklyn new york city
Similarity:
23%
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 57 min.
TV show
Story:
The story of Melissa Reed, daughter of Keith Jesperson, aka the Happy Face Killer. After decades of no contact, Keith forces his way back into his daughter’s life, and Melissa must find out if an innocent man is going to be put to death for a ...
Style:
tense, intense, psychological thriller, emotional, dark ...
Plot:
true crime, serial killer, identity crisis, family drama, biopic, father daughter relationship, investigation, trauma, identity, justice, female protagonist, wrongful conviction ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
north america
Similarity:
22%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: Sweden, Germany
TV show
Story:
A cold case turns topical again and turns everything upside down, intertwining the lives of several people.
Style:
suspense, detective, tense, dark, emotional ...
Plot:
cold case, investigation, truth, secrets, justice, lie, revelation, cover up, flashback, missing person, police procedural, moral ambiguity ...
Place:
eastern europe
Similarity:
22%
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