Outer Banks is an American action-adventure mystery teen drama streaming television series created by Josh Pate, Jonas Pate, and Shannon Burke that premiered on Netflix on April 15, 2020. The series is set in a community in the Outer Banks of North Carolina and follows the conflict between two groups of teenagers in search of a lost treasure.
In December 2021, the series was renewed for a third season which premiered on February 23, 2023. In February 2023, ahead of the third season premiere, the series was renewed for a fourth season.
Outer Banks is set in a coastal town along the Outer Banks of North Carolina, where there is a stark social divide between wealthy seasonal residents and working-class locals (who have the nicknames “Kooks” and “Pogues,” respectively). The show follows a group of Pogue teenagers who live at The Cut, and are determined to find out what happened to the missing father of the group’s ringleader, John B. Along the way, they discover a legendary treasure that is tied to John B’s father.
Chased by the law and a wealthy group of Kooks from Figure Eight, the Pogues seek to overcome obstacles such as love, fighting, friendship and money.
The cast includes stars such as:
- Chase Stokes as John B. Routledge, the ringleader of the Pogues, love interest of Sarah Cameron, and later her boyfriend
- Madelyn Cline as Sarah Cameron, daughter of Ward Cameron, John B’s love interest, and later his girlfriend. She is referred to by many as the princess of the Kooks, however, her rebellious side often rejects the Kook life and gets her mixed up with the Pogues.
- Madison Bailey as Kiara “Kie” Carrera, the daughter of a successful restaurant owner who hangs out with the Pogues. She is technically a Kook as she comes from a wealthy family and lives in Figure Eight, but they reject her due to her affiliation with the Pogues.
- Jonathan Daviss as Pope Heyward, the brains of the Pogues
- Rudy Pankow as JJ Maybank, John B’s reckless, loyal best friend since the third grade who suffers abuse from his father
- Austin North as Topper, Sarah’s ex-boyfriend and fellow Kook who despises the Pogues
- Charles Esten as Ward Cameron
- Drew Starkey as Rafe Cameron, Wheezie and Sarah’s older brother who’s a drug addict and has anger issues
- Carlacia Grant as Cleo, a crew member of Captain Terrance’s cargo ship from Nassau who befriends Sarah and John B, and after becomes a member of the group
On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds an approval rating of 71% based on 21 reviews, with an average rating of 6.72/10. The website’s critical consensus reads, “Outer Banks’ over-the-top melodrama is balanced out by a strong sense of adventure that’s bound to hook those looking to capture that summer feeling”. On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 61 out of 100 based on 9 reviews, indicating “generally favorable reviews”.