Buckle Up for These Kookie Behind-the-Scenes Outer Banks Secrets

Watch: Outer Banks Kills Off Major Character During Intense Season 4 Finale

Get ready, Pogues. It’s time for one last gold-digging adventure.

Indeed, after four jam-packed seasons of Outer Banks, the Netflix phenomenon—which catapulted the careers of stars Chase Stokes, Madelyn Cline, Drew Starkey and more—is coming to an end, but not before its final thrilling ride with season five out on Aug 20.

And for those who didn’t jump into the boat when OBX premiered in April 2020 during the pandemic, the series follows a group of Pogue teenagers in the Outer Banks in North Carolina—John B Routledge (Stokes), Sarah Cameron (Cline), Kiara “Kie” Carrera (Madison Bailey), Jackson “JJ” Maybank (Rudy Pankow), Pope Heyward (Jonathan Daviss) and Cleo Anderson (Carlacia Grant)—as they hunt for hidden treasures and historic artifacts, while also facing challenges at home against the wealthy Kooks, including Sarah’s sister Rafe Cameron (Starkey) and her ex Topper Thornton (Austin North).

After adrenaline-pumping hunts for gold treasure, a cross and a crown, which took the Pogues on adventures to Barbados and Croatia, the crew faced unimaginable challenges, experiencing major wins and heartbreaking losses, including the tragic death of one of their own.

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Why Chase Stokes Says Outer Banks Cast Is Ready for the Show to Be “Done”

While some fans may be sad to say goodbye to Outer Banks, the writers and creators of the show Shannon Burke, Jonas Pate and Josh Pate revealed it was planned as a five-season arc from the very first page.

“From this beginning, we imagined a mystery that would lead to a five-season journey of adventure, treasure hunting, and friendship,” the trio shared in a message posted to the Outer Banks Instagram in November 2024. “At the time, seven years ago, it seemed impossible that we would really get to tell the whole five season story, but here we are, at the end of our fourth season, still chopping away.”

As for Stokes, he expressed his support for OBX ending “on the right note.” After the show wrapped filming last December, the 34-year-old shared that he’s grateful for the golden opportunity.

Netflix/Kobal/Shutterstock

“There’s just so much gratitude,” he told People at the time. “I’ve checked so many boxes that I thought it would span the course of the next 40 years of my career.”

But what about what was going on behind the scenes? While fans wait to see if the Pogues will ultimately get the treasure (and a happy ending?) when the fifth and final installment premieres on Aug. 20, read on for a deep dig inside the show’s secrets…

Jackson Lee Davis/Netflix

P4L: The Outer Banks Cast Lived Together IRLDuring the first season of Outer Banks, the cast lived together in the same apartment complex in Charleston, S.C, according to Chase Stokes, who plays John B Routledge. Stokes told Nylon in 2020 that he lived with Rudy Pankow (Jackson “JJ” Maybank), while Jonathan Daviss (Pope Heyward) and Austin North (Topper Thornton) were a “couple doors down” and Madelyn Cline (Sarah Cameron) resided on the floor below. As for Madison Bailey (Kiara “Kie” Carrera), she “lived five minutes away.”“On the weekends everybody would come over, play games, blast music, eat food,” Stokes told the magazine. “It was kind of this natural organic thing for everybody.”

Jackson Lee Davis/Netflix

The John B Who Almost Wasn’tWhile Stokes’ role as John B ultimately kickstarted his acting career, he’s admitted it almost didn’t happen. Indeed, the actor shared that he initially turned down the role.
“I was like, ‘That’s The Goonies. That’s for sure The Goonies. I don’t want to destroy that,’” Stokes explained during a 2021 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. “So I passed on it. And I was like, ‘Nope. Not doing that.’”
He went on to read for Topper, admitting that he “bombed” the audition. Fortunately, Stokes got a second chance at John B two weeks later after he read the script once again.
“I immediately was sitting in my borderline-evicted apartment and I was like, ‘I made a giant mistake. It’s not The Goonies. It’s literally not The Goonies,'” he recalled. “And I had fully convinced myself for a month-and-a-half at this point that it’s The Goonies.”

Jackson Lee Davis/Netflix

A Hurricane Caused the Outer Banks Set to Evacuate Mid-FilmingWhile OBX features more than one vicious hurricane in the show, life reflected art when the cast and crew were forced to evacuate the Charleston set because of Hurricane Dorian during shooting for the first season in 2019.
But according to Bailey, the moment ultimately brought the cast together.
“We dipped,” she told Elite Daily in 2020, “and went to Asheville, North Carolina.”

Jackson Lee Davis/Netflix

The Truth About That Iconic Stick Shift LineOne of the Outer Banks’ most memorable comedic lines came in season two when Cline’s Sarah tells Stokes’ John B that she “can’t drive stick.” However, at that point, Cline herself did already know how to drive manual transmission, with Netflix sharing in a behind-the-scenes fact sheet that she learned the skill for the show, per Elite Daily.

Netflix/Kobal/Shutterstock

That Swoon-Worthy Kiss in the Rain Almost Didn’t HappenJohn B and Sarah’s first kiss in season one—which featured Stokes and Clines sharing a smooch in the rain while on a ferry—became an iconic show moment. But it almost didn’t happen. Cline shared that the director almost decided to wrap filming for the day due to the rain, before she and Stokes took matters into their own hands.
“[We] looked at each other,” Cline recalled to Cosmopolitan in a May 2020 interview. “We were all like, ‘Let’s do it. We gotta do this. This is amazing, this is kismet right now, that is so romantic.’”
After getting the all-clear from the camera crew, the actors went for it. “[The crew] was like, ‘Hell yes, we’re doing this, full Notebook vibes,’” Cline added. “So we just dedicated the entire day to making sure we did that scene justice.”

Jackson Lee Davis/Netflix

Chase Stokes Made a Pact with Madelyn Cline After Real-Life BreakupStokes and Cline took their island romance off-screen when they dated IRL. The couple, who star as on-screen couple John B and Sarah, met on the OBX set and began dating in June 2020. However, a little over a year later, Stokes and Cline called it quits, announcing their breakup in November 2021.
Despite their breakup, the exes didn’t let it impact their work. In fact, Stokes revealed they made a pact from the beginning.
“We made a promise to each other before we even started dating that the work was always going to come first,” Stokes told Entertainment Weekly in a February 2023 interview. “No matter what happens in our personal lives, and the ways that life sometimes takes you in different directions, that we’re always going to honor the work.”

Jackson Lee Davis/Netflix

Madelyn Cline’s Hair Was Indeed a Rat’s NestCline experienced a surprising encounter with an animal on set that left her “freaking out,” detailing how she ended up with a real rat in her hair during shooting the film’s third season.
“[Co-creator Jonas Pate] was like to our rat wrangler, ‘Drop it on her head!'” Cline shared during an October 2024 appearance on The Tonight Show. “I was neck deep in water, so I was already freaking out. I looked like an island to the rat who’s trying to save itself from drowning, as am I. The rat crawls up and it gets in my hair. I was screaming bloody murder!”

Netflix/Kobal/Shutterstock

How the Outer Banks Cast Reacted to a Tearful Goodbye in Season 3Cline’s on-screen dad Charles “Chip” Esten, who starred as Sarah’s father Ward Cameron, met his end in season three. Although some fans may not have been sad to see the character go, the Outer Banks cast mourned the loss as they were going to miss Esten, who had become a father figure to younger cast members. After shooting Ward’s death scene, Carlacia Grant, who plays Cleo, revealed the cast was in tears. “It was such a long ride back to the hotel, and Chip was just giving us all advice,” she told Netflix’s Tudum in 2023. “It was so sad.”

Jackson Lee Davis/Netflix

Why the Actors Had to Ward Off Bad VibesPoguelandia wasn’t all fun and games. Pankow faced some drama off set after his girlfriend Elaine Siemek, who worked on OBX, received “disrespect and harassment” from online trolls. The actor called out the haters in an August 2021 Instagram post, writing that “lies” were “being spread and accusations are being said that go beyond the normal ‘hate.’”
“Accusing someone you don’t know of being abusive and manipulative is not ok,” Pankow added at the time. “Especially when you don’t know the relationship personally.”
And despite navigating online hate, the couple were still going strong when the finale dropped in August 2026.

Jackson Lee Davis/Netflix

When Body Doubles Sparked Feud RumorsFans speculated there was a rift between Pankow and Bailey after it appeared the costars—who played love interests onscreen—used body doubles to film a romantic moment in season four.
During one scene in the 2024 finale, Kiara rested her head on JJ’s shoulder while the pair sat around a campfire with the Pogues. But every time the camera cut to the couple, only one of the stars was featured in the frame.
After this prompted fans to believe there was tension between Pankow and Bailey, the actress proved that she has nothing but love for all of her co-stars. Indeed, following the finale, she shared a message of support for her castmates. Alongside a sweet behind-the-scenes Instagram photo of her male co-stars, including Pankow, Bailey wrote, “P4L,” nodding to group of Pogues being bonded for life.

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