In a "Message to All Pogues," which you can read in its entirety below, Outer Banks co-creators and executive producers Jonas Pate, Josh Pate and Shannon Burke explain the decision to end the series after five seasons by sharing how a summer 2017 photo of teenagers on a beach at dusk during a power outage inspired them to create the series.
“From this beginning, we imagined a mystery that would lead to a five-season journey of adventure, treasure hunting, and friendship,” they said, admitting that at the time, “it seemed impossible that we would really get to tell the whole five-season story.”
The trio can now deliver on their original vision and are already working on season five, which is currently being written.
“With a little sadness, but also excitement, we’re putting Season Four behind us, and are turning to Season Five, in which we hope to bring our beloved Pogues home in the way we imagined and planned years ago,” they said. “Season Five will be our last season, and we think it will be our best yet.”
In the letter to fans, which the Pate brothers and Burke appropriately signed off with “P4L” (Pogues for Life), they also spoke of Season 4 being their “longest and hardest – but most rewarding – to produce,” teasing “a feature length” finale, “which we think is our best, most powerful episode.”
The streamer's move to release season four in two parts underlines the success of Outer Banks - the strategy, designed to sustain a new season's cultural impact for longer, is used on some of Netflix's biggest hits such as Stranger Things, Bridgerton and Emily in Paris.
Outer Banks launched as a welcome respite from the dark early weeks of the Covid pandemic in April 2020. It is set in a North Carolina beach community divided by class into Haves (Kooks) and Have Nots (Pogues) and conquered quickly entered popular culture and turned the young cast into teen idols.
Not surprisingly, Outer Banks, in which the Pogues hunt for famous treasures, has become extremely popular on social media. Two of the leads, Chase Stokes and Madelyn Cline, had 6,000 and 552,000 Instagram followers respectively before the series debuted. Now they have 8.2 million (Stokes) and 16.8 million (Cline) followers. Outer Banks clips and memes often go viral, and the season four production video released earlier this year racked up 20 million views.
Netflix has turned that popularity into an annual live music event for fans, Poguelandia (named after the Pogues' safe haven), the second edition of which was held last weekend in Santa Monica. There will be a reenactment of some of the series' signature sets, the gang's trusty Twinkie, performances by the entire main cast, Outer Banks-themed food and drinks, and live performances (Jungle, GloRilla and Remi Wolf were the headline acts this year).
In season four, the Pogues are drawn into the G game again as they search for Blackbeard's treasure. As with the Royal Merchant's gold and El Dorado, the hunt is dangerous and puts everyone's lives in danger as they encounter enemies old and new - and JJ must also face the shocking truth about his origins.
The season four cast includes Chase Stokes (John B.), Madelyn Cline (Sarah Cameron), Madison Bailey (Kiara), Jonathan Daviss (Pope), Rudy Pankow (JJ), Carlacia Grant (Cleo), Drew Starkey (Rafe ), Austin North (Topper), Fiona Palomo (Sofia), J. Anthony Crane (Chandler Grove), Pollyanna McIntosh (Dalia), Brianna Brown (Hollis Robinson), Rigo Sanchez (Lightner), Mia Challis (Ruthie) and Cullen Moss (Shoupe).
Josh Pate and Burke wrote half of the first season's episodes and have co-written every episode of the series since season two. Jonas Pate directed six of the ten episodes each season, including every premiere episode and finale (and also wrote a season 1 episode).
Outer Banks is part of Netflix's YA slate that also includes the smash hits Wednesday, Stranger Things, Ginny & Georgia, Cobra Kai, Heartstopper, XO, Kitty and My Life with the Walter Boys, as well as films, some featuring Outer Banks stars, including recent titles Uglies with Stokes and Time Cut with Bailey.
