Netflix's Outer Banks Is A Thrill-Seeker's Paradise (And Your Next Binge-Watch)

Outer Banks starts with a hurricane. This is a pretty routine weather pattern for the North Carolina coastal islands, and the local teens know exactly what they require to do: grab their surfboards and hit the beach. At least, that’s what the thrill-seeking, rough-around-the-edges Pogues do. Meet John B (Chase Stokes), Pope (Jonathan Daviss), JJ (Rudy Pankow), and Kiara (Madison Bailey), the central crew on Netflix’s newest teen drama, who, right after John B’s dad goes missing, stumble upon a treasure map poised to reveal way more secrets than just a buried riches.


“If the Goonies were 16 years old, and didn't care to get caught drinking beer and smoking marijuana and having the ideal time of their life,” Stokes tells MTV News, “that could be Outer Banks.”


Much like the 1985 film, friendship is at the core of the show. Rarely do viewers visualize the categorize of four separated, especially in the summer as soon as the water is practically calling their names. They have sun to catch, boats to drive, and parties to attend. Life is out there, just waiting for them to live it. “It's like summer camp without counselors,” Daviss says.


And for the record, that was true whether or not the cameras were rolling. Series creator Jonas Pate, a product of the hang loose lifestyle, made sure of that, encouraging the cast to dive headfirst some days literally) into the activities that shaped him. Filming in Charleston, South Carolina, they surfed, wakeboarded while in lunch breaks, and — immediately following the needed safety lessons — took their own boats to and from set together; Stokes even took lessons with a dive master to make for a 25-foot on-camera scuba excursion.


“Anytime you visualize us on camera laughing and joking around that it was 100 percent real, 100 percent of the time,” Bailey says. There were times the cast only learned they were being filmed once the footage made it into the show as B-roll. Shots of those chilling on the boat, laughing, singing, throwing ice — those are shots of Stokes, Daviss, Pankow, and Bailey as themselves. They also snuck some of their jokes into the content. (Think of Topper actor Austin North any time as soon as you hear the word ‘rig,’ and know that assistant director Michael Jefferson gets credit for the ‘hot damns.’) “We were watching the show and we're like, ‘Oh my God, I can't believe they kept that,’” Bailey adds.


“It's a lot of late nights, a lot of deep conversations, a lot of time invested into each other, and it also wasn't a forced thing, which I think is the aesthetics of it,” Stokes says. And, naturally, it didn’t hurt that they were having the time of their lives. “It feels like every teenager's dream to just sort of go off with their companions, do whichever they want, have a vehicle to do it, not have curfew and just have no rules for a bit,” Madelyn Cline, who plays Sarah Cameron, a upscale Kook and social rival to the Pogues (and, crucially, John B’s ex). “It's just that fun Pogue lifestyle, the ‘take it easy, live más.’”


Add to their adventurous spirits the suspense of a treasure hunt with a $400 million money prize and the search for John B’s father, and also you know you’re in for an adventure. Moving more like a maze than a puzzle, Outer Banks weaves through clues only to hit dead ends, with new problems cropping around every corner — some of those armed and unafraid to shoot — and ever-raising stakes.


The cast’s only advice: Expect the unexpected, because once things get a head start, the Pogues will push forward full throttle up until they reach where they’re attempting to go — or at least, somewhere in that area. “It does just be with a sort of question mark,” Pankow says, hinting that should fans want a Season 2, it isn't outdoors of the realm of possibility. (Needless to mention, none of the actors could be instead of another summer of endless fun.)


In the meantime, your next binge-watch awaits in North Carolina. “You get to dive into mystery, you get to dive into the thrill, you get to dive into love, you get to dive into friendship, and it's all done in a way that doesn't feel forced in your face,” Stokes says. “I think it's sort one of these ‘D, all the above’ answers.”