Warning: major spoilers for Outer Banks season 3 ahead.
Pogues, it's time. Outer Banks season 4 is so close on the horizon, we can taste it.
When Outer Banks first debuted on Netflix in April 2020, the show became an instant runaway hit for the YA crowd and adults alike. It makes sense — the series has everything: action, mystery, romance, adventure, and so much drama. At its core, Outer Banks depicts the rivalry between two groups of people, specifically the the teens, who live in Outer Banks, North Carolina: the upper-class “Kooks” and the working-class “Pogues.”
But there's much more than just class tension brewing in OBX — there's also many a treasure hunt, star-crossed romances, and mystery after mystery after mystery.
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Season 3, which premiered on Netflix in February 2023, had a finale that was nearly the length of a feature film. There were reunions, new love connections, betrayals of all kinds, and lots of high-stakes action. (To name a few: arson, a train heist, a plane crash, jungle shootouts, and a cave explosion after finding the Lost City of El Dorado. You know, the usual.) A shocking time jump and a hint at the gang's next treasure hunt in the episode's final minutes has set the stage for an even bigger fourth season.
Below, find out everything you need to know about Outer Banks season 4, including cast info, plot details, the release date on Netflix, and trailer and first-look photos.
When is Outer Banks season 4 coming out on Netflix?
Netflix has announced Outer Banks season 4 will arrive in the autumn of 2024, with a new promo teaser featuring the Pogues in an ad for Kildare County Surf Shop.
Back in June, almost exactly a year after their last Instagram post, all six Pogues — Chase Stokes, Madelyn Cline, Rudy Pankow, Madison Bailey, Jonathan Daviss and Carlacia Grant — had previously returned to their official OBX Instagram account to announce filming had wrapped.
“Alright, guys, we have officially wrapped season 4 of Outer Banks," says series lead Chase Stokes in the IG Reel. “It has been a crazy, crazy journey. But, uh, it's done.” After some very Pogue-ish “post-production” shenanigans from each cast member, Stokes and his castmates returned to face the camera, all smiles. “We are so stoked about this. See you guys soon!"
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Post-strikes, it was assumed that the release date was dependent on the scale of season 4 and the main cast's schedules.
ICYMI: The main cast is making big waves in Hollywood. In 2022, Madelyn Cline starred in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery and Jonathan Daviss starred in Do Revenge; Madison Bailey will soon front an upcoming Netflix sci-fi slasher film co-starring Ginny & Georgia's Antonia Gentry; Drew Starkey is set to lead Luca Guadagnino's next historical romance film, Queer, opposite James Bond Daniel Craig; and Chase Stokes is gearing up for the release of at least 3 feature-length films, all in which he has top billing, including Uglies co-starring Keith Powers and Joey King.
During his conversation with People, Stokes shared a filming update and called season 4 “one of [his] favourite seasons yet" — but that doesn't mean he's been trusted with release date news. “They won't tell us anything,” Stokes said about OBX's streamer Netflix. “God's honest truth. They're like, ‘You guys might tell the world, so we're going to keep to ourselves.’”
When was Outer Banks season 4 announced?
In February 2023, just days before the premiere of season 3, Netflix announced that Outer Banks received an early renewal for season 4. Netflix shared the news at the special interactive Poguelandia event in Huntington Beach, California, along with some help from the cast.
“Seeing Poguelandia come to life was nothing short of spectacular,” said the showrunners, per Variety. "The Pogues are enjoying an adventure of a lifetime, and we now get to map out more twists and turns as the joy ride continues into season 4 of Outer Banks. Thank you to Netflix, our cast, and the amazing fans who helped to make this happen.”
Outer Banks season 4 plot
Let's refresh your memory. In the OBX season 3 finale, the Pogues return to Kildare County as heroes – they successfully found the Lost City of El Dorado in South America, finally getting the gold after being cheated out of it two seasons in a row. The show makes a whopping 18-month time jump, and John B. reveals through dialogue that things feel a little “different” post-expedition, almost too “normal.”
“Kie's saving turtles, Pope's going away to school, and JJ bought the charter boat. And we've got a killer surf shop,” he says to Sarah. “Yeah, that's all good, right?” replies Sarah, before their conversation is cut short by a mysterious old man. Fast forward to the final seconds of the episode, and suddenly it seems like the Pogues have found their next hunt: diving into the mystery of real-life pirate Blackbeard.
“Blackbeard is part of Outer Banks lore, and so there’s just a lot of stuff we can work with out of that. It is going to be a part of it, but it’s not going to be a traditional Blackbeard-type tale, although we’re using elements of the mythology going forward,” co-creator Josh Pate told The Hollywood Reporter after the season 3 finale. “And as far as the time jump, we felt like we needed to get them out of school. The actors are a little older, and it was harder to keep them in high school. We just wanted to move them into a new phase in their lives and move them forward a little bit. The epilogue at the end of [episode] 10 was to set up those two things that we knew we wanted to do going forward.”
Though no incredibly specific details about the plot of OBX season 4 have been shared with the public, the showrunners (Jonas Pate, Josh Pate, and Shannon Burke) have spoken at length about their overall plan for the series. The Pate Brothers and Burke previously stated that they wanted to wrap up the show by season 5 — but after the season 4 renewal announcement, they seem to be thinking bigger.
“I don't know if I could put a real number on it right now — how long it takes to get to that ending might expand, but we now know the shape of the end of the story,” Josh told Entertainment Weekly in February 2023. “We're going to take it as long as we can, for sure.” “In season 17, we'll be on Mars,” joked Jonas.
Burke added that overall, they want to keep the show “grounded to some extent… because sometimes when it gets too big, it's not as fun anymore." I don't know — seems as though the sky's the limit for season 4 and beyond, especially considering the fact that the creators know how they eventually want to end the series. "We’ve always known from the beginning what the last scene would be, if we would be lucky enough to get it that far,” Josh said to TUDUM a few days after the season 3 finale.
While speaking to People, series star Chase Stokes shared an important update on the potential character arcs the Pogues will take throughout season 4. “The writers talked about how there was a real want for a lot of the authenticity and the characters in season 1," Stokes said. “So I will say that they do a good job this season of that.”
Stokes promised enough “YA drama” to satiate fans, and teased a major transition for OTP John B and Sarah, who are both grieving their fathers. “Anytime you experience loss, it hits in spaces and in places that you don't anticipate,” he said. “Being in the situation that John B and Sarah are in, it really will force them to evaluate everything. Where they are, what their purpose is, what their intentions are, and what was the actual value of it? Was it worth it, in hindsight? If they could go back and change things, would they? Or do they feel okay with it?”
Stokes added that this new chapter will have ripple effects across the rest of the main characters, too. “It's been a huge, huge shift in lifestyle in a very, very short period of time if you look at the actual timeline of the show,” he said. “And I think when you go through that level of trauma, for sure, it'll make you start asking those deeper questions.”
Outer Banks season 4 cast
The Outer Banks cast has grown a bit since season 1, but is still led by your favourite Pogues and a few Kooks: Chase Stokes (who plays Pogue leader John B. Routledge), Madelyn Cline (Sarah Cameron), Madison Bailey (Kiara Carrera), Jonathan Daviss (Pope Heyward), Rudy Pankow (JJ Maybank), Carlacia Grant (Cleo), Austin North (Topper) and Drew Starkey (Rafe Cameron).
“The cast have been fast friends in real life pretty much from the very beginning, and it’s been so gratifying to see those connections deepen over the years we’ve worked on the show,” the Pate Brothers and Shannon Burke said to TUDUM ahead of season 3. "They are truly Pogues for Life.”
The series also stars Cullen Moss (as Sheriff Shoupe), Julia Antonelli (Wheezie Cameron), Caroline Arapoglou (Rose Cameron), and E. Roger Mitchell (Heyward, Pope's dad). Two of the biggest bombshells from season 3 include the deaths of Sarah's father Ward Cameron (played by Charles Esten) and John B's father Big John (Charles Halford). While Ward and Big John may not appear in new scenes, there's definitely still a chance they'll appear in season 4 through the form of flashbacks.
Outer Banks season 4 trailer
There are currently no trailers or first-look photos for Outer Banks season 4, as production on the new season has yet to wrap. Patience Pogues, we'll get answers soon enough!
This story will continue to be updated as news about Outer Banks season 4 breaks.
This article originally appeared on Teen Vogue.
