The Inside Scoop on Netflix's Hit "Outer Banks"

The Outer Banks, also known as OBX, until this year was known vaguely as a collection of islands off the coast of North Carolina. Now, it is known as popular 10-episode Netflix original. This title has been plastered across millions of screens and is has reached #1 most-watched on Netflix since its release on April 15th. This show gives an inside look to the rich and poor parts of the Outer Banks through the eyes of local teens that casually surf and hang out on boats. It’s essentially any small beach-town movie mixed with a “National Treasure”-like plot line—some might even call it 2020s version of “The Goonies.”

The show has it all: a thrilling turf war (Pogues vs. Kooks), a dangerous treasure hunt (lost gold), a murder mystery, and of course, a love story. Aside from the obvious storylines and cool surfing shots, OBX creates a commentary about important topics such as drug abuse and physical abuse.

As someone who is from North Carolina and grew up spending summers on the NC coast, I was personally interested in this show based on location alone. After binging the first and (currently) only season in a weekend, I wanted to know more about the production of the series and its authenticity when it came to depicting life in The Outer Banks. Through my curiosity, I found information on the cast, the story, the location, the writer and director all thanks to an interview with a production crew member, Sean Leas.

Leas is a 19-year-old NC native based in Wilmington, NC. He worked as a production assistant on the OBX set for his college internship. Leas says his job entailed, “making sure that everything ran smoothly on set and that everyone was aware of what shot we were on. We basically just kept it organized so that we didn’t waste any time shooting.”

I asked Leas some questions about filming and the storyline of OBX. Sean’s favorite character is JJ, “because of how complex he is. On the surface, he’s confident and fearless, but as his character develops, we begin to see how broken he is from his home life. It was almost like he had to wear a mask to hide that side of himself from his friends, and I feel like Rudy did an excellent job conveying that.” OBX had a lot of great characters that may seem like typical teens at first, but through further development, those same characters end up proving that they have many layers—some darker than others.

Leas admits that his favorite scene was, “when JJ buys the hot tub for his friends. I felt that the emotion in that scene was very powerful, and it really brought JJ’s character to a whole new level.”

If you’ve seen the show, you know what Leas is talking about—this scene was one of the first few moments to showcase the depth to JJ’s character, and it highlights how JJ hides his neglected emotions behind humor and gimmicks. There are many more notable scenes full of emotion within the show, which is one of the components of what makes this story so successful.

As for the cast, OBX had a charming one. Chase Stokes plays leading role and narrator John B, Madelyn Cline plays the leading-lady role of Sarah Cameron, Madison Bailey plays girl-best-friend Kiara, Jonathan Daviss as smart best friend Pope, and Rudy Pankow as true best friend JJ. This group of surfer kids leads the show as the “pogues,” the nickname for the people that live in “the cut,” or the poor areas of OBX. Sarah Cameron’s role in the show is as a “kook,” meaning a rich person who lives on the wealthy Figure 8 island.

Of course, these two contrasting groups are what cause the everlasting turf war in OBX, and as for the treasure hunt and murder mystery—you’ll have to watch the show yourself to figure that out. This cast played everything professionally and emotionally, and were all really invested their characters. From social media, we can see that this cast not only bonded on-screen, but off as well. They really are a band of misfits who take part in goofing around regularly, and even quarantining together!

“There was never a dull moment on set with the cast. They are all very outgoing, funny, and kind-hearted. From Chase giving me life advice when I needed to get something off my chest to Madison playing the ukulele while singing to JD’s freestyles, they made the work a lot of fun and the 12-16 hour days in the hot sun go by a lot faster.” It’s great to hear how loving and fun actors can be off-camera.

I, along with many others, fell in love with the cast and wanted to know more about them. One thing that crossed my mind was about the way they pulled off such crazy but realistic stunts.

“Every actor and actress had a stunt double. Whether it was for a fight scene or for a dirt bike wheelie, we were very serious about making sure that professionals did all of the dangerous scenes so that no one was injured during filming,” Leas said. Of course, after hearing about the stunt doubles, I had to know about the craziest scenes and stunts.

“I’d say the craziest stunt would have to be when they hit the sandbar and all go flying. Rudy’s stunt double had to flip off of the front of the boat while it was moving and they executed it perfectly.”

It sounds like some serious whiplash. Aside from the crazy stunts to give the show the action it needed, the filming location for this show was also a point of interest for me.

While the show is about OBX, the series was actually shot in Charleston, South Carolina. You would think they would’ve shot in North Carolina, right? Especially because in the last few years, the coasts of NC have been great sites for movies like The Conjuring. As it turns out, Netflix decided not to shoot in Wilmington, NC because of the notorious bathroom bill that enforces transgender people to use restrooms according to their birth-assigned sex.

“The show was originally supposed to be shot in Wilmington NC, but we had to shoot in Charleston because, at the time, North Carolina had a bathroom bill that Netflix did not agree with. Since then, North Carolina has lifted the law and the film is slowly starting to return to the state, but it was not lifted in time—so we had to move it to South Carolina. Even though it wasn’t the Outer Banks, I feel as though it was the perfect location to shoot the show,“ Leas explains.

Netflix thrives on its image of being an inclusive company that supports LGBTQ+ and many other minority groups that are so often neglected in southern states like NC. The creator of OBX wanted to film in Wilmington, but decided it would be best to film in Charleston to maintain Netflix’s inclusive image and make a statement on the work that NC would miss out on. While the show was not shot in NC, the beaches and marshes of South Carolina represented the coastal towns of OBX quite well.

“I’d say it’s an accurate depiction of a North Carolina beach-town, landscape-wise. Growing up in Wilmington, I’ve experienced a lot of stuff that they did in the show. The surfing, the fishing, the boat rides. I wouldn’t say that it is an accurate depiction of the Outer Banks landscape wise, but we tried to make it look as close to it as possible,” Leas comments about the location.

Leas goes on to give some more information about Jonas Pate, one of the creators behind “Outer Banks.” “He is the director and writer of OBX, and he is also a neighbor and good family friend of mine. I knew him as a friend before I knew him as my boss, and he might be one of the nicest and most creative people I have ever met. Working with him and getting to see his creative process was amazing, and getting to see his vision come to life was truly spectacular. He is a true mentor of mine and I can’t wait to work with him again in the future.”

Word has it that Netflix offered “Outer Banks” a second season. Of course, casting and filming of that are to be determined, but Pate is working on the writing aspect already. Everyone can’t wait to see what happens next with this modern-Goonies tale. The Pogues and Kooks live on.