Jackson Lee Davis/Netflix
Poguelandia! Everything to Know About ‘Outer Banks’ Season 3: Who Is Returning and More Details
The Pogues are back, baby! Outer Banks season 3 is headed to Netflix — and there are more mysteries in store for the streaming service’s most adventurous bunch of teens.
“We’ve got such a talented team of writers and so we always leave it up to them to sort of figure out the story,” Chase Stokes, who plays John B in the show, told Us Weekly in December 2021 of what’s to come. “And every time we get a script it’s just kind of blowing our seats off so I’m just excited to get my hands on it when and hopefully Netflix gives us the green light.”
Netflix confirmed that same month that the stars would, indeed, be returning for more. Keep reading for everything to know about Outer Banks season 3 so far.
How Season 2 Ended
A major cliffhanger at the end of the second season revealed that John B’s dad — Big John (Charles Halford) — was alive after being presumed dead.
“John B’s relationship with his dad is a huge theme and having his dad back around and eventually they’re going to meet back up and John B has to reconcile his idealized version of his dead dad with the reality of his alive dad,” the show’s cocreator Josh Pate told Entertainment Weekly after the July 2021 season 2 premiere.
Chase, for his part, notes that the return of Big John changes “everything” for his character. “I’m excited to see where it goes. I’m excited to see how that impacts everything,” the actor told Entertainment Tonight around the same time. “I just think it opens so many doors.”
Who Is Returning?
All the familiar faces are headed back to the Outer Banks. Netflix revealed in February 2022 that the cast had started filming, and Chase, Madelyn Cline (Sarah Cameron), Drew Starkey (Rafe Cameron), Madison Bailey (Kiara), Rudy Pankow (JJ), Jonathan Daviss (Pope) and Carlacia Grant (Cleo) all appeared in a photo on set.
One month prior, Madelyn set the record straight when fans questioned her future on Outer Banks.
“Hi, so I’m getting asked if S3 is my final season of OBX. I will come back for as many seasons as they will have me,” she shared via Instagram Stories at the time. “I love my job and there’s not a day that goes by that I’m not grateful for it, and for everyone who has watched it. Not everything you read on the internet is true.”
The Premiere
Season 3 is set to premiere via Netflix on February 23, 2023.
What Will Season 3 Be About?
“After losing the gold and fleeing the Outer Banks, season 3 finds the Pogues washed ashore on a desert island that, for a brief moment, seems like an idyllic home. Officially deemed ‘Poguelandia,’ the island’s newest residents spend their days fishing, swimming, and reveling in the carefree lifestyle of their temporary dwelling. But things quickly go south for John B, Sarah, Kiara, Pope, JJ and Cleo when they find themselves once again caught up in a race for the treasure, quite literally running for their lives,” the official logline reads. “They’re broke and far from home, they can’t trust anyone, Ward and Rafe are hungry for revenge and there’s a ruthless Caribbean Don who will stop at nothing to find the bounty. Was the treasure ever within their reach? Or was it all a trap to stop them once and for all? Either way, it’s the Pogues against the world — and the only way out is together.”
The Trailer
Weeks before the highly anticipated premiere, Netflix released the show’s third season trailer, which showed the Pogues “back in the G game.” However, there’s an even bigger treasure on the line.
“At some point, you kind of have to wonder, was the treasure an escape?” John B asked in the nearly three-minute-long video. “Or was it a trap?”
New Love Stories
Madison, for one, is on board for a romantic storyline between her character Kiara and JJ.
“I’m on the edge of my seat with where the writers are going to take this. I’m honestly so passionate about Outer Banks,” the actress explained to Us Weekly in December 2021. “I feel like they can’t go wrong with the story line anywhere, and if me and Rudy teamed up as actors, I think [it] will be really sick.”
Filming the Show
Amid filming for season 3, Chase took to Instagram Stories and begged fans to “not post spoilers of us working.”
“This is an exhausting process, and we have a really exciting story to tell,” he wrote on Instagram Stories in March 2022. “I know you’re all excited and anxious, but I promise, it will be worth the wait.”
