‘Outer Banks’ Season 4: Release Date Prediction, News, Filming, Cast, And More!

Netflix’s teen drama Outer Banks does have new episodes in the works. However, it will be a little while before they premiere due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.

Outer Banks Season 4 received a go-ahead from Netflix after Season 3 concluded. So what can fans expect with the upcoming season? And how soon might we see it return to the small screen?

Outer Banks Confirmed for Season 4

During the Poguelandia event on February 18, 2023, Netflix announced that Outer Banks is renewed for a fourth season. The renewal of the popular teen show came ahead of its Season 3 premiere on February 23, 2023.

The upcoming season will likely have ten episodes, much like the first three seasons. Outer Banks creators Jonas Pate, Josh Pate, and Shannon Burke are still the show’s creators, showrunners, and executive producers.

Jonas Pate will likely take up the director’s chair for the coming season. Sunny Hodge and Aaron Miller are also attached to the show as its executive producers, while Fil Eisler will be returning to compose.

What Happened in Season 3?

In Season 3 of Outer Banks, Sarah and John B find El Dorado in the South American jungle. The two of them, mostly Sarah, take all the gold they can and return to Big John. Big John was waiting for them while nursing a gunshot wound. They find Singh also waiting for them and tries to kill John B and Sarah.

Big John throws a stick of dynamite near the cave’s entrance the explosion leading to the mountain crumbling down. Fortunately, Big John, John B, and Sarah manage to escape and meet Ward, who wants the gold. The Pogues attack Ward before they calm down. The defense is short-lived when one of Singh’s men, Ryan, appears and plans to execute everyone to steal the gold.

Ryan holds Sarah at gunpoint but Ward attacks them and gets shot thrice, tackling Ryan off the cliff to their deaths. Big John eventually dies from his injuries and the Pogues hold a funeral for Big John before they leave the jungle.

18 months later, a museum was opened in the Outer Banks. The museum is dedicated to the Royal Merchant, Denmark Tanny, El Dorado, and Pogues. John B, Sarah, Pope, JJ, Kiara, and Cleo are all honored by the town. Toward the end, the Pogues also hint at what they’ve been up to.

Kiara is saving turtles, Pope is at school, and Sarah and John B are running a surf shop. JJ also bought a charter boat, signaling a happily ever after for the group. But the happy ending doesn’t last very long as a man named Wes Genrette shows up and asks the Pogues if they want to go on another treasure hunt.

What Will Outer Banks Season 4 Be About?

Outer Banks creators Jonas Pate, Josh Pate, and Shannon Burke hinted at what’s to come for the characters in Season 4. The creators released a statement on February 18, 2023.

“Seeing Poguelandia come to life was nothing short of spectacular. The Pogues are enjoying an adventure of a lifetime, and we now get to map out more twists and turns as the joyride continues into season four of Outer Banks. Thank you to Netflix, our cast, and the amazing fans who helped to make this happen,” said the creators.

Based on the Season 3 finale, Outer Banks Season 4 will likely pick up on what happened. Wes has a map dating back to 1718 and has information about Edward Teach, famously known as Blackbeard. In the lore, it’s believed that Blackbeard buried some treasure.

Season 4 may also give fans a look into what happened to the group in those 18 months. There’s also Rafe, who lost his father, and Topper, who burned down the Chateau. This might mean Rafe could be involved in the coming adventure that lies ahead.

Adding to the anticipation, Carlacia Grant, who portrays Cleo, has offered insights into her character’s trajectory in Season 4, sharing intriguing predictions for what lies ahead.

“I have some theories. I don’t want to ruin them, but I would love to see Cleo’s backstory. Like if a person came back from Cleo’s past to really explain some of her mannerisms. It’s Outer Banks. Her mom died, her dad left, but any of these people could appear somehow,” Grant tells Cosmopolitan.

Season 4 Production

We can confirm that filming started back on OBX on June 12 (before shutting down in July due to the SAG-AFTRA strike). Casting calls had gone out even earlier, indicating that the series was trying to move quickly to get as much as they could done before the SAG-AFTRA strike began.

Kimmie Stewart Casting shared a post on Facebook looking for extras in early June. They were casting for “Pogue Adults” fitting the description of “Pougue” “Salty, rough around the edges character types.” And they noted that all genders and all ethnicities, ages 30 and up, were encouraged to apply.

They were also casting for members of the “Heyward Family,” including: “Heyward Family Adults” (Black American, all genders, ages 21 and up), “Heyward Family Child” (Black American, all genders, ages 8 – 17), and “Family Friends.” Again, noting that all genders, all ethnicities, ages 8 to 17 or 21 and up were welcome to apply.

Additionally, Outer Banks Season 4 was using the same working title for production as previous seasons. So if fans saw signs around Charleston that say “OBX” – they knew exactly what was filming nearby.

Outer Banks Season 4 Cast: Who Is Returning? And Is There New Cast?

Netflix has yet to announce which cast members are returning for Outer Banks Season 4. But, we can expect most of the main cast to come back.

This includes Chase Stokes as John B. Routledge, Madelyn Cline as Sarah Cameron, Madison Bailey as Kiara Carrera, Jonathan Daviss as Pope Heyward, Rudy Pankow as JJ Maybank, Carlacia Grant as Cleo, Drew Starkey as Rafe Cameron, Austin North as Topper Thornton, and Nicholas Cirillo as Barry.

Speaking to PEOPLE, Daviss said he’s interested to see how the Pogues’ relationships with each other progress in Season 4.

“There’s no way they’re not treasure hunting, so how does that play into all of this?” said Daviss. “How is his relationship with JJ and Kiara now? Is that different? Is his relationship with John B different? They’re all still friends but it has been a year. So I’m interested to see what all those interpersonal dynamics are,” said Daviss.

When it came to his character, Starkey talked about how he thinks Rafe would react to his father’s death.

“It’s interesting because he’s already made the conscious decision to go into these uncharted waters of independence this season,” said Starkey. “The first two seasons, you’ve seen him holding onto this dependency from his family and his father, and then this season, he allows himself to break free of that. It could go one of two ways: he could embrace it and move forward, or he could react a little more aggressively.”

Additional Cast Members Expected to Return

Following what happened in Season 3, it’s safe to say that Charles Halford or Charles Esten to return as Big John and Ward Cameron respectively.

Other cast members who may appear in Outer Banks Season 4 include Caroline Arapoglou as Rose Cameron, Julia Antonelli as Wheezie Cameron, and David Jensen as Wes Garrette.

Is There a Trailer for Season 4?

With OBX Season 4 filming starting on June 12, 2023 (and being shut down in July), there’s no official trailer for the upcoming season yet. However, Netflix did release the above teaser trailer during their annual TUDUM event in June 2023.

What Is the Outer Banks Season 4 Release Date? Here’s Our Speculation.

Unfortunately, fans will have to wait a little longer for new episodes. Production for Outer Banks Season 4 is on hold due to the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.

However, production did get started this summer despite the WGA strike in early May. This implies that some episodes were already written, and Netflix was confident they wouldn’t need rewrites, as rewrites wouldn’t have been allowed until after the WGA strike concluded. Filming lasted for roughly a month before things were shut down.

All of these factors will impact the timeline for the new season. Had filming not been interrupted, it was expected to last through December 15, 2023. That timeline would have made a summer 2024 release possible for the series. With the strikes still continuing, it’s likely we won’t see the series return until sometime in 2025 at the earliest.

In the meantime, fans can stream the show’s first three seasons on Netflix! There’s nothing better than a little rewatch binging with our favorite Pogues!