Warning: major spoilers for Outer Banks season 4 ahead.
Pogues, the sun is starting to set. Outer Banks is officially coming to an end. Three days ahead of the premiere of OBX season 4 part 2, Netflix announced the renewal of the show for its fifth and final season. And even more news is out as we get closer to a release date announcement.
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 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 are also many a treasure hunt, star-crossed romances, and mystery after mystery after mystery.
Now, the streamer has set the stage for the show's biggest season yet with the impending conclusion of its fourth chapter, and season 5 seems to be even bigger. Below, find out everything you need to know about Outer Banks season 5, including cast info, plot details (including a definitive answer on time jump rumors), the release date on Netflix, and trailer and first-look photos.
Has Outer Banks season 5 begun filming?
On the first official day of summer — a.k.a. June 20 — Netflix announced that Outer Banks season 5 has officially started production in Charleston, South Carolina, where the cast posed for a couple of photos smiling together, as you can see above and at the top of this article.
Madelyn Cline, who plays Sarah, updated fans in early October by sharing snippets from the set, which you can see here. Later in the month, she also posted a TikTok confirming the cast is now in Croatia filming for season 5, in which she also showed co-star Drew Starkey, who plays Rafe.
TikTok content
On October 19, 2025, Splash published pictures from the cast filming on location in Dubrovnik, which you can see here. As seemingly confirmed by Cline in a comment, the area serves as a replacement for Portugal. According to various local news outlets, filming for OBX in the city is expected to extend until mid-November.
According to Variety, overall production for Outer Banks season 5 is expected to extend until December 2025 or January 2026, even after the filming in Croatia wraps.
When is Outer Banks season 5 coming out on Netflix?
On the first official day of summer, Netflix announced that Outer Banks will return in 2026. It's still unknown whether the series will return all at once or be split into instalments.
For reference. Outer Banks season 4 was split into two parts, much like other hits from the streamer, like Bridgerton season 3 and Emily in Paris season 4. Each part of Outer Banks season 4 featured five episodes each, with part 1 premiering on October 10, 2024, and part 2 on November 7, 2024. It's unclear whether season 5 will follow the same formula yet.
When was Outer Banks season 5 announced?
On November 4, 2024, two days after the second annual Poguelandia event in Santa Monica, California, and merely three days before the premiere of season 4 part 2, Netflix announced the early renewal of Outer Banks for season 5. The news was shared with a new photo of all six Pogues and a distressed letter, designed to look as if it came from a typewriter.
“Dispatch to all Pogues: Seven years ago, in the summer of 2017, we came across a photo of teenagers on a beach at dusk during a power outage. That photo sparked an idea for a story of four best friends who only want to have a good time all the time," wrote showrunners Josh and Jonas Pate and Shannon Burke. “From this beginning, we imagined a mystery that would lead to a five-season journey of adventure, treasure hunting, and friendship. At the time, seven years ago, it seemed impossible that we would really get to tell the whole five-season story, but here we are, at the end of our fourth season, still chopping away.”
The showrunners called the fourth season their “longest and hardest — but most rewarding — to produce," with a feature-length finale episode that they believe is their “best, most powerful episode” yet.
“Now, with a little sadness, but also excitement, we’re putting Season 4 behind us, and are turning to Season 5, in which we hope to bring our beloved Pogues home in the way we imagined and planned years ago," they continued. "Season 5 will be our last season, and we think it will be our best yet. We hope you’ll join us for one more paddle out to the surf break. P4L.”
What will Outer Banks season 5 be about?
While the exact plot points for Outer Banks season 5 are being kept under wraps, it's safe to assume the show's final season will deal with the aftermath of the season 4 finale, so you can expect to see the Pogues embark on yet another journey, this time led by revenge.
The main crew will continue their quest for the Blue Crown treasure, all the while avenging JJ Maybank, who was killed by his newly revealed biological father, Chandler Groff, taking the treasure with him to Portugal with the intention of reselling it. So, yes, it looks like we are in for another big trip before returning to North Carolina to wrap up the story.
Despite some chatter that season 5 will start with a time jump, Madelyn Cline has denied the rumors and confirmed that season 5 will continue the story from where we left off, with the Pogues' vow for revenge. (ICYMI: Outer Banks featured a massive 18-month time jump at the end of season 3, setting the stage for season 4.)
“We pick up pretty soon after Season 4 ends,” Madelyn Cline revealed to Variety in September 2025. “We have one big time jump in all five, but just like the prior seasons, everything happens in such a short amount of time; it feels like it would be this huge, months-long adventure, but it actually doesn’t take that much time at all. I think this one follows the same formula.”
Another plot point that season 5 will need to address is Sarah's pregnancy, after it's revealed that she and John B are expecting their first child together. But do not expect a visible baby bump. “I’m not wearing a baby bump. Everyone’s like, ‘Where’s the baby?’ I don’t know. I’m not jumping over walls and getting thrown off the back of boats and sprinting at full speed away from bad guys in a silicone baby bump,” Cline added. “When I said yes to this storyline, that was my one stipulation: ‘Please don’t do that to me in the South Carolina summer heat.’ Most of July, the heat index was 100-116.”
The show's creators have also promised more of Rafe (Drew Starkey) and Sofia (Fiona Palomo), confirming they “have plans for both of them” in season 5 to Deadline. In the same interview, they also confirmed that “Kiara is going to be the spine [of] the season the way JJ was of [season 4].”
Why is season 5 the last season of Outer Banks?
On November 4, 2024, the Outer Banks showrunners (Jonas Pate, Josh Pate, and Shannon Burke) confirmed that Outer Banks season 5 will, in fact, be the final season of the show. The showrunner trio has previously 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 — even if they could always think 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 — [it] 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 S3 finale.
Who is in the cast of Outer Banks season 5?
The Outer Banks cast has grown a bit since season 1, but is still led by your favorite 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), 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.”
Obviously, one Pogues member missing from season 5 will be JJ Maybank (played by Rudy Pankow), who died at the end of season 4 — though flashbacks are always an option.
“For a long time we had known that someone was going to die,” OBX co-creator Shannon Burke told Teen Vogue. “[In season 4] JJ is being reckless, but also giving up everything. [Those are] the two extremes of JJ: He'll give up anything for the group, but he's also completely reckless and sometimes flies the plane at the mountain. That's a dichotomy. We thought it was going to be JJ all along. Now, we were aware at some point that there [were], like, hints that maybe John B was also doing something reckless, and we just leaned into that and used it for a red herring or a parallel to JJ. But we pretty much always knew it was going to be JJ.”
Cullen Moss (as Sheriff Shoupe) and J. Anthony Crane (Chandler Groff), who joined the cast in season 4, have been confirmed to return for season 5, where they will be upgraded to series regulars.
The series also stars Julia Antonelli (Wheezie Cameron), Caroline Arapoglou (Rose Cameron), and E. Roger Mitchell (Heyward, Pope's dad). Two of the biggest bombshells from season 3 included the deaths of Sarah's father, Ward Cameron (played by Charles Esten), and John B's father, Big John (Charles Halford). Season 4 also welcomed additional cast members Fiona Palomo (Sofia), Pollyanna McIntosh (Dalia), Brianna Brown (Hollis Robinson), Rigo Sanchez (Lightner), and Mia Challis (Ruthie).
Are there trailers or photos for Outer Banks season 5?
There are currently no trailers or first-look photos for Outer Banks season 5. The trailer for Outer Banks season 4 part 2 arrived most recently on November 3, 2024, and you can rewatch it above. While we wait patiently for a first look at season 5, you can reminisce with the stills from season 4 below:
This story will continue to be updated as news about Outer Banks season 5 breaks.
