The Pogues vs. Kooks war has officially moved outside of Outer Banks and to the Bahamas, and the treasure hunt for the gold and cross of Santo Domingo is nowhere near over. With the truth of buried secrets unveiled, nothing will ever be the same in the OBX. While season 2 finally answered a ton of questions we had after season 1 (and its wild cliffhanger), fans were left wondering what's next for John B., Kie, Pope, JJ, and Sarah.
Will we ever find out where the Pogues are headed in another season? Will Ward and other criminals finally pay their dues? Here are all our big questions and everything you need to know about season 3 of Outer Banks.
*Major spoilers for Outer Banks below!*
Is there a trailer for Outer Banks season 3?
You're in luck, Pogue hive. On February 2, Netflix released the official Outer Banks season 3 trailer, and the hunt for treasure continues. The nearly three-minute-long video follows the Pogues as they discover the deserted island they nicknamed "Poguelandia" isn't so deserted after all. A new villain emerges as Don Carlos Singh lets Kiara know that the group's treasure hunt is interfering with his own. "You and your friends hold the key to the ultimate conquest: El Dorado," he tells her. "And that, my young friend, is my destiny. While the gang tries to outsmart their new enemy, John B. shockingly reunites with his dad, who joins in on the group's race to discover a new city and its treasure. The journey starts to weigh on John B., making him wonder just how much the hunt is worth. "But at some point, you kind of have to wonder, was the treasure an escape? Or was it a trap," he asked.
Is season 3 of Outer Banks happening?
Get ready to chant "Pogues for Life," because Outer Banks was officially renewed for a third season. Netflix shared the news on Twitter on December 7, 2021 just four months after OBX 2 dropped.
"This just in from Poguelandia...Outer Banks will be back for a third season!" the tweet read. In the clip, the cast could not contain their excitement for the upcoming season (and neither can we!).
On February 28, 2022, Netflix announced that the Pogues are back in action and in production for season 3. "don’t call, don’t text. no service in poguelandia. OBX 3 is BACK IN PRODUCTION 🤙," the streaming service wrote in an Instagram post.
Netflix greenlit season 2 of OBX in July 2020, just 3 months after season 1 dropped. After the second season dropped in summer 2021, Chase Stokes expressed that he's down to keep playing John B and continuing his journey.
"I would love to keep it going, you know, but it obviously depends on the reaction to it. Just like last year, we're hoping that people really attach to the story and continue to kind of fall in love with the journey of not just the Pogues, but the entire world of Outer Banks," Chase told Cosmopolitan UK. "I mean, all of these characters have something super, super interesting to offer. Whether it's the journey of war or even the journey of Wheezie, I'm interested in what she's going to do."
Plus, OBX creator and showrunner Jonas Pate revealed in an April 2020 interview with Entertainment Weekly that he sees the show going on for four or five seasons.
"Ever since we started, we always viewed it as something that was probably like a four-season, maybe five-season show, but definitely four seasons," Jonas said. "We’ve sort of long-arced it out pretty far. I’m just hoping that we get a chance to actually tell those stories."
When does Outer Banks season 3 come out?
OBX 3 is officially coming to Netflix on February 23, 2023. The streaming service announced the release date with an Instagram post on January 3, 2023. "Third time's golden! 🤟 OBX S3 returns to Netflix Feb 23," the post's caption reads.
On September 24, 2022, Netflix shared an official teaser for the new season, where John B and the gang were stranded beachside on an island they'd dubbed Poguelandia. The brief teaser followed John B as he narrated, "My pops always said, 'Nothing good comes easy. Nothing worthy is given.' Question is, what are you willing to do to win? How far will you go to get your treasure?"
Are there any photos from Outer Banks season 3?
There sure are! Along with the official release date announcement, Netflix gave us a glimpse of the Pogues. The streamer posted two carousels on Instagram with pics of our faves in Poguelandia.
Alongside John B, Sarah, and Cleo, there are also pics of Pope as well as a romantic-looking photo of JJ and Kie. Kie is also pictured wearing a red satin gown, which we've never seen until now.
Who will be coming back for season 3?
All the Pogues — John B., JJ, Pope, Kie and Sarah — will be coming back for another season. There's still so much of their journey that hasn't been told yet, so it makes sense for them to return.
While Madelyn Cline's character, Sarah, has an on-screen romance with Chase Stokes' John B, the actors dated IRL before they broke up in November 2021. In a March 2022 interview with ELLE, Madelyn cleared up rumors that she wouldn't be returning to the OBX after her romantic fallout with Chase. Despite their breakup, the 24-year-old actress has "every intention" to see Sarah's story through. "Look, I love this job so much, and I will come back for as many seasons as they will have me. I love my cast; I love this crew. And I love shooting the show. There's absolutely nothing that could change my mind about that," she told the outlet. "I know rumors happen. But I saw that [people thought I didn't want to come back], and I just really genuinely wanted to address it. Because it couldn't be further from the truth."
According to Deadline, Carlacia Grant, who stars as Cleo, has been upgraded to a season regular, so that means we'll be getting a chance to see more of her this upcoming season. Carlicia told ELLE that she wants to see a romantic development between her and Pope.
"I’m really interested in seeing this whole Cleo and Pope thing happen if it does happen," she said. "And I would love to see more of Cleo's backstory. I, personally, really want to see more of her, more of where she came from. And I want her to be more bad-ass, definitely more bad-ass."
Because some characters like Gavin and Renfield were killed off in season 2, it's likely that they won't return. Although OBX loves a good plot twist, so who knows if they've actually made it out alive?
Speaking of plot twists, Big John — a.k.a John B's dad, who we thought was dead this entire time — may make an appearance in season 3. We left off with the discovery that he was actually "half-dead" for a long time after sending a letter about the shroud to Clara.
What will OBX season 3 be about?
Season 3 will likely pick up where we left off in season 2 — Clara is faced with the decision of helping John B and the rest of the Pogues find the shroud thanks to a letter from his half-dead father. Big John being alive will most likely be a major plot point in season 3, and whether he finds out at the beginning or end is a mystery. Hopefully, Ward and Rafe will face the consequences of their actions, from killing Big John and the other crimes they committed to ensuring the Pogues wouldn't make any progress on their hunt.
The season may also follow the Pogues as they try to make their way back home to the OBX, as well as their big plan for stealing back the gold and cross of Santo Domingo.
In an April 2022 interview with Elite Daily, Chase Stokes dished that season 3 will clear up a lot of the mysteries season 2 left fans with. "I think a lot of loose ends are going to get tied up. A lot of questions will be answered. And per usual, these kids are going to get put through the wringer," he told the outlet.
Since they're still in the process of filming, Chase told Elite Daily that he doesn't even know exactly how season 3 will play out. "The writers really like to keep us on our toes, and I think that creates performances that catch you in the moment ... I've no idea what's going on past what we've shot in Barbados," he said. He also revealed that so far, season 3 has more of a chill vibe compared to season 2. "Season 2 was like a death metal album," Chase said. "I think Season 3 would be like the acoustic ballad album of the Outer Banks music world, with a lot going on."
As for the fate of Kie and JJ's potential romance, Madison Bailey told Cosmopolitan in July 2021 that she can see it happening in season 3. "We’re both feisty, we’re both always down for the crazy ideas. There's just something these two characters have inherently in common that could work," Madison said.
And with all the near-death experiences across the first two seasons of OBX, Madison said, "Somebody has to actually die in season 3. Somebody has to die for real for real."
Has the cast talked about season 3?
The OBX cast is remaining tight-lipped about season 3 storylines, and they're urging fans to do the same. On Thursday, March 10, Chase Stokes begged viewers to keep deets under wraps. "I hate that I'm having to post this again but please, do not post spoilers of us working," he wrote on his Instagram Story, per E! News. "This is an exhausting process and we have a really exciting story to tell."
"Please.. please respect our process. Not just the cast but also to our crew who is working endless hours to make this show come to life. It's disheartening to see them also bummed that people don't have the ability to just wait and that posting on social media is more important than respecting our process," he continued.
Before ending his message, Chase assured fans that if they spot any of the cast outside of work and off the OBX set, they'd be happy to say hello. "The whole OBX family would greatly appreciate you guys if you would help us with this. Thank you for understanding <3," he concluded.
In a March 2022 interview with Hollywood Life, Carlacia Grant dished what the upcoming season may entail. "It's all going to make sense," she told the outlet. "There's going to be a lot of things that maybe haven’t been explained that are going to be explained [in season 3]."
She explained that the upcoming episodes will tie into the show's first two seasons because they address "everything teased" up until this point. She couldn't lay down the specific details, but she did reveal that the Outer Banks cast group chat "went crazy" after they received the scripts for the first two episodes of season 3. "The group texts were going off!" she said. "It's unexpected for real! The twists and turns that are going to happen, it's so unexpected."
Will there be an Outer Banks spin-off?
Along with the release of season 2 comes tons of questions — including ones surrounding a possible spin-off for the Pogues. In an interview with Cosmopolitan UK, Jonathan Daviss (who plays Pope) opened up about the possibility of an OBX spin-off series.
"I don't think of any of these characters without each other. I think, you know, it's fun to watch them do their own thing on the show, but again, the real heart is all of us together and all of us supporting each other," Jonathan said. "One of the biggest things we preach on the show is the loyalty we have for this kind of circuit family that we've all made through friends, through circumstance, through the world being down on [our characters]."
He also expressed that while the idea of an OBX spin-off is cool, it'd feel "weird" without the rest of the cast. Based on Jonathan's response, it doesn't seem like it's in the cards.
WATCH SEASON 2 OF OUTER BANKS NOW
Season 2 of Outer Banks is now available to stream on Netflix with subscriptions starting at $8.99 per month.
Sam is an assistant news editor at Cosmo, covering all things pop culture, entertainment, and celebrity news. She previously covered those same topics along with health, lifestyle, and beauty at Seventeen. When she isn't draping her cheeks in blush, you can probably find her live-tweeting awards shows or making SwiftToks.
Leah Campano is an Associate Editor at Seventeen, where she covers pop culture, entertainment news, health, and politics. On the weekends, you can probably find her watching marathons of vintage Real Housewives episodes or searching for New York City’s best almond croissants.
