Outer Banks season 3 release date, cast, plot and everything you need to know

Outer Banks spoilers follow – including season two's ending.

Listen up, Netflix. We're going to need Outer Banks season three immediately, please and thank you. You cannot leave us hanging like that.

Season two ended on a bittersweet note for the Pogues, with a massive reveal regarding John B's dad that has us demanding some answers.

Thankfully, new episodes are finally on their way after that season two finale cliffhanger. So with that in mind, here's everything you need to know so far about Outer Banks season three on Netflix.

Outer Banks season 3 release date: When will it air?

Good news, Pogues! Season three of Outer Banks was confirmed in December 2021.

In a video posted to Twitter, the cast of the show appeared, cheering, to say: "All the way from Poguelandia, season three baby!"

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At the end of February 2022, Netflix shared a first look at the gang – including cast members Madelyn Cline, Chase Stokes, Madison Bailey, Rudy Pankow, Jonathan Daviss, Carlacia Grant, and Drew Starkey – back in action in Charleston, South Carolina as filming commenced.

The post was captioned: "don’t call, don’t text. no service in poguelandia. OBX 3 is BACK IN PRODUCTION."

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And finally, on January 4, 2023, Netflix confirmed that the third season will premiere on Friday, February 23 with ten episodes.

With any luck, it's not the last we'll see of the show either.

Show boss Jonas Pate previously spoke about envisaging Outer Banks running through to seasons four or five, but whether the planned story gets told is ultimately down to Netflix giving it the green light once again.

"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," Pate told Entertainment Weekly. "We've sort of long-arced it out pretty far. I'm just hoping that we get a chance to actually tell those stories."

Chase Stokes also expressed his thoughts on playing John B for the foreseeable future, and it's certainly good news for us OBX fans.

"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," Stokes told Cosmopolitan UK.

Outer Banks season 3 cast: Who will return?

With season three on its way, expect all the main crew to be coming back for more.

Rumours were circulating over the possibility of Madelyn Cline's departure following her split from onscreen (and now formally offscreen) partner Chase Stokes.

The two, who play Sarah Cameron and John B respectively, went official with their relationship in June 2020 and dated for a year.

Their split had fans worried whether or not Cline would return for a third season however she went public in a now deleted Instagram story, bringing the rumours to a grinding halt.

The 24-year-old captioned her selfie with the following:

"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. 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 on the internet is true."

Phew, because it seems like there's still a lot left in store for her character Sarah.

In an interview with ELLE, the Knives Out 2 actress said:

"I want her to be happy. I want to see her come into her own. For me, for Sarah's arc, that would be the most ideal thing to happen."

She continued: "I want to see her and John B have to kind of hash out what just happened. I want to see her personal relationships with her chosen family develop. Maybe we could get some backstory on her and Kie's friendship. Maybe see her try to go to Pogue high school. Maybe see her try to get a job.

"Season two was incredibly fast-paced and wild and very fun. And I think if we're lucky enough to get a season three [which we now know they will!] I want to dive into some character stuff and get to know [Sarah] better."

As mentioned above, Netflix's confirmation post featured all of the main characters. So we think it's safe to say that also returning alongside Cline will be Chase Stokes as John B, Madison Bailey as Kiara, Rudy Pankow as JJ, and Jonathan Davis as Pope. Pogues for life.

Drew Starkey will reprise his role as Rafe, while new recruit Carlacia Grant, who was introduced to us as Cleo in season three, has (thankfully) been bumped up to a series regular.

Charles Esten (Ward), Austin North (Topper) and Cullen Moss (Sheriff Shoupe) are also set to join them again.

Elizabeth Mitchell, who plays Carla Limbrey in the show, has confirmed her return for season three. At the end of season two, we saw John B's (very much alive) father Big John tell Limbrey that he would assist her in tracking down the magical Shroud of Turin.

"I do get to hang out with Big John quite a bit, which is lovely, because he's terrific," Mitchell told Metacritic. "She hangs with him for the most part. I don't know if you'd call it 'teaming up,' but they are indeed together a great deal of the time, especially in the first part. I don't know that Limbrey is really a team player, let's just say that."

We'll also be seeing some new faces, as joining the Pogues on their next adventure are Andy McQueen (Station Eleven), Fiona Palomo (Control Z), and Lou Ferrigno Jr (Stargirl).

McQueen will play Carlos Singh, a smart yet ruthless Caribbean Don who's on a treasure hunt of his own. Palomo is set to play Sofia, a Pogue who secretly wishes she was a Kook, especially when she starts to form a close connection with Rafe. And Ferrigno will play Ryan, who is Singh's "calm and collected but young and hungry top security officer and enforcer."

Outer Banks season 3 plot: How will season 2's ending effect what happens next?

It's fair to say that Outer Banks' season two finale was a bit of a shocker.

Throughout the series, Sarah and John B had been continuing their quest for the treasure, reuniting with the rest of the Pogues in Charlotte. The gang managed to dodge Ward, Rafe, and newbie Carla (the threat of murder is never far away from this lot!)

The Pogues had lost their newly acquired gold cross to – yep, you guessed it – Sarah's family, the Camerons, during a dramatic run-in on a cargo ship. Narrowly escaping death (again), the gang jumped ship (literally) only to end up on a deserted island.

The season drew to a close with Carla on her way to meet with John B's father(!), whom many had assumed to be dead – but clearly, he most definitely isn't! He vowed to help track down the Shroud of Turin (the magical healing cloth that was meant to have been hidden in the gold cross) but, in return, she must help John B and his friends.

We'd expect this hunt to continue to play out in a third season. And speaking of the third season, Netflix has now shared an official synopsis alongside the release date confirmation.

It reads: "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."

Fans have also been wondering whether or not John B will ever get that reunion with his clearly-breathing father, and Pate has thankfully answered that question: Yes!

Pate told Entertainment Weekly: "John B's relationship with his dad is a huge theme. Having his dad back around and eventually they're going to meet back up and John B has to reconcile his idealised version of his dead dad with the reality of his alive dad."

Writer Shannon Burke added: "It's going to be instrumental and maybe the spine [of season three] basically. It's obviously a gigantic revelation that's going to power a huge part of the third season."

Actor Chase Stokes, who plays John B, has opened up about looking ahead to what this revelation may mean for his character going forward.

Telling TV Line that he's "hoping to continue to tell the story for a couple more seasons", he mused: "It wasn't like he [Big John] was swept away by a natural disaster or whatever the case may be. It was his choice to go out and leave his son, and what does that look like? What does it look like when a kid comes face-to-face with a parent who's left and chose to put him in these circumstances and has no idea what has happened in the meantime?"

Since it was reported in 2022 that the series was looking for a young Chase Stokes-lookalike between the ages of 5 and 7 years old, it appears that we may be getting some more backstory in the form of flashbacks about John B and his father as well.

Despite all of this very promising chatter, according to TV Line, the Outer Banks showrunners do not have a "master plan" for the third season – even if they do have some idea of the themes that they would look to explore further.

This sounds like business as usual in terms of the approach towards the show. In fact, when they were mapping out season two, Big John's return wasn't even necessarily a certainty.

"We knew we had that card," Jonas Pate told TV Line. "We didn't know that we would play it for sure, but around the sixth or seventh episode, when we were writing this year, we started to realise maybe we could do that."

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Pate said: "It was always an idea lingering around and thematically, it sets up some stuff we want to explore in the third season."

"The first season we shot different endings, because we weren't 100 percent sure, and we had some alts on this season too that we ended up not using," Pate added. "Sometimes you just don't know until you put it together and that's definitely part of our process, trial and error."

The second instalment left the Pogues – complete with new recruit Cleo – stuck on that abandoned island with very little in the way of sustenance. Fans will be hoping to see just how – or if – they manage to escape.

According to show bosses, the gang certainly aren't going to give up that easily on their escapades to uncover the goods.

During the same EW chat, Pate also revealed that "the treasure hunt is going to expand, and the mythology around the treasure hunt is going to evolve and get deeper. We're pretty fired up about how that mythology is going to expand in season 3. We've been reading a lot of books, and we got some good things to hang it on."

We also know that romance is on the cards, particularly while the Pogues are stranded together on the self-named island of Poguelandia. Show bosses have teased that fans shipping JJ and Kiara may be particularly happy next season, with Pate explaining that they were "immediately open" to the idea.

"Teen romance and teen soap are a big part of the show," said Pate. "We wanted to explore the Ki-Pope relationship but obviously, we're aware of how the fans feel about JJ and Ki. We wanted to tease that for the third season."

He added: "We didn't want to do it immediately, but we definitely want to do it just because that took us by surprise, like the audience's reaction to JJ and Kiara and rooting for that romance. So we were immediately open to it, because it seems like an interesting idea to explore but we kind of left it for season three."

While shedding some light on what fans can expect from JJ in the upcoming season, Pankow shared: "High-octane is an adjective I love using. I like to think that this season is going to be very revealing. A new depth is a good one [for JJ’s individual arc] as well, but JJ’s journey this season might be frustrating. I think it’ll be a frustrating time for JJ this season."

As for John B and Sarah?

Actor Madelyn Cline told Entertainment Tonight that "it'd be really fun in season three" to get to see them "start to truly get to know each other in a very real sense".

"They're married," she added, "but they actually kind of don't know a whole lot about each other."

"I think there will be a lot of resolve for Sarah," she further told E! News in May. "A lot of resolve and emotions towards her family. We haven't seen her stand on her own two feet with her family for the last seasons, so we're finally seeing that."

This could well involve her standing up to her brother and family, with Cline adding: "We’re exploring a lot of different dynamics and story lines that we haven’t had a chance to yet."

Chase Stokes has also hinted that John B may have been a bit hasty in his decision to get hitched, which we suppose may have ramifications for a third season.

"I think John B clings to a lot of the people around him. He's definitely a little more co-dependent than he likes to give himself credit for," Stokes told TV Line. "And now Sarah's a lifeline in his life. And just like any great partner, you want to keep that person around, and society tells us, 'Hey, there's a little shiny thing that you put on somebody's finger. You go to a courthouse, and that's how you solidify it.'

"When you're young and in love, and you're so caught up in the moment, it makes perfect sense. And for him, he hasn't had consistency… His dad's been gone for a while, and so for him to have something that feels stable in his life — absolutely. He definitely jumps the shark a little bit, but you know, for a kid who's been through that much trauma, it comes from the right place. Maybe it's wrong time, right idea."

Newcomer Carlacia Grant (who plays Cleo) told ELLE that she has hopes for another romance in the future too, as well as further development for her character.

"I'm really interested in seeing this whole Cleo and Pope thing happen, if it does happen," she told the publication. "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."

As for if she reckons Cleo will enjoy living with the Pogues in the States?

"I think she’s going to have a few hiccups. I think not being able to carry a knife on her waist might be [a struggle]," she said. "I think she will learn to adapt, but I know she’s going to have hiccups because – how is the Outer Banks going to take to her?

"She does talk with an accent. She is used to doing things her own way. There’s going to be some things that maybe Kiara and Sarah and the Pogues are going to be like, 'Yo, you can’t do that.'"

Outer Banks season 3 trailer: When can I watch it?

Now! The new trailer dropped on February 3 and teases all sorts of excitement for the third season. John B gets sight of his not-dead father John! Kiara is held captive by Carlos Singh!

"The island's newest residents spend their days fishing, swimming, and reveling in the carefree lifestyle of their temporary dwelling," says the official synopsis.

"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."

While you wait, you can binge-watch seasons one and two all over again on Netflix.

And if that's not enough to tide you over, there are plenty of other teen shows that'll keep you busy on the streaming service in the meantime, including Riverdale, Elite, On My Block, and Surviving Summer.

Outer Banks is available on Netflix.