John B's Back! Everything We Know About Outer Banks Season 2—Including the Brand-New Trailer

Author:
Tina Donvito
Jun 27, 2021

Outer Banks became one of the best escapist TV delights of the pandemic when it premiered on Netflix last April—and soon, the treasure-hunting, Gen-Z mystery series that's like a mashup of The Goonies, The OC, Dawson’s Creek and National Treasure will be heading back to Netflix. Get your board shorts and bikinis ready: Here’s everything we know about Outer Banks Season 2.

When is the Outer Banks Season 2 release date?

All episodes of Outer Banks' second season are scheduled to premiere on Netflix on Friday, July 30, 2021.

**Is there an Outer Banks Season 2 trailer?**

Yes, and it appears to answers a question or two that were raised by a previously revealed Season 2 teaser. In that shorter preview, John B and Sarah's friends apparently thought they were dead—but as it turned out, the two were alive and well and "back in the G-game, baby" (as John B puts it) in the Bahamas.

In the full-length trailer, which dropped July 14, Sarah and John B are seen reuniting with the Pogues in the Bahamas (while simultaneously trying to evade capture as fugitives and clear John B's name after he was framed for murder at the end of Season 1, natch).

What is Outer Banks about?

On Outer Banks, the teens populating the show's titular vacation destination belong to either the working-class Pogues or the rich Kooks, two groups with an ongoing rivalry and class struggle. John B and his group of Pogue pals discover clues to a long-lost shipwreck, the Royal Merchant, that’s said to hold a sunken treasure of $400 million in gold. John B’s dad went missing while hunting for the treasure, but he decides to take up his father's search for the gold. John B also gets involved with Kook Sarah, who begin a Romeo-and-Juliet style romance.

Who’s in the Outer Banks cast?

Chase Stokes plays John B and Madelyn Cline is his star-crossed lover, Sarah. John B’s friends are JJ (Rudy Pankow), Kiara (Madison Bailey) and Pope (Jonathan Daviss). Sarah’s evil Kook friends and family include her father, Ward (Charles Esten), brother Rafe (Drew Starkey) and ex-boyfriend Topper (Austin North).

Some of the casting has been criticized for featuring 20-somethings as high-schoolers—Stokes is 28, Cline is 23, and the rest of the "teen" cast is over 21—although that’s not exactly uncommon for teen shows and movies. John B’s age comes into play in the show because with his missing father and absent mother, he also has been dodging social services, which means his character is not yet 18.

Are Chase Stokes and Madi dating in real life?

Are they ever! The two have said they started dating soon after Season 1 wrapped, and since then, they've found it hard to keep their hands off one another. They shared a super-steamy lip lock onstage at the MTV Awards in May, and both have been known to share pics of the other on Instagram.

Who’s joining the cast for Season 2 of Outer Banks?

In Season 2, Elizabeth Mitchell (Lost) will join the cast as a woman from Charleston named Limbrey, but who exactly she is to the rest of the characters has not yet been revealed. “She is a villain but she comes across in a way that you completely empathize with her,” Cline explained to Entertainment Tonight about her new cast mate's character. “She’s wonderful to work with and she’s killing it, truly, so I’m excited for people to see her on the show.”

What happened at the end of Outer Banks Season 1?

Spoiler alert! John B—who, by the way, is always known by his first name and last initial, so much so that “John B” has turned into an Outer Banks drinking game—was framed for murder after Sarah’s father stole the treasure and loaded it on a plane headed for the Bahamas. John B and Sarah flee with a stolen boat into a huge storm, becoming fugitives. Their boat capsizes, and everyone believes them dead—except they were really pulled out of the water by another boat heading, serendipitously, to the Bahamas.

What will happen in Outer Banks Season 2 and are they any spoilers?

Will John B and Sarah find the treasure in the Bahamas? Is John B’s father really dead? Will Sarah’s family get their comeuppance? These are just some of the questions viewers have about Season 2. We can expect to go to the Bahamas for at least part of Season 2, according to Outer Banks creator Jonas Pate. “We'll definitely have at least a part of Season 2 that'll take place in the Bahamas, but it'll all come back to the Outer Banks because that's our spiritual home,” he told Entertainment Weekly back in April. “So we'll get back to the Outer Banks pretty quickly, I'm sure, but there'll be definitely an episode or two that that has some Bahamas in it.” The Season 2 announcement on Instagram was also captioned “See you in the Bahamas.”

Bailey gave a little sneak peak in October, after filming had begun. “We start Season 2 with the three Pogues in the Outer Banks grieving and figuring out their life without John B, Sarah, and what that means for the mission,” she told Elle. “How are we going to go about this when it's just us? Then you get to see John B and Sarah in the Bahamas doing their thing.”

Pate says the mystery will continue in Season 2, but new intrigues will be revealed as well. “The story will broaden a little bit as we go into Season 2,” he told EW. “There will definitely be some new mysteries and some new ideas. It all comes off the same spine of the same story but it branches out in ways that hopefully the audience won't see coming.”

And will there be just as many “John B” mentions in Season 2? “We’re going to do our best—it’s all for TikTok!” Cline joked with The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s definitely become a joke on set how much we say people’s names that we’re directly addressing.”

Did Season 2 of Outer Banks film during the pandemic?

Yes. Season 2 was announced in July and filming began in the fall with strict Covid-19 precautions in place. “I get tested three times a week and we wear masks in between takes,” Bailey told Elle. “I think it's brought us closer since we can't go out and do anything. We hang out more often now because…it’s the only option.”

Cline says she feels similarly. “We’re definitely having to find a different kind of rhythm and we’re definitely having to find our footing. But for the most part, it’s been going really well,” she told The Hollywood Reporter. “I know it’s not easy, but everybody’s been working really hard to keep each other safe. As cumbersome as it sometimes feels, it’s definitely strengthened the bond between cast and crew, and I’m super grateful for that.”

Does Outer Banks film in the real Outer Banks?

No, it films outside Charleston, South Carolina. Although the creators originally wanted to shoot in North Carolina, laws surrounding the state’s anti-LGBTQ “bathroom bill” prompted Netflix to move filming locations. “When we wrote it, it was 100 percent Wilmington [North Carolina] in our heads,” Pate told the Wilmington Star News. “We wanted to film it here. But Netflix made the right decision to insist on inclusivity and we completely agree with them.”

Is Outer Banks like the real Outer Banks?

Not exactly. The result of not filming in the real OBX is that some of the locations—and even the presence of palm trees—makes it appear a bit differently than the real thing. In addition, locals report that although there are large, multi-million dollar vacation homes in the Outer Banks, there aren’t actually rival groups called Pogues and Kooks. Those are fictional creations for the show.

In addition, some of the geography is a bit off. In Season 1, John B and Sarah take a ferry to Chapel Hill to do some research in a library—except that in real life, Chapel Hill is landlocked. “I don’t want people to think that we don’t know Chapel Hill isn’t near the coast,” North Carolina native Pate told the Raleigh-based News & Observer. “In the original script, they took a ferry from an island to the coast, then took an Uber to Chapel Hill.” At a nearly four-hour drive, that would be one expensive Uber. “But that scene of them getting into the Uber and driving to Chapel Hill was cut, and never even shot,” he said. “We cut it not realizing it would imply Chapel Hill was on the coast.”

In any case, Outer Banks isn’t meant to be a literal representation, but rather a fantasy locale inspired by the real thing. “The world of Outer Banks is an amalgam of both Carolina coasts,” creator Josh Pate (Jonas Pate’s brother) told The Wrap. “I know other people in the Outer Banks, which is a place I grew up going to and I love, and it isn’t exactly the Outer Banks that you see in the show…It’s a fantasy geography based on a myriad of experiences all based on the Carolina coast. I just want to make it clear we’re making no attempt at geographical reality.”

Will there be more seasons of Outer Banks?

Maybe! Nothing official has been announced, but the creators have plans. "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 Pate told EW. "We've sort of long-arced it out pretty far. I'm just hoping that we get a chance to actually tell those stories."

How to watch Outer Banks

All 10 episodes of the first season of Outer Banks are available to stream now on Netflix. Outer Banks' second season drops on Netflix on July 30