Outer Banks – Picture: Netflix
Outer Banks season 3 is now in production after being renewed soon after season 2 was released in 2021. How well did Outer Banks perform on Netflix, what can we expect from Outer Banks season 3 and where is the show in production? Here’s everything we know about Outer Banks season 3 as of March 2022.
First debuting in April 2020, the teen crime drama series returned for a highly anticipated second season in July 2020. The show has notably picked up several award nominations throughout its lifetime including the notable People’s Choice Awards following season 2 including best drama and best male TV star.
The series comes from Shannon Burke, Jonas Pate, and Josh Pate.
So let’s now take a look into what we know so far about Outer Banks season 3.
When was Outer Banks Renewed for Season 3?
Official Renewal Status: Renewed (Last updated: November 2021)
Despite rumors including one that went viral on Facebook saying that the series has been canceled a renewal didn’t come until December 2021.
The renewal came on December 7th alongside a message from the cast:
This just in from Poguelandia…
Outer Banks will be back for a third season! pic.twitter.com/NV9Oy4Z8V1
— Netflix (@netflix) December 7, 2021
It also came with a logo for the new season:
Outer Banks Season 3 Logo
what’s ✌️ +☝️? obx s3. exactly. pic.twitter.com/EimNUdFgAa
— obxnetflix (@obxnetflix) December 7, 2021
Who’s returning for Outer Banks season 3?
Alongside the renewal, a press release seen by What’s on Netflix states that Jonas Pate, Josh Pate and Shanon Burke will return as showrunners and executive producers.
We also know that the key cast members returning for season 3 includes:
- Chase Stokes
- Madison Bailey
- Jonathan Daviss
- Madelyn Cline
- Rudy Pankow
- Austin North
- Charles Esten
- Drew Starkey
- Carlacia Grant (upped to season regular for season 3)
What is the production status of Outer Banks season 3?
Official Production Status: Filming Ongoing (February 2022)
In December 2021 we reported on the filming dates reveal for Outer Banks season 3. Filming dates are subject to change, but as it currently stands filming for season 3 will begin in Charleston, South Carolina on February 16th, 2022, and run through to August 19th, 2022.
Now you’ll note that the show is actually set in North Carolina but films in South Carolina. This is due to several regions including Netflix’s initial objection to the bathroom bill.
On February 14th, 2022 Valerie Weiss posted on Instagram confirming that filming did get underway on February 15th with a post captioned:
“Big love to my @obx family as they begin shooting Season 3 tomorrow!!!! See ya’ll soon!”
There has also been a slew of posts of cast members on set. We’ll keep you posted throughout production with all the behind-the-scenes pics that surface.
Netflix itself then officially revealed on February 28th that production was ongoing with new cast pictures. At that point, the series had been in production for over a week.
Time to get in a pogue state of mind…
Outer Banks Season 3 is officially in production. pic.twitter.com/HuQ1JDiUHP
— Netflix (@netflix) February 28, 2022
How well did Outer Banks season 2 perform on Netflix?
Between July 26th and September 5th, 2021 the series featured in Netflix’s new top 10 metrics picking up 322.59 million viewing hours globally on Netflix.
It was number 1 for the first four weeks of its release on Netflix.
You can see how its viewing hours were distributed below.
| Time Period | Viewing Hours (Million) |
|---|---|
| July 26th to August 1st | 100.16 |
| August 2nd to August 8th | 105.33 |
| August 9th to August 15th | 51.6 |
| August 16th to August 22nd | 31.8 |
| August 23rd to August 29th | 20.79 |
| August 30th to September 5th | 12.91 |
On the IMDBPro MovieMeter, the series reached the number 8 most popular show on the platform.
Why the hold up on a renewal? Well, we don’t officially know why the renewal took so long but we can look towards previous renewals which took some time for the reason why though.
With large ensemble casts such as Outer Banks, it’s almost certainly coming down to salary negotiations. After season 2 of various shows, we saw major salary negotiations for shows like 13 Reasons Why, Never Have I Ever, and On My Block.
Picture: Netflix
Speaking to Decider shortly after the season 2 premiere, Jonas Pate said regarding the future of the show: “My answer is, as long as we can keep making it good and we’re still excited. That’s the number. Definitely more than three.”
In early December Chase Stokes expressed he was hopeful but unaware of any renewal saying in an interview:
“We’ve got such a talented team of writers and so we always leave it up to them to sort of figure out the story. And every time we get a script it’s just kind of blowing our seats off so I’m just excited to get my hands on it when and hopefully Netflix gives us the green light,” he said in December 2021. We’re still patiently waiting, just sitting back trying to figure out when it’s going to happen or if they’re going to give us the call, if we’re not going to get the call, so you know. … We’re kind of in limbo right now. Obviously, the fans want it, we want to do it, so if the timing’s right, we’ll see, but fingers crossed.”
What to expect from Season 3 of Outer Banks
If the show is renewed, we can expect the series to continue to take plenty of twists and turns as we’ve now come accustomed to throughout the first 20 episodes.
Let’s quickly recap season 2 of Outer Banks and where that’ll lead us into season 3.
The war between the Camerons and the Pogues is likely to continue with Pope likely wanting to retrieve the now stolen golden cross. Pope, while fleeing the large vessel says “it’s not over” as they seek refuge on a remote abandoned island. They decide to stay on the island but the likelihood is they won’t be long especially given their family has reported them missing.
Pope will also likely continue to find out his family’s connection to the Cross of Santo Domingo.
Ward Cameron notably faked his death in season 2 and is now trying to live off the radar. After a few run-ins towards the end of a second season including John B sparing his life, it’s likely Ward will continue to pay a key role in the conflict going forward but will he be caught?
Outer Banks – Picture: Netflix
The biggest question going into season 3 is how and why Big John is back. He seems to allude that he knows where Denmark’s Cross is but was given the diagnosis of being “half-dead”. What impact will he have going forward? We’ll have to wait and see.
What have the cast and crew teased for a third season? Here’s a roundup:
Regarding Big John, Josh Pate told EW:
“John B’s relationship with his dad is a huge theme and having his dad back around and eventually they’re going to meet back up and John B has to reconcile his idealized version of his dead dad with the reality of his alive dad. It gives us a lot of thematic father-son stuff to work with.”
Jonas Pate, Josh Pate, and Shannon Burke have also said that while the Pogues are down they’re certainly not out suggesting they will be straight back on the hunt for gold.
In terms of the romance situation in season 3, Madelyn Cline told ET that we’ll hopefully get to learn about their marriage more saying:
“It’d be really fun in season 3, if we get one, to see them actually start to truly get to know each other in a very real sense. They’re married, but they actually kind of don’t know a whole lot about each other. I feel like that would be really fun. They’ve obviously been through a lot together.”
Outer Banks – Picture: Netflix
When is the Outer Banks season 3 Netflix release date?
There is currently no official Netflix release date, for Outer Banks season 3, and won’t be for several months. However, thanks to the production schedule of previous seasons we can already begin to speculate when we’ll see the next season land.
The second season of Outer Banks was filmed between August 2020 and April 2021, before being released four months later at the end of July 2021. If a similar schedule is followed and there are no delays or problems to the filming schedule, then there is a chance we will see season 3 on Netflix in December 2022. At the very least we expect to see Outer Banks return by February 2023.
It’s worth noting that IMDb lists new episodes arriving in 2022.
Other Outer Banks News Since Season 2
Outside of the show, you may have heard that Madelyn Cline and Chase Stokes were dating but that relationship looks to have turned sour.
Fans of the show who are wanting more will definitely want to check out the newly released Outer Banks book titled Lights Out by author Alyssa Sheinmel. The book takes place just before season 1 of the main show.
Here’s what you can expect from the book:
“It’s spring break in the Outer Banks, and the islands are swarming with rich tourists. The last thing JJ and John B want to do is spend their week watching Kooks in action, so they plan a fishing getaway to the notoriously dangerous Frying Pan Shoals—nicknamed “Graveyard of the Atlantic” for good reason.”
Outer Banks Book
Are you looking forward to watching Outer Banks season 3? Let us know in the comments down below.