Outer Banks – Picture: Netflix
We’ll soon be coming up to 6 months after season 2 of Outer Banks is released on Netflix and we’re still yet to officially hear whether the show will be back or not. What are the chances Outer Banks returns for season 3 and what could we expect from the third season? Let’s take a look.
First debuting in April 2020, the show returned for a highly anticipated second season in July 2020.
The show notably picked up several award nominations at the People’s Choice Awards following season 2 including best drama and best male TV star.
So all that leads us to whether or not the show is coming back for season 3. Here’s what we know.
Has Outer Banks Been Renewed for Season 3 at Netflix?
Official Renewal Status: Not yet renewed (Last updated: November 2021)
Despite rumors including one that went viral on Facebook saying that the series has been canceled, we’re still yet to officially hear what’s in store for Outer Banks going forward.
According to the post (which comes from a page unaffiliated with Netflix) they said: “Outer Banks is officially cancelled by Netflix after season 2, according to Netflix the second season didn’t give the return they wanted.” We’ve reached out to the page but as our friends at Netflix Life indicate, it should be disregarded.
Many seem to look towards Small-Screen (a scoop site that often gets things wrong) who said that season 3 is moving forward saying that filming will start in 2021 for release in the middle of 2022 but that looks to be incorrect as of November 2022.
So, how well did Outer Banks season 2 perform on Netflix? Thanks to some new metrics, we have the answer.
Between July 26th and August 1st, 2021 the series accrued 322.59 million viewing hours globally on Netflix. It was number 1 for the first four weeks of it releasing 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 as you’ve probably guessed by now. We can look towards previous renewals which took some time for the reason why though.
Trailers are often a good indication of popularity too with the main trailer for Outer Banks season 2 hitting over 4.7 million views.
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
Another good sign for the show generally is that the social media accounts for the show remain very active to this day. Canceled shows often get disregarded very quickly.
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.”
We’ve yet to see any production listings for season 3 of Outer Banks meaning that if we do get a renewal, it’s likely the show won’t get underway until early 2022 ultimately meaning a season 3 release in 2022 could be highly improbable.
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
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
Do you want to see Netflix renew Outer Banks for a third season? Let us know in the comments down below.