“Paradise is never as beautiful as it seems,” series star Chase Stokes warns.
“I heard all these passengers who were talking about it,” he tells EW.
“‘There’s a plane that sunk!’
Chase Stokes.Amy Harrity/Netflix © 2023
And I was like, ‘Really?’
And then I realized it wasourplane.”
remembers co-creator Josh Pate of filming the season 3 premiere (launching Feb. 23).
Jonathan Daviss.Amy Harrity/Netflix © 2023
“‘These poor kids!'”
“‘Everyone’s standing around with cameras not doing anything!'”
But that was just another normal day of shooting what has become one of Netflix’s biggest dramas.
Madelyn Cline.Amy Harrity/Netflix © 2023
Season 2 premiered at No.
1 in Nielsen’s streaming ratings in July 2021 as the series raised the stakes exponentially.
But like true Pogues, they found a way.
Rudy Pankow.Amy Harrity/Netflix © 2023
They then handed things off to Jonas who directed most of season 3 and he started to panic.
“But I also feel like it’s our most satisfying season.
I’m really proud of it.
Madison Bailey.Amy Harrity/Netflix © 2023
It shortened our lives, but it’s definitely worth it.”
“This season, holy cow, they’re going off the rails for this.”
“But we thrive there.”
Carlacia Grant.Amy Harrity/Netflix © 2023
“That island time is really healing for the characters,” Josh says.
But ultimately, reality catches up to the beleaguered teens.
“Paradise is never as beautiful as it seems,” Stokes says.
(From L-R): Chase Stokes, Carlacia Grant, Jonathan Daviss, Madelyn Cline, and Rudy Pankow on ‘Outer Banks’.Jackson Lee Davis/Netflix
We wanted to explore the father-son relationship in a big way."
“He realizes that there are consequences to having his dad back,” Jonas adds.
“His dad’s a little bit of an obsessive person, so it causes massive challenges.”
Madelyn Cline and Chase Stokes on ‘Outer Banks’.Jackson Lee Davis/Netflix
“Our writers are really all gas, no breaks sometimes,” Cline says with a laugh.
“So this season we really wanted to see them express or codify what they were going through.”
He’s struggling a lot, and it all catches up.
Madison Bailey on ‘Outer Banks’.Jackson Lee Davis/Netflix
It’s a rough season."
Pankow was actually a step ahead of the writers when it came to outwardly displaying JJ’s internal struggles.
“I made that a thing because it wasn’t scripted,” he says.
“He feels his anxiety in his heart.
And that is something I’ve actually done in real life.
I kind of tap my chest and remind myself that I’m alive.
[This season], the writers put JJ into more situations like that.”
The real treasure
But enough talk about trauma Outer Banksseason 3 isn’talldoom and gloom.
“There’s a lot more love, that’s for sure,” Jonas says.
So much for the “no Pogues macking on Pogues” rule, huh?
“That rule is gone, gone, gone,” Daviss confirms with a laugh.
“We’re definitely going bigger with everything this year, and the romance is part of that.”
It’s some of my favorite scenes of the whole season."
“It was interesting to finally get to explore that as an actor.”
“Kiara is not waiting for a knight in shining armor,” the actress explains.
“I think both of them being independent and free-spirited is what brings them together.
It’s a natural progression forward for them.
But like everything onOuter Banks, JJ and Kiara’s romance won’t be an easy journey.
“He leans on Kiara a lot, but confusion plays a big part.”
Bailey calls JJ’s season 3 arc “tough to watch,” but in the best way.
Our differences are quite predominant this season.”
Another new Pogue relationship will also bloom this season.
“Our love story is so sweet,” Grant says.
“You see how he softens her in a way that no one’s been able to before.
She helps him, and he helps her.”
And then there’s John B and Sarah.
“Love isn’t supposed to be easy,” the actor says.
“It’s not supposed to be something that just comes naturally.
They’re definitely, yet again, going to be tested.”
However, Stokes and Cline promised each other before dating that the show would always come first.
The showrunners promise that the actors’ personal lives didn’t impact their onscreen story at all this season.
“They’re pros,” Jonas says.
“They were never once a problem,” adds Burke.
“The big theme this season is: Why do we want the gold?”
“We’ve just been chasing after it because it’s been a goal.
But this season, each one of us is figuring out the why.
What are we willing to give up?
We’re playing a lot of big cards at the end, put it that way.”
(That’s a lot of gold!)
After all, every good treasure hunt needs a map.
Outer Banksseason 3 debuts Feb. 23 on Netflix.
