Netflix Announced 'Outer Banks' Is Ending Ahead of Season 4, Part 2 Release — Why?
"We’ve always known from the beginning what the last scene would be,” said Josh Pate.
Published Nov. 5 2024, 7:31 p.m. ET
Netflix dropped Part 1 of Season 4 of Outer Banks on Oct. 10, 2024, with Part 2 hitting screens on Nov. 7.
Ahead of Part 2’s release, Netflix announced that the show is renewed for a fifth season (yay!), but here's the kicker, it will be the last (boo!).
The series has proven itself binge-worthy, with Part 1 of Season 4 debuting at No. 1 on Netflix’s Global Top English TV List after its release and maintaining its place in the Top 10 for the first three weeks.
Naturally, fans are eager to know: Why is the show ending? Here’s what we know.
Why is 'Outer Banks' ending?
Outer Banks creators Josh Pate, Jonas Pate, and Shannon Burke always envisioned the series as a five-season journey. In a letter to fans shared by Netflix, they revealed the show’s origin: a single photo they found in the summer of 2017, showing “teenagers on a beach at dusk during a power outage.”
This image sparked the idea of Outer Banks — "four best friends who only want to have a god time all the time."
From there, they mapped out “a five-season journey of adventure, treasure hunting, and friendship.” And they've certainly delivered, with plenty of chaos thrown in, like JJ’s shocking discovery about his biological dad.
Though Outer Banks creators once thought making it to five seasons was “impossible,” they’ve shown that with the right mix of consistency and dedication, anything is possible.
They shared that Season 4 was their “longest and hardest" but "most rewarding" to produce. And they’ve got big plans for the season 4 finale: a feature-length episode they believe will be “the most powerful” yet.
'Outer Banks' creators say the fifth and final season will be their best yet.
Scripts for Outer Banks Season 5 are currently in the works, with the focus on bringing “our beloved Pogues home in the way we imagined and planned years ago,” according to the fan letter. Creator Josh Pate previously shared with Tudum in 2023, “We’ve always known from the beginning what the last scene would be."
Though the end of Outer Banks might come as a surprise to devoted fans, the creators always had a clear finish line in mind — just as all great shows do.
Here's how fans are reacting to the news of 'Outer Banks' ending.
While plenty of fans are heartbroken over Outer Banks ending, some Reddit users feel the show has run its course. One commenter wrote, “Makes sense… the cast is getting up there in age to be playing 16-17-year-olds, lol.” And they have a point!
The actors can only play characters at least five years younger for so long. Another fan took a different view, saying they were surprised the show still had life left: “How is this show still going? Too much suspension of disbelief required, without enough wins.”
So, are you sad to see Outer Banks go, or do you think the ending is overdue?
