Outer Banks is a new teen drama on Netflix. The series takes place in the Outer Banks in North Carolina, basically on a group of islands, a really unique location. In the show, we follow four teenagers as they search for the narrator’s missing father and hidden treasure. While uncovering these mysteries, the teens encounter many dangers that follow them throughout their journey.
We are introduced to John B (Chase Stokes), Kiara “Kie” (Madison Bailey), Pope (Jonathan Daviss), and JJ (Rudy Pankow) who live in the Outer Banks. From the get-go, our narrator, John B, gives us a rundown of one of the major problems in the Outer Banks: class differences. On one side of the island called “Figure Eight,” is where the rich people (referred to as Kooks) live. The south side is called “The Cut,” and this is where the working-class lives. Those living on the south side are referred to as the “Pogues.” John B and his friends consider themselves pogues.
In the first episode, the show does a really good job of establishing the setting and the characters. We are submerged into the community of the Outer Banks, and we are shown its beauty visually and its problems through the narration and dialogue. With this setting, the show also demonstrates the catastrophes that the setting faces like hurricanes. A key moment in the episode for me was seeing the Cut community come together to help each other and the environment after a hurricane. As for the characters, they are all integrated with the setting and show the diversity of the Outer Banks. They are all complex and have different goals, but have built a bond and a friendship with each other because they come from the same environment and they are all pogues.
The show does bombard us with a lot of information at the beginning, which can make it challengingto keep up. As the show continues beyond the first episode, the pace slows, but it is understandable as the characters are slowly uncovering the secrets of the island and the other residents. Regardless, it is a binge-worthy and entertaining new show to discover because of its setting and characters.