Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve heard so many people raving about “Outer Banks.” It’s a Netflix original show that came out just a little over a month ago (happy one month anniversary!) and hit the teenage population like a hurricane. It has been in the Top 10 trending on Netflix since its release and spent at least two weeks holding the top spot. However, I’ve heard of way too many people who haven’t watched it yet and to that, I say: What are you doing?! We’re in quarantine, what other things do you have to do? So, obviously I am a very big fan of it and I’m going to tell you why you should watch it; hopefully, after you read this you’ll drop everything you are doing and get on Netflix to watch it.
“Outer Banks” is a teen adventure mystery that premiered on Netflix on April 15, 2020. It’s about teens living in the Outer Banks in North Carolina over the summer. The main character, John B. Rutledge (played by Chase Stokes) is part of the working class population on the island along with his group of friends who call themselves “the pogues.” John’s father goes missing at sea, and a few months later a huge hurricane strikes the island. During this hurricane, a boat goes down, and the pogues find it. This leads them on a chase after John B.’s father and the $400 million worth of gold supposedly aboard the Royal Merchant.
While this might start off as a generic adventure that seems kind of boring, it is actually the complete opposite. As the season progresses, it gets so much more stressful. The last three episodes (which are about an hour-long) take place in only a day. In my opinion, those three episodes are the best and most entertaining to watch.
Two things set this apart from any other teen mystery. The first is how realistic it is. Other shows like “Riverdale,” which also fall under the same genre, have that element of fantasy and the impossible that somewhat takes away from the show. They have no extravagant makeup (the only makeup they used was to create tans and bruises), or expensive clothes. “Outer Banks” is so raw without any fancy editing that it almost feels as if you are living their life with them. This is so appealing to teenagers, especially now while we’re in quarantine and we can’t do anything. Also, life on the beach with your best friends is what everybody wants.
The second thing is the cast. They are very talented actors that also are very good-looking. I mean, we all love John B. and JJ (played by Rudy Pankow). Added upon that, they work so well together. In interviews they did together after the show came out, they all talked about how much fun it was to film the show because it was doing what they loved with their best friends. Exhibit A is the behind the scenes that they have posted all over social media. It looks like such a fun group of people and that makes the show 10 times better.
Speaking of social media, Tik Tok practically blew up after Outer Banks came out with so many people obsessed with it. If you don’t take it from me, take it from the other millions of people who have used the #outerbanks tag on their videos. Plus the cast of Outer Banks also made their own Tik Tok accounts, which have gained so many followers in only a few days that it’s insane. Chase Stokes made his account a little over a month ago and already has 1,600,000 followers and is verified!
This show is definitely worth watching. You won’t regret it. Also considering that I’ve watched it all the way through three times already, I think you can trust me when I say it is so good.
