Not many Netflix series make it past the three-season mark anymore — and, truth be told, a second season is becoming increasingly hard to attain for many new series (case in point: Kaos, the Jeff Goldblum-led modern take on Greek mythology that was just axed after a single season). Even so, the hardy few who make it, and who survive both the whims of viewers and the all-important Netflix algorithm, end up getting very, very big as a result. One example is Outer Banks, the YA drama that just debuted the first half of its highly anticipated fourth season.
That debut just a few days ago, by the way, also coincided with a nice win for the show right out of the gate: It debuted to a perfect 100% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes. Granted, from only a handful of critics’ reviews that are in at this point — but while people often grouse when pointing out that the number of those reviews is too small to matter yet, it’s nevertheless interesting to me that every single one that’s been published so far is positive about the new season. The amount may be small, in other words, but what they collectively signal is promising.
Along those same lines: As of this writing, Outer Banks is currently the #1 show on Netflix in the US, thanks to the release of its fourth season. More specifically, the first five episodes of the fourth season — this is a major Netflix release, after all, so you guys know by now what that means. Halfsies! (Part 2 of the fourth season arrives on Nov. 7, the way almost all of Netflix’s biggest titles are now split up.)
The new season of the show picks up with The Pogues having wrapped up their treasure-hunting in the Bahamas and come back home to North Carolina’s Outer Banks. The fathers of both Sarah and John B have been killed, while the gang spent almost all of their new fortune buying back JJ’s house at an auction with the dream of setting up a new “Poguelandia.” There, the gang lives and runs a bait, tackle, and charter tour shop. But, Netflix explains, “after some financial setbacks, John B, Sarah, Kiara, JJ, Pope, and Cleo take Wes up on his offer and are drawn back into the ‘G’ game for a whole new adventure.
“But before they know it, they’re well in over their heads, with dangerous new enemies hot on their heels, racing them to the treasure. Meanwhile, their problems are only growing, and they’re forced to question their past, present, and future — who they really are, has it all been worth it, and how much are they willing to risk?” Raves one fan of the show in the YouTube comments section of the trailer below, “I’m 60 years old but I feel like a teenager when I watch this … best feeling ever.”
