The ultimate Netflix `Outer Banks' guide to the show's real-life North Carolina references
North Carolina is no stranger to onscreen depictions, but perhaps no show has drummed up as many jokes or questions as “Outer Banks.”
The hit Netflix show not only takes its name from the famous string of barrier islands off the North Carolina coast, but also mentions plenty of other places throughout the state — sometimes putting them miles away from their real locations.
The result, aside from jokes on social media, is largely what the show's creators intended: a “mythical Carolina coast,” as described by creator Jonas Pate in an interview with The News & Observer last month.
“It really was just kind of a mashup of all of these coastal Carolina experiences that we had growing up,” Pate told The N&O.
Jonas and his twin brother, Josh Pate, grew up in North Carolina and spent time not only on the Tar Heel State's coast — specifically “Wrightsville Beach way before it developed as it is now” — but also farther south, in Charleston, South Carolina.
When it came time to make “Outer Banks,” Pate said, the twins and their third co-creator, Shannon Burke, created a “perfected” coast, pulling their favorite elements into one amalgam that is the fictional OBX setting.
“It all kind of gets thrown in a blender and tossed around,” Pate said.
If you've watched the show and heard a familiar name or place, maybe you've wondered if that references something in real life, or just how accurate the description or location of it is.
Well, wonder no more. The third season premiered Thursday on Netflix. We've scoured all three seasons of “Outer Banks” to compile the ultimate guide to the real-life North Carolina places, people and things referenced in the series.
(Warning: Light spoilers ahead.)
— Outer Banks: Main character and Pogue-inChief John B gets the show's namesake out of the way early on in the pilot episode of the series, introducing the location in a voiceover as the Pogues' retro Volkswagen van drives by a sign that reads “Welcome to the Outer Banks, Paradise on Earth.” Though the show takes some creative liberties with the geography and characteristics of the fictional Outer Banks, in real life, the Outer Banks refers to the roughly 200-milelong string of barrier islands off the North Carolina coast. As in real life, characters often abbreviate the location name to “OBX.”
— Figure Eight: As John B continues to introduce viewers to the layout of the Outer Banks, he says the Kooks — the rich, upper class people of the Outer Banks, compared to the lower class Pogues — live on Figure Eight, or “the rich side of the island.” The reference continues throughout the series. Figure Eight Island exists in real life, but it's not on the Outer Banks. The gated island is located near Wilmington and Wrightsville Beach, farther south on the North Carolina coast, and has been called “The Hamptons of the South.”
— Kildare County: Within the show's fictional Outer Banks, the characters more specifically live in Kildare County, another fictional location. The county name likely comes from a mash-up of two well-known real-life Outer Banks locations: Dare County and Kill Devil Hills, a town in that county. Kill Devil Hills is best known as the location of the Wright Brothers' first flight in 1903.
— Hatteras Island: In the pilot episode, the Pogues attend a party on the beach. In passing, Pogue Kiara is seen talking to someone wearing a T-shirt with “Hatteras” written on the back. Hatteras is a real community on the Outer Banks, located in Dare County. The Cape Hatteras National Seashore, managed by the National Park Service, stretches roughly 70 miles from Bodie Island to Ocracoke Island.
— Masonboro: In Episode 3, Sarah, Topper and other Kook teens spend time cleaning up litter off the beach. At the end of the day, an adult group leader gathers everyone around to give thanks to “the big Kahuna … for the opportunity for us to come out here and restore Masonboro to its virgin glory.” The real-life Masonboro, which is now part of Wilmington, is located in New Hanover County.