User reviews

After seeing all 3 seasons of Outer Banks I cannot deny that I was amused and entertained: all episodes are chock-full of high paced adventures, treasure-hunting and pursuits by villains, all this on exotic locations and with as an extra some romantic entanglements between the young and attractive cast. So what's there not to like!?

Well, I do have some reservations too. The goings-on are all extremely farfetched and unrealistic: like how this group of teen-friends succeeds time and again in escaping right under de nose of the police or heavily armed criminals, frequently amidst a shower of bullets but always unharmed; or how they solve mind-boggling mysteries (like for ages hidden treasures or the location of the legendary El Dorado) within the flick of a wrist, or thanks to out-of-the-blue strokes of luck.

The young cast is evidently supposed to illustrate the importance of true friendship, but their juvenile behavior gradually gets on your nerves, with all the bro'ing and dude'ing and the unavoidable reversed baseball caps. And silly nick-names of course, like JJ and Pope and John B (what's the B for anyway?). They all look good, but the acting is just adequate, only Drew Starkey really stands out as the troubled Rafe, and Rudy Pankow was pretty convincing as the resourceful, ADHD-fuelled JJ.

In fact it's more a series for teens, hardly exceeding the realms of The Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew. Maybe, as a reasonably grown-up person, I shouldn't watch this at all, but hey, sometimes it's nice to go with an easy and enjoyable flow without too much thinking. The very last scene of season 3 laid the grounds for yet another season, I bet I will not be able to resist it. Again.

This show is ridiculously unrealistic, but tbh I don't even care. It's obvious that it's not supposed to be the most serious show ever, so I'm totally fine with it being completely over the top.

The main actors are very easy on they eyes, and are doing a pretty decent job with their acting (nothing outstanding of course).

The actors are way too old for the roles they are playing, until Sarah said she was only 16, I wasn't really sure what age they were supposed to be. But whatever, that's nothing new. Casting of age approproate actors is super hard, so I can't deduct any points for that really.

I am not completely finished yet, but so far it's fun, fast paces, enjoyable.

Edit: After finishing the show I CAN'T WAIT for season 2. It got SO much better with each episode, and honestly, at the end this felt like a really high quality production, and it's a really good setup for a potential second season. What impressed me the most is how well the dialogie was written, it was really believable. If you can ignore the fact that they don't look like 16 at all, they definitely act like a bunch of stupid 16 year olds. Netflix, you've done it again!

This series has teenage kids, in a van, solving mysteries in a swampy, spooky landscape. The boys are handsome, the girls are cute. The only thing missing is a dog.

I wasn't really sure what to expect from Outer Banks as I originally thought it was a show aimed just for teens but I couldn't of been more wrong. It's a show where people of all ages can enjoy it. It's about a teenager and his three best friends who hunt for a legendary hidden treasure after his father's disappearance. It takes a while to get going but once it does it doesn't slow down. There's something about this show that makes it feel authentic. It's a well enough written show where it will keep you following along and having a good time doing it. It has the perfect blend of comedy, drama, mystery, etc to keep you entertained. I really did enjoy it much more than I thought I would. If you're looking to turn off your mind and just enjoy a fun show...this is it!

If Into The Blue had a baby with The O.C. and that baby had an affair with the baby of the Goonies and National Treasure, this is your type of show. I really couldn't care less about kid acting, the story is fun and always had my attention. Another season would be great!

I like this show, but it can be very frustrating to watch at times. The acting is decent, but as many others have already pointed out, the casting is a bit ridiculous. The lead actor, who is playing a 16 year old, is nearly 30. He doesn't look even remotely like a 16 year old. All the actors playing teenagers are far too old for the roles they have been cast to play and it ruins the immersion for me somewhat. Is it really so hard to find decent actors that at least look the age of the part they are playing?

But that's hardly the main issue. The story at a high level is good, but the details is where this show falls apart. All of the drama and tension is created by characters doing stupid things. The stupidity ranges from mild, to unbelievably dense, but that's always what is driving the drama. It's hard to find characters likeable when they continuously do stupid things and never learn or grow.

And it's not just the teenagers that are stupid. None of the cops follow procedure, because if they did the story wouldn't happen. Whenever a character does something clever, it has to be ruined by someone doing something incredibly stupid, because again, then the story wouldn't happen. I wish the writers would spend a bit more time trying to come up with different ways to push the story forward, maybe by having the antagonists be clever, rather than the heroes being stupid.

I've finished season 2 now, and I don't regret watching it. It's good enough, but it could have been a lot better.

Like you, I've been holed up binge watching Nexflix and Prime. I've watched everything under the sun. This had just come out on Netflix and I started watching it. I never stopped. It is a fun and enjoyable show. The casting is extraordinary...every actor hits it out of the park. The story moves along at an engaging pace to the end, yet looking back, every episode could stand as a one off...on it's own. It's a remarkable accomplishment and kudos to the writers. It's hard to categorize the genre. It's rated m, but no nudity or gore. I see no reason why a 13 year old couldn't watch it. It's funny, has many mini adventures, many misadventures, romance, shipwrecks, storms, fires, gunshots, keggers, jail, boys save girls, girls save boys, parents are devil's, parents are angel's, treasure maps ...and the show has fun doing all of it. Perfect for a quarantine.

Watched with my 12yo and went in thinking I would rather put toothpicks in my eyeballs, BUT it was actually good. And I appreciated the care they took with issues of consent for a teen show.

I wasn't really sure what to expect from Outer Banks as I originally thought it was a show aimed just for teens but I couldn't of been more wrong. I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. If you're looking to turn off your mind and just enjoy a fun show...this is it!

I'm 73 and my husband and l loved it! Well played by all the actors. Great story line. I hope that there will be another season.

Maybe the most annoying and frustrating series I've ever watched. The ridiculous and stupid storyline has plot hole after plot hole. At the end of the day, the main characters make it sufferable and it's worth binging if you've got the time, but this might be the most grotesque example of lazy writing that I've ever witnessed.

I remember the first season as being a generally fun, rich kids vs. Poor kids, teen drama/adventure/treasure hunt. The biggest downsides were the overly old cast and quite a few cringe-worthy situations and choices. Like a lot of "teen" shows, it would have been better cast with actual teens (or just have them be in college instead of high school), but it seems typical to cast 27 year old guys as 17 year olds in grade 11 these days.

Unfortunately the second season ramps up the stupidity to comical levels. It is literally the definition of a "comedy of errors": an event or series of events made ridiculous by the number of errors that were made throughout. Middle schoolers will still like it, as will people who can completely turn off their brains (or have none to begin with). Really basic things like travelling times and distances, the weight of $500 million in gold, and recovery time after surgery to repair a gunshot wound to the gut, plus the incredible number of stupid things the main characters do, make it beyond frustrating to watch. I'll finish it because the overarching treasure hunting plot is kind of fun, but it's definitely at the "so bad it's good" stage now, at best.

Could have been great with better writing.

I'm a sucker for a treasure hunt so this tipped my interest. Execution in cinematographye was fantastic. The characters are your typical band of bottom of the rung teenagers vs the super wealthy kids there on summer break. Twist and turns till the conclusion of season 1. Promising start for a modern day goonies.

Outer banks , has a little bit of everything, the value of friendship,young love, mystery and some action. binged it. got some OTH vibe.

Enjoyed the storyline, was kept entertained for both seasons. Couldn't stop watching it. But man oh man, are the characters stupid and irritating. At some point, I thought I couldn't finish the show due to their stupidity.

Outer Banks is perfect for a quarantined summer weekend watch. It will make you revisit your Scooby-Doo and Enid Blyton days. The thrill of sharing secrets with friends, the little subtleties of teen romance, and facing your challenges as you step into adulthood will give you a nostalgic trip down memory lane.

The plot, however, will leave you wanting for more. You see the premise and the promise, and are left to wonder what a better written plot could have done to this. I refrain from giving spoilers, which makes it harder to describe how the last two episodes completely defy logic.

The actors did a pretty decent job though. All of them filled the shoes of their respective characters perfectly.

Verdict : It is definitely worth a watch. Just don't set your expectations too high.

This Netflix show came out at a good time during the quarantine so it should get a lot of buzz. This is a show definitely targeting young teenagers. The acting is actually pretty solid for a show like this and the characters are very interesting. In the main group of kids we have John B, Sarah, Kiara, Pope, and JJ. These characters were great in this show and worked well together. The first 7 episodes of the season are all about looking for a lost treasure and it is amazing. Like I really loved the first 7 episodes. The last three episodes takes a whole new direction and it is so frustrating. The police start acting like TV cops and they don't even do any investigating. They shut down the whole island and have a man hunt of one mans word. These last 3 episodes are hard to watch and hurt this season so much. Also, does no one on this island have cell phones? Even if they didn't they would have some sort of device they could use over wifi. But this show likes to assume the audience is stupid so they do not explain any of this. This is something that happens in a lot of Netflix shows, they start great and just crumble. But check the season out and lemme know what you thought!

Boy oh boy! I binge watched this, (season 3) today in one BREATH! So many things going on every minute in these episodes and what makes it even better I can't even predict things that gonna happen next, they always surprise me so much with the plot. I love how thing are moving fast, we had only 10eps in this season yet saw so much adventures, fights, forgiveness, love, character developments etc. I truly enjoyed watching this more than any netflix show to be honest. The plot, the storyline it is so beautiful written, every detail is so well written. Please just announce that there is gonna be 10 seasons so I can sleep in peace. POGUE4LIFE!

So intriguing! I literally could not stop watching it. When I first started watching it I thought it would be background sound tv (something to listen to while working), but I haven't been able to work past episode 2. Its at a perfect pace, very active, very interesting! The acting is excellent for new actors, and the filming was great. I will definitely watch season 2 and I truly hope they kept the same writers because it'll be a shame if it goes south for second season.

The O. C meets, The Goonies, meets National Treasure, that's how I would describe Outer Banks.

I watched all 30 episodes in 3 days so I must have been quite good.

It's your typical American show, Beautiful People in Beautiful Places, Love crossing the class divide and then throw in some farcical fun that these high school dropout kids can find ancient treasure experts never could, Escape from capture, take out trained military operatives, Drive every vehicle from car, van, truck to boat & survive for a month on an uninhabited island with just the clothes on their back.

If you loved the O. C, Goonies & National Treasure and you can overlook plot flaws in favour of entertainment then you won't be disappointed by Outer Banks.

This was enjoyable somewhat, but when the police are after you take time to have a long kiss and discuss your life with your friends. Very unrealistic and frustrating. Could have been lots better with better writing.

I love this show. It reminds me of Into The Blue with Paul Walker but made into a series. They do a great job portraying the obx given it wasn't filmed there. All in all it's an excellent show

Outer Banks is suppose to be a teen drama but it's a wild mystery adventure for all ages. I'm breathless at the end of season 3. Fast moving plot with twists and turns that keep you on the edge of your seat. If this was a book, you'd call it a real page turner. Acting, directing, photography, all top notch, and a fantastic cast. A little disappointed that it was not about the outer banks, however it shows how young people from both sides of the track can come together for a common purpose.

I don't understand the critics who dislike this show. If you don't like teen drama, then don't watch it. If the plot seems too ridiculous, then you might have to turn on the news for a taste of reality. Outer Banks is pure entertainment and fun. I can't wait for season 4.