Outer Banks – a must watch

The show, “Outer Banks,” was created and written by brothers Josh Pate and Jonas Pate, who happen to reside close to the Outer Banks in North Carolina. In this action packed, teen adventure drama, a group of best friends, known as the Pogues are determined to solve the mystery of fellow Pogue, John B’s missing father. Along the way, they become interested in a treasure hunt, leading them closer and closer to the answers they’ve been looking for. 
When it comes to binging a show, college freshman from Avon, Kaitlyn Hards, is no amateur. “Outer Banks” only has ten episodes, each about 45 minutes. On a night she was bored, Hards was able to complete the series in eight hours, an impressive binge. On the other hand, some people like to take their time and process each episode, which meant college freshman from Canton, Charlie Parchen, took four days to finish the series. 
The life that these characters live in “Outer Banks” seems like a dream. They wake up, they surf, they boat, and hang out with friends all the time. The show portrays their lives in a way that makes viewers jealous of their adventurous and action filled lifestyles. 
Although different in many ways, one show that has similar aspects is another Netflix original, known as “Riverdale.” In this show, teens of a small town work together to uncover the mysterious death of a popular town boy. Should the teens be this concerned in a murder investigation? No, but just like in “Outer Banks,” the teens feel the need to be the ones to get the answers.
“Outer Banks” was originally filmed in Charleston, South Carolina, and not actually in North Carolina, but for a very specific reason. “Netflix rightfully objected to the state’s controversial House Bill 2 (aka the “bathroom bill”), an anti-LGBTQ+ piece of legislation from 2016 that discriminates against the transgender community… Netflix made the right decision to insist on inclusivity and we completely agree with them,” Josh Pate told Cosmopolitan. 
To some people, like Hards, this news was off putting.  “People who have never been to the Outer Banks could think that it actually looks like that when really, it does not,” Hards said.
Parchen disagreed. “It’s not off putting that it’s filmed in Charleston instead of the Outer Banks because they are very similar locations geographically and Charleston’s shores fit the setting of the show better.”
The storyline of the show makes it quite apparent that there is a class struggle between the Pogues, the working class, and the Kooks, the wealthy class. While the characters play their roles extremely well, the people of the actual Outer Banks may not be completely happy with how their lives are portrayed. “I don’t think the people of the real Outer Banks would be happy with how it is portrayed as being either very rich or dirt poor,” Parchen said. 
The show was released on April 15, 2020, but it took a little while for the craze to make itself known. However, once the hype for the show increased, everyone was talking about it. According to Richard Lawson, chief critic for Vanity Fair, reviewing film, television, “this is a teen adventure meant to excite in several ways.”
This show is definitely a crowd pleaser. The lifestyle of the Pogues, or even any of the characters is a dream. This show has everyone talking, and will most likely continue to for a while.
If you’re going to be stuck at home during this pandemic, this series is a perfect way to spend a day, or even a few.