Outer Banks is over, but its prequel could bring back these old characters we already know

Outer Banks is over after season five, but Netflix is developing a prequel series set in the same world, and the creators have finally shared what they actually want to explore.

The project is currently being referred to as Kildare, after the fictional island where the original series takes place. It will be set 20 years before the events of Outer Banks, so don’t expect John B, Sarah, Rafe, JJ and the rest of the gang to be running around looking for treasure.

Instead, the series will focus on the parents’ generation and, more specifically, how the huge divide between the wealthy Kooks and working-class Pogues actually began. And that could answer loads of questions about the world we’ve spent five seasons watching.

The Outer Banks prequel is officially in development

The idea of an Outer Banks prequel has actually been around for a while. Creators Josh Pate, Jonas Pate and Shannon Burke had previously mentioned the possibility in interviews in 2023 and 2024, but it has now moved beyond being just an idea.

With the original series finished after five seasons, the trio are now working on the prequel with Netflix.

Josh Pate confirmed its current status in an interview with Deadline, saying, “We’re working on the script. We’re working hard on it with our awesome partners from Netflix, and we’re just trying to get all of it as good as it can be.”

There is no release date yet, and Netflix has not officially announced when the show will arrive.

It will be set 20 years before Outer Banks

The biggest thing to know is that Kildare isn’t simply Outer Banks season six with a younger cast. The prequel will jump back 20 years, which puts it firmly in the generation before the main characters.

Shannon Burke explained, “And seen through the stories of some of the characters you know and some new characters. But they’re 20 years before, so it’s the parents’ generation.”

That means there is still a connection to characters we already know, but the story will largely be about what Kildare was like before John B and the Pogues came along. And considering how much we learned about the characters’ families over the five seasons, there is actually loads for the creators to work with.

Outer Banks has already introduced several parents with their own complicated histories on the island, including John B and JJ’s dads, Sarah and Rafe’s father Ward, Pope and Kiara’s parents, and Topper’s family.

JJ’s biological parents were also revealed in season four, with his mother coming from a wealthy local family with deep roots on the island.

So what is the Outer Banks prequel actually about?

Basically, it is about how the Kooks and Pogues became the Kooks and Pogues. That social divide has been at the centre of Outer Banks since the beginning. The Pogues are the working-class locals, while the Kooks are the wealthy residents living in places such as Figure Eight. Now, the prequel will go back to when that split first happened.

Josh Pate explained, “It really is the story of how the island split. And it’s particularly relevant in our country right now, how it split into the haves and have-nots, how the Kooks and the Pogues started. How did this rift start?”

The creators have said the prequel will be told through some familiar characters and some new ones. That doesn’t mean the younger versions of every Outer Banks character will necessarily appear, though. The series is set two decades earlier, so the focus is naturally on their parents’ generation.

Ward, for example, grew up in The Cut before becoming wealthy enough to live among the Kooks in Figure Eight. John B’s father, Big John, also had a long history of treasure hunting. While JJ’s family connection to one of Kildare’s wealthy old families was only revealed much later in the original series. Pope and Kiara’s families also have roots on the island, while Topper comes from a wealthy Kook family.

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