Here’s why JJ was killed off and Rudy Pankow was written out of Outer Banks before season five

Netflix’s Outer Banks season five is finally here, and I’m heartbroken that JJ Maybank is well and truly dead, so here’s why Rudy Pankow was written out of the final season.

JJ’s death at the end of Outer Banks season four was easily one of the most brutal moments in the whole show. After everything the Pogues had survived together, watching JJ get killed by his own biological father, Chandler Groff, was genuinely wild.

And because Rudy’s departure happened right before the fifth and final season, loads of people started wondering whether there was something more going on behind the scenes.

In particular, some people linked JJ’s death to the rumours about Rudy and Madison Bailey, who plays Kiara. But actually, the show’s creators have been pretty clear about why they made the decision.

So, why did JJ really have to die?

In a November 2024 interview with Netflix Tudum, creators Josh Pate, Jonas Pate and Shannon Burke said they had “always planned” for JJ to eventually die. That doesn’t make it any less painful, obviously, but it does mean the decision was part of the story they had been building towards.

Josh Pate admitted, “It was a really hard decision because he’s such a great piece of the ensemble.”

He explained, “It sets the stage for an epic fifth and final season. We’re planning a story of redemption, and a season that embodies the friendship that JJ had come to represent.”

He also described JJ’s death as a “hard but necessary piece of the architecture for the story”.

The Pogues had spent four seasons getting themselves into ridiculous situations, finding treasure and somehow surviving almost everything thrown at them. Killing JJ meant the final season could no longer just be another treasure hunt. It had to become personal.

There was actually a reason JJ was the one who died

Throughout Outer Banks, JJ was basically the Pogue who would risk absolutely anything for his friends. He was reckless, loyal and usually the first person to throw himself into danger. And Rudy himself understood that when he found out what was going to happen to JJ.

“When I first found out JJ was gonna risk it all and not make it, I understood it,” Rudy told Tudum.

He added, “When I read the character breakdown for the audition, it said ‘loyal to a fault.’ And I think as the stakes got higher and higher, his whole thing is, he takes the risk and puts his friends before himself.”

Rudy also said that JJ “lives his life to the utmost fullest” and that, despite everything he went through, he didn’t think JJ regretted the way he lived. He also described playing JJ as a “huge honour” because of how selfless the character was.

JJ getting killed by his own dad was a deliberate choice

Season four revealed that Luke Maybank wasn’t JJ’s biological father. JJ was actually the son of Chandler Groff and Larissa Genrette, making him part of the wealthy Genrette family. So, after spending his entire life believing he was a Pogue, JJ discovered that he was technically born a Kook.

The creators deliberately wanted that revelation to hurt JJ. Jonas Pate explained, “What would torture JJ the most? The revelation that JJ’s a Kook.”

JJ then ended up facing his biological father, Chandler Groff, over the Blue Crown. When Groff turned on him, JJ gave up the crown to save Kiara. Groff then fatally stabbed his own son. The creators wanted to prove that JJ’s biggest defining trait had always been his loyalty to his friends. His death was meant to change the Pogues completely.

“From here it’s really personal,” he said. “They may end up getting treasure as part of their revenge, but it’s all about avenging JJ, and trying to get some solace or peace, and to move on from the grief they all feel.”

That’s also why the creators didn’t want JJ’s death to be meaningless. The Pogues had always talked about having a home where they could all be together. But after JJ dies, that dream obviously can’t look the same anymore.

Jonas added, “A win for them, [at this point], will be to come back to almost where they were at the beginning.”

Josh Pate then said, “ ‘We don’t want to be poor’ is a great motivator to go after treasure, but JJ’s death is [a] much more powerful motivation from here.”

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