Netflix’s sun-soaked ‘Outer Banks’ is a postcard to NC’s coast, but it’s not filmed here

It’s an appropriately humid July night in the South, and the cast of Netflix’s “Outer Banks” is on the run.

In the dark kitchen of a cluttered historic home hidden from the world by an overgrown garden, actresses Madison Bailey and Madelyn Cline peek around the corner, waiting for their cue. When they hear “Action,” they make a run for it, weaving through a minefield of decades-old hoarding to evade a blind woman with a shotgun and surprisingly good aim.

Once they hit their mark deep inside the house, they hear “Cut!” and head back to their starting point to do it again. This is Episode 6 of the series, and the action is only ramping up.

For a few months in the summer of 2019, this cast of virtual newcomers, who quickly became best friends off screen, had the coast as their playground, shooting a sun-soaked, treasure-hunting action adventure against what may be TV’s most beautiful backdrop. The buzzy series premiered April 15 on Netflix.

Actor Chase Stokes plays John B, the leader of a beach-born group of teenagers known as the Pogues. They find themselves on the hunt for sunken treasure after a hurricane washes mystery and danger ashore on the iconic barrier islands of North Carolina.

Beyond the Civil War-era treasure, there’s also a class struggle brewing between the Pogues and their rich-kid counterparts known as the Kooks – setting the stage for a summer like no other.

“It’s twisty, it’s turny, it’s kind of like ‘The Goonies,’” Stokes said on the set last summer. “It’s about navigating the lifestyle of living on an island with no power after a hurricane. But it’s also about the power of friendship.”

To sell them as island dwellers, the cast was put through a rigorous boating course and took surfing lessons. Bailey learned to play the ukulele and how to dive.

“When I first read the script, I did not realize just how action packed this show was,” said Baily, who is a native of Kernersville. “But I love it because I have learned so much.”

For the young cast, calling this work was a stretch.

“We’re making a show in paradise,” said Jonathan Daviss, who plays Pogue member Pope. “I haven’t worked a single day since I’ve been here.”

But “here” is not the Outer Banks. It’s not even North Carolina.

Playing the role

In a twist of production logistics, “Outer Banks” was shot on location in Charleston, S.C.

The state landed the project after Netflix pushed back on filming the series in Wilmington, which was initially scouted, because of anti-LGBTQ legislation dating back to 2016’s House Bill 2.

Shooting a series far from its on-screen setting is often the norm in television, but co-creator, writer and director Jonas Pate still advocated for the legislation to be abolished early or amended to allow local communities to opt out, so the show – which he has called a postcard to North Carolina’s coast – could film in Wilmington.

“When we wrote it, it was 100 percent Wilmington in our heads,” said Pate, a veteran screenwriter and producer who is riding out the coronavirus shutdown at his home in the Port City. “We wanted to film it here. But Netflix made the right decision to insist on inclusivity, and we completely agree with them.”

The cast has also been vocal about supporting LGBTQ rights and the decision to shoot outside of North Carolina.

But Pate, who recently moved back to Wilmington after years living in Los Angeles, said the production made it work after landing in Charleston.

Dozens of Wilmington-based crew members made the journey to work on the project, and former Wilmington resident and actor Cullen Moss pops up in a big recurring role.

But Pate also said it wasn’t hard to create their version of the Outer Banks a little farther south.

“We were lucky because we weren’t trying to recreate Duck or anything,” he said. “It was a fictional town and island on the Outer Banks, so we could really create whatever visual landscape we wanted. Charleston is beautiful, but it is a rapidly growing city, so we had to cherry pick pieces of it. Take these narrow snapshots and piece them together to create this fictional world of ours.”

Fans of the historic Lowcountry city will recognize James Island, Jones Island and the Old Village in Mount Pleasant as some of those locations.

Nods to North Carolina

Although North Carolina missed out on a role that had literally been written for it, Pate, who created the show with his twin brother, Josh Pate, and Shannon Burke, embedded nods to the state in their story.

Cheerwine and Chapel Hill make appearances. Masonboro Island and its iconic Fourth of July gatherings get plenty of shoutouts.

The wealthy part of the show’s island is known as Figure Eight, and the scrappy part is known as The Cut, a nod to Snow’s Cut in Carolina Beach.

Pull in inspiration from teenage cultural hallmarks like “The Goonies” and “The Outsiders,” and Pate said he and his brother have pretty much been creating this show in their heads since they were kids.

“The coast of the Carolinas is near and dear to my brother and I,” he said. “My dad would always bring us down to Wrightsville Beach, and my mom lived in Charleston. Between those two places, it was kind of like putting a childhood spin on the coast and watching a ton of movies, reading a ton of books and just putting it all together.”

North Carolina’s film industry

Although his wish to shoot in Wilmington didn’t come to pass, Pate said he is encouraged by the steps being taken to eliminate the controversial legislation that has been a barrier for some production companies in recent years.

As a member of the N.C. Governor’s Advisory Council on Film, Television and Digital Streaming, Pate is now part of the team of industry leaders and stakeholders helping make the state a more hospitable place for Hollywood once again.

“I do feel like North Carolina is getting its act together and it is all trending in the right direction,” he said. “It is a clean industry that gives people good paying jobs. Why would you want to push that away? I think the future is bright here.”

Pate has no idea whether “Outer Banks” make the transition to Wilmington for a second season if Netflix orders one.

But he is biding his time by breaking stories for future seasons, should Netflix come calling.

For now, he just hopes families stuck at home due to the coronavirus will discover “Outer Banks” and sink into the couch to watch it together.

“Your grandmother can be in the room and so can your 12-year-old,” he said. “You won’t be embarrassed and everyone will have a really good time. You will care about these characters and you’ll get to see some locations that are beautiful and inspiring.”

In other words, couch-surf the coast with “Outer Banks” until you can finally go outside and appreciate the real thing again for yourself.

This story was originally published April 23, 2020 at 8:00 AM with the headline "Netflix’s sun-soaked ‘Outer Banks’ is a postcard to NC’s coast, but it’s not filmed here."