'Outer Banks' season 4 release date, trailer, cast and more

Good news: the Pogues will be back in "Outer Banks" season 4. The third season dropped all the way back in February 2023 and nearly a year and a half later, the Netflix teen drama will officially return with even more treasure-hunting adventures and romance.

If you've missed out on the previous three seasons, "Outer Banks" follows a group of Kildare Island youths who search for buried treasure along the North Carolina coast: John B Routledge (Chase Stokes) and pals Kiara (Madison Bailey), Pope (Jonathan Daviss) and JJ (Rudy Pankow) are the self-proclaimed "Pogues" from the working-class end of the island, known as The Cut. John B ends up falling for Sarah Cameron (Madelyn Cline), a "Kook" hailing from the more well-to-do Figure 8 neighborhood.

The past installments revolved around the teens becoming embroiled in a far-reaching conspiracy to find the hoard of gold, with the principal antagonist being Sarah's own dad, Ward (Charles Esten). Other potential treasures are dangled in front of the various hunters, and "Outer Banks" season 4 may feature the biggest one of them all.

From release schedule to cast info, here's everything we know so far about the fourth season of "Outer Banks."

'Outer Banks' season 4 release date

"Outer Banks" season 4 will be released in two batches, with the first five episodes hitting the streamer on Thursday, October 10 . The final five installments will premiere nearly a month later, on Thursday, November 7 .

The split-release model has become de rigueur for the streaming giant; fellow hit Netflix series like "Emily in Paris," "Bridgerton," "Stranger Things" and "You" have all adopted a two-part release schedule for their most recent seasons.

The renewal of "Outer Banks" for a fourth season was officially announced in February 2023 at the show's immersive fan event, Poguelandia, in Huntington Beach, CA. “This is an incredible moment for all of us,” series star Chase Stokes announced to the crowd. “To our cast and crew, thank you so much for all of your hard work.”

'Outer Banks' season 4 cast: Who's who?

The "Outer Banks" season 4 cast will see the return of most of the main players from the three previous installments, both "Pogue" and "Kook" alike.

You can expect to see Chase Stokes as John B Routledge , the leader of the Pogues, as well as his main love interest Madelyn Cline as Sarah Cameron . Also returning are Madison Bailey as Kiara Carrera , Jonathan Daviss as Pope Heyward, Rudy Pankow as JJ Maybank, Carlacia Grant as Cleo, Austin North as Topper and Drew Starkey as Rafe. In addition, Fiona Palomo as Sofia will also be back, with the actress being upped to series regular for the fourth season.

There will also be several new characters joining that group of familiar faces this season . J. Anthony Crane ("Dead Ringers)" plays Chandler Groff, a recent widower who welcomes the Pogues on their latest adventure despite his grief. Pollyanna McIntosh ("The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live") appears as Dalia, a "revolutionary-like leader and worldly baddie" who comes face-to-face with the Pogues.

Brianna Brown ("Dynasty") joins the cast as Hollis Robinson, a big realtor on Kildare Island who previously worked with Ward and now has her eye on Rafe. You'll see Rigo Sanchez ("Animal Kingdom" as Lightner, a "dangerous and calculating outdoorsman" who will test the Pogues. And Mia Challis ("FBI International") rounds out the group of newcomers as Ruthie, a wild child who develops a close relationship with Topper.

Two major cast members who may not be back include Charles Esten as Ward Cameron, Sarah's father, and Charles Halford as Big John , John B's dad. As "Outer Banks" viewers no doubt remember, both fathers died in the season 3 finale. However, the show has faked deaths before, so who knows!

'Outer Banks' season 4 teaser trailer

On August 29, 2024, Netflix released an official teaser for "Outer Banks" season 4. “We finally did it; we finally found the gold,” Stokes's John B proclaims in the minute-long clip. But, of course, that's only the beginning for our beloved Pogues. “That’s where the story should have ended. But really, it was just the beginning," John B adds.

'Outer Banks' season 4 plot

If you remember, the "Outer Banks" season 3 ender jumped 18 months after the Pogues gang found the gold in El Dorado, when Wes Genrette (David Jensen) approached the teens with a proposal to track down the treasure of the notorious English pirate known as Blackbeard. Per Tudum , season 4 will take viewers back in time to see exactly what led up to that moment.

After striking gold at El Dorado, the Pogues return to the Kildare Island and commit to having a "normal" life, enjoying their newfound home — which they've dubbed "Poguelandia 2.0," of course — and running a bait, tackle, and charter tour shop. "But after some financial setbacks, John B, Sarah, Kiara, JJ, Pope, and Cleo take Wes up on his offer, and are drawn back into the “G” game for a whole new adventure," reads the Netflix synopsis.

Before they know it, the teens are well in over their heads, with a new band of dangerous enemies nipping at their heels as they all race toward treasure. "Meanwhile, their problems are only growing, and they’re forced to question their past, present, and future — who they really are, has it all been worth it, and how much are they willing to risk?" the season description continues.

What happened at the end of 'Outer Banks' season 3?

Need a little refresher before "Outer Banks" season 4 premieres? The season 3 final saw the Pogues head off to South America to look for the legendary treasure of El Dorado and rescue John B's dad, Big John. Of course, Sarah's father Ward was also on the scene, though the teens managed to get to the location before him.

After solving a code, John B and Sarah located a cave filled with gold. However, they ran into a major issue when they encountered Carlos Singh, the villainous foe who struck a deal with Ward to split the treasure. During the confrontation with the bad guy, Big John helped his son and Sarah escape, killing Singh but also sealing the cave in the process.

Another roadblock popped up when Ward finally caught up to the group and threatened to shoot Big John. Singh's henchman Ryan also arrived and drew a gun on Sarah. Ward saved his daughter by tackling Ryan; they both plummeted over a cliff, presumably to their deaths. (Again, this is "Outer Banks" — you never know!) Though they were now safe from Ward, Big John was still in trouble: he was badly injured and losing blood fast. The Pogues rushed to get him to a doctor, but it was too late; he said goodbye to his son one last time before he passed.

The episode then fast-forwarded 18 months, with the Pogues being honored for solving the mystery of the El Dorado treasure. Their futures were primed for them:  John B and Sarah opened a surf shop, Kie was saving turtles, Pope was going to college and JJ had bought a charter boat. But things took an unexpected turn when an admirer named Wes Genrette came up to show the group a 1718 captain's log by Edward Teach — none other than the (real) notorious pirate Blackbeard. Yes, the Pogues' treasure-hunting days weren't over after all!

Is 'Outer Banks' season 4 the final season?

As of September 2024, "Outer Banks" season 5 has not been announced and Netflix hasn't made any official statements about when the teen drama will end.

However, the show's co-creators Josh Pate, Jonas Pate and Shannon Burke have previously said they originally planned the series to run for four or five seasons. Pate even joked to Entertainment Weekly that "Outer Banks" could go on for 17 seasons. ("We'll be on Mars" by then, he quipped.)

More seriously, Josh Pate said: "I don't know if I could put a real number on it right now — how long it takes to get to that ending might expand, but we now know the shape of the end of the story. We're going to take it as long as we can, for sure."

Netflix announced that "Outer Banks" received an early renewal for season 4 in February 2023, just a few days before the premiere of the show's third season. With the fourth season to come on October 10, it's likely fans will soon get an update on a potential fifth season as well as any future installments of the popular program.