Where Does 'Outer Banks' Take Place? All the Show's References to Real North Carolina Locations
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The Netflix series draws inspiration from many real locations around North Carolina
John B said it best: the Outer Banks is "paradise on Earth."
Set in the fictional Kildare County of North Carolina, Netflix's Outer Banks follows the conflict between two groups of teenagers in search of a lost treasure.
Since its premiere in April 2020, the show has become a huge success for the streamer (and launched the careers of its talented cast), but it has also shown light on the real line of islands where the series takes place.
A rep for the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau tells PEOPLE they experienced record occupancy tax revenue in 2020 and 2021 following the releases of seasons 1 and 2 of the Netflix series, indicating that visitorship was significantly up.
Though they pointed to several other factors that could have contributed to its popularity as a vacation spot (including ample outdoor space during the height of the COVID pandemic), the rep added that "the show no doubt contributed to a higher visibility for the destination."
PEOPLE recently visited the coast with Visit NC, where we learned more about the real locations that inspired the hit Netflix series.
Here's everything to know about the real Outer Banks and how it inspired the Netflix series.
Related:The Cast of 'Outer Banks' : Everything to Know
Is Outer Banks filmed in North Carolina?
Originally, the series was going to film in Wilmington, North Carolina, however, due to the state's House Bill 2 legislation in place at the time — which required transgender people to use public restrooms that correspond to the sex on their birth certificate — Netflix moved the filming location to Charleston, South Carolina. The bill was partially repealed in March 2017 and the remainder of HB2 was repealed in December 2020.
"We one hundred percent planned it to be here, thought it would be here. At the eleventh hour, we hit this snag of HB2," Jonas said on the 1on1 with Jon Evans podcast.
"Most of it had been repealed, but there was a tiny little remnant of it still on the books. Netflix took a strong position they wouldn't do it unless all laws were inclusive, which we agreed with of course," he added. "But I had a lot of family in Charleston, my mom lived in Charleston for a long time. I knew that place well. So that was the second-net place we would have shot."
Related:Drew Starkey Says 'Outer Banks' Season 3 Pushes Characters to New Limits: 'They're Challenged a Lot'
What references does Outer Banks make to North Carolina?
Though the series doesn't actually film in the Outer Banks, the show has many ties to its namesake and the history behind it.
For starters, the show's creators are North Carolina natives. Twin brothers Jonas and Josh Pate hail from Raeford, North Carolina. Shannon Burke, who created the series with the Pate brothers, also went to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with Josh.
In fact, a road trip between Josh and Shannon to watch UNC play in (and eventually win) the 2017 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game sparked early conversations about the series, per UNC's student newspaper The Daily Tar Heel.
Jonas said on the 1on1 with Jon Evans podcast that many of his experiences growing up are reflected in the script, including having the Pogues drive the same car he did in high school, the old VW van affectionately called the Twinkie on the series.
"I'm back where I grew up in the marshes of the Carolina coast, and telling a story that had a lot of overlap with our high school life in Raeford," he told the news publication. "I just remember thinking, 'Man, this is awesome! This is just so lucky!' So, while I didn't think like, 'It's going to be a hit!' But, I knew it was a special experience, and I think the other cast and crew did too."
Many aspects of the show also pay tribute to the real Outer Banks, including the county where the Pogues live, Kildare County: a mix of Dare County, which makes up most of the Outer Banks, and the town of Kill Devil Hills.
Kill Devil Hills has various origins, with some suggesting that the name came from "exceptionally strong rum that washed up from a shipwreck" in the area said to be "strong enough to 'kill the devil,'" per OuterBanks.org.
The residential area where the wealthy Kooks live, Figure Eight, is based on a real place as well. Figure Eight Island, located north of Wrightsville Beach, is a private island that can only be reached by boat or a guarded causeway swing bridge.
Nicknamed "the Hamptons of the South," the island has been a destination for numerous celebrities, from Robert Downey Jr. to Barbra Streisand.
Additionally, UNC, where co-creators Josh and Shannon attended, is featured in season 1 as John B and Sarah visit one of the school's libraries to uncover various archives.
In fact, Josh and Shannon's intense passion for all things UNC — and its rivalry with Duke University — inspired one character's name.
"When we were naming our villain, we were having trouble with the last name, and we just decided to name him after the most hated place in (the) universe," Shannon told The Daily Tar Heel. "His name, if you remember, is Ward Cameron," he added, referencing Duke University's Cameron Indoor Stadium, where the school's basketball team plays.
Many of the show's storylines about hidden treasure have connections to North Carolina as well. As teased in the season 3 finale, the upcoming fourth season will heavily focus on the pirate Blackbeard, who sailed the West Indies and the Caribbean in the late 1600s and was later beheaded on Ocracoke Island in North Carolina.
Will the Outer Banks ever film in North Carolina?
Though Outer Banks doesn't film in North Carolina, the show's creators have considered taking other projects to the state.
In July 2021, ahead of the season 2 premiere of Outer Banks, Jonas teased a new series he was working on to Spectrum News. Set in the North Carolina mountains, Jonas said the show would be titled Blue Ridge, which many fans theorized could be a spinoff for the Outer Banks — Blue Ridge was previously mentioned as the boarding school and rehabilitative program Kiara's parents threatened to send her to if she kept hanging out with the Pogues.
"We are working on another series that is in development for Netflix," Jonas told WECT of Blue Ridge. "It's another young adult series. We're super excited about it. It is set in the Blue Ridge Mountains so another North Carolina show and our fingers are crossed."
"All we want to do is shoot in North Carolina," he added. "Luckily, we can now do that. Netflix has two series shooting right now. So, they're fully invested in the state and we totally anticipate if the show goes we're going to shoot it here."
Related:'Outer Banks' Season 4: Everything to Know
Though no further details about that project have been announced, Jonas (pictured above) did shoot a pilot for another series in Wilmington in late 2022.
"It's about a group of young friends on the eve of high school graduation, that are just in a band for fun," Jonas said on the 1on1 with Jon Evans podcast. "They get a new member at the last second, the music sort of coalesces, and suddenly they all realize, 'Maybe we shouldn't go to college or go to work with our dad's or parent's business? Maybe we should just throw our lot together and see if this band thing can work?' That's basically the pitch."
"I think what makes it special is we did this search for young musicians all across the country. We had Chase Stokes put out an APB on his social media for bands. We got five thousand bands sent to us! We picked this guitarist, that drummer, this bass player, we put them together. We've had them play and practice for the last two years. They've probably played 20 gigs now, and they wrote an album, and they are so good! All their own music. That is just so much fun! We shot it just a couple of months ago in Wilmington, really all over town, and we're excited to get it out into the world pretty soon."
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