Here’s what he said.
Outer Banks Season 4 ended in the most devastating way possible. The show, which follows John B. (Chase Stokes), Sarah (Madelyn Cline), Kiara (Madison Bailey), JJ (Rudy Pankow), Pope (Jonathan Daviss), and Cleo (Carlacia Grant), or the Pogues, and their hunt with treasure killed off one of the main characters at the end of Season 4, a big twist that sets up the fifth and final season.
The show’s third season saw the Pogues finally get their treasure—the gold from El Dorado—and in Season 4 the group settles down, buys some land, opens a business, and starts living a normal life. Like in any TV show, that doesn’t last for long, before they need to start hunting treasure again in order to save their home.
Season 4’s hunt for the blue crown, a very valuable treasure that is also said to be magical, is set to continue in Season 5. But as the group finally finds the elusive object in the final episode of the season, JJ is tragically murdered by his father, Chandler Groff. As the episode fades to black, the Pogues wow their revenge.
What does this mean for JJ’s possible Season 5 return? Will JJ be in Outer Banks Season 5? Will we see Rudy Pankow again? And if so, how could he return?
Will JJ be in Outer Banks season 5?
The answer to the question is maybe. For now, it seems like Pankow’s departure as JJ is final. Co-creator Shannon Burke told Cosmopolitan in an interview, “We were pretty sure early on that this was where it was going. We thought that one of the Pogues would die almost in the very beginning in season 1, and we were pretty sure it was going to be JJ. We just weren’t sure when we were going to play that card. We knew this would be JJ’s season—this is JJ’s story. And we realized pretty early on, like, Okay, we’re going to play this card now,” which makes it sound like the decision was storytelling-based.
Pankow also spoke to Tudum about being thankful for the journey. “I want to leave the cast and crew with the biggest thank-you. It’s been such a pleasure to come to work,” he said. “This is by far the biggest thing I’ve ever done in [my] experience, and to have this as my start is a start of a lifetime. I’m going to miss it. Thank you for so many fun memories I’ll have the rest of my life.”
However, rumors have been swirling that the reason he left the show isn’t actually storytelling based, but had to do with a feud between Pankow and co-star Madison Bailey, who plays Kiara. People have even pointed out that it looks like the two actors didn’t film all the JJ and Kiara scenes together, with camera cuts making it seem like body doubles were used to make it seem like they were sharing a screen.
And the show does present writers with a pretty clear-cut opportunity to bring JJ back. The blue crown, which is now in Groff’s possession, is set to be not just worth hundreds of millions of dollars, but also be able to grant wishes. What wish could the Pogues ask for if they do get the crown? JJ’s return would surely be at the top of the list.
So, is JJ coming back to Outer Banks? The chances are low, but not zero. And for fans, that’s enough to hang onto hope.
