'Outer Banks' Prequel in the Works at Netflix

Netflix is developing a prequel to its hit YA series Outer Banks, set 20 years before the events of the original show. The prequel, often referred to as Kildare, will explore the origins of the deep social divide between the working-class Pogues and the wealthy Kooks on the fictional Kildare Island.

The project is based on a concept that creators Josh Pate, Jonas Pate, and Shannon Burke had been discussing for a couple of years, with Jonas Pate mentioning it in 2023 and 2024 interviews with Wilmington's Port City Daily. According to Deadline, the prequel recently came together and entered formal development at Netflix, where it has been gaining momentum.

The Creators' Vision

In a Deadline interview tied to the August 20 release of Outer Banks Season 5, Josh Pate said of the prequel: "We're working on the script. We're working hard on it with our awesome partners from Netflix, and we're just trying to get all of it as good as it can be."

Pate also described the premise: "It really is the story of how the island split — and it's particularly relevant in our country right now — how it split into the haves and have-nots, how the Kooks and the Pogues started. How did this rift start?"

Shannon Burke added, "And seen through the stories of some of the characters you know and some new characters. But they're 20 years before, so it's the parents' generation."

A Look at the Original Series

Outer Banks began in April 2020, following a group of Pogue teenagers as they clashed with their Kook counterparts, including a Romeo and Juliet–style Season 1 storyline between John B (Chase Stokes) and Sarah (Madelyn Cline). The show created rising stars out of Stokes, Cline, Madison Bailey, Jonathan Daviss, Rudy Pankow, and Drew Starkey, and has featured various parents, including John B and JJ's dads, Sarah and Rafe's dad, Pope's and Kiara's parents, and Topper's mother and grandfather. JJ's birth parents were revealed in Season 4 to belong to a wealthy local family.

The fifth and final season of Outer Banks premieres at midnight tonight, August 20, according to Deadline and Screen Rant. The creators have been able to focus on the prequel because the mothership series is ending its five-season run.

Netflix's Expansion Strategy

Deadline reports that the prequel is one of several projects under the creators' Netflix overall deal. Netflix has been deliberate about expanding its hit series, with examples including an animated Stranger Things spinoff, an Uncle Fester spinoff, a stalled Virgin River prequel, and Queen Charlotte. Screen Rant also points to spinoffs of Stranger Things and Bridgerton as recent examples, while noting that a planned Virgin River prequel ultimately stalled.

Screen Rant describes the prequel as reportedly set 20 years before the current series and notes that it will likely revolve around new characters and some already known, possibly including the parents of JJ, Sarah, Rafe, Pope, and Kiara. However, Screen Rant's report does not confirm a release date, despite a headline suggesting one.

Official Response

A representative for Netflix declined to comment on the prequel, according to Deadline.