Ever since the release of its first season, the widely loved YA drama series on Netflix, Outer Banks, had a good run. In fact, it had a great run. A massive fanbase was built, growing each and every day, as people all over the world found joy and comfort in following along their favorite characters as they embarked on an insane treasure-hunting journey. Comfort is a key word brought in relation with the show starring Chase Stokes, Madelyn Cline, Rudy Pankow, Madison Bailey, Jonathan Daviss, and Carlacia Grant, as it really was just that: a comfort show.

Now, after the release of the second part of Outer Banks Season 4, it feels as though the world of OBX and the world of each fan have been turned upside down. With the shocking character death of JJ still aching like a sore wound, there is something else which certainly doesn’t help fans to heal or the show to redeem itself. Questionable drama behind the scenes might have ruined Outer Banks entirely, so let’s take a look at what happened.

Fans Took Shipping Too Far

During filming of the first season of Outer Banks, it became very clear that Rudy Pankow (JJ Maybank) and Madison Bailey (Kiara Carrera) shared a strong connection. When fans started to ship their characters, JJ and Kiara, they first went along with it, but soon the pressure of fans wanting the actors to date on- and off-screen seemed to get out of hand.

For a long time, fans speculated that real feelings were involved, and when both started dating someone else, the overall atmosphere became increasingly tense. Fans believed that Rudy’s girlfriend, Elaine Siemeck, who allegedly started to dislike the idea of Pankow and Bailey having to become romantically involved and simultaneously lost her job as the assistant of one of the showrunners on Outer Banks, started to become jealous of Madison.

In 2021, when the hatred towards Elaine and Madison’s girlfriend, Mariah, reached its peak because fans wanted the two Outer Banks actors to date in real life, both Rudy and Madison used Instagram to set the record straight. Bailey even explained that there wasn’t and never had been any sort of romantic relationship between them. While this might be the truth, the chemistry between the two friends was still off the charts, which would also explain Elaine’s potential jealousy.

In June 2023, the public drama continued, when the cast members posted about their dinner night. While they seemed to have a good time at first, some argument apparently unfolded, as Madison unfollowed Elaine on Instagram. Madison’s girlfriend, Mariah, took it slightly further and unfollowed Elaine as well as Rudy, which led Elaine to unfollow both of them and Rudy to unfollow Mariah. Rudy and Madison continued following each other, which could be seen as a way to avoid a feud between cast members.

Pankow and Bailey Wouldn’t Film Together

There is a specific scene in episode 10 of Season 4, in which the Pogues and Rafe are sitting around a campfire by the beach after they have just survived an intense storm out on the ocean. The couple, including JJ and Kiara, are shown either holding hands, cuddling up to each other or lying arm in arm. As can be seen in a video posted on TikTok below, there is a big difference though between John B and Sarah, and Cleo and Pope, compared to JJ and Kiara.

It quickly becomes obvious that the two actors are never seen in the same frame, and instead only close-ups show their faces. Speculations started circulating on the internet that they used a body double to play JJ during those scenes. It certainly leads many to the belief that Elaine likely didn’t want Rudy sharing such an intimate moment with his co-star. However, there is another factor which could have played an essential part in the obvious distance between Rudy and Madison, so let’s dig into it.

The Outer Banks Cast’s Chemistry Changed

It is needless to say that nothing about Rudy Pankow’s Outer Banks exit went smoothly in the eyes of the fans, and even though the entire cast stepped into their respective roles, the massive impact of killing off JJ can visibly be seen in the course of the season. When comparing Outer Banks Season 4 Part 1 to Part 2, it is undeniable that there was much more light-hearted fun and overall better chemistry with more intimate scenes between Rudy and Madison in the first part. In Part 2, the chemistry is suddenly completely off to a point where viewers would even question at some points whether Kiara and JJ are even dating.

The showrunners are sticking to the story that they had known from the very beginning that one of the Pogues would be killed, and at a later stage decided it was going to be JJ. While this could be the truth, it still seems much more likely that it was their intention to include JJ’s death in the previously planned sixth season of the YA drama series. This could also explain the change in chemistry, since there was a break between filming Part 1 and Part 2 of the adventure series, and during that time it might be that the cast found out about Pankow’s exit due to hate towards his girlfriend and her not being on board with “Jiara” scenes.

There are also rumors that upon the news of Rudy Pankow’s exit, parts of the storyline and the ending were changed during filming, which is why JJ’s storyline doesn’t actually make sense. There are so many open questions, which the writers seem to have just brushed over in an unprofessional manner. While fans used to wonder how to achieve the OBX lifestyle, they are now wondering why Chandler Groff gave his son away, why JJ wasn’t named as Genrette’s heir, or even why in the world his biological father would kill him when there was nothing for him to gain from it.

The unprofessionalism and drama behind the scenes of Outer Banks has turned this new season into a painful watch, and it is truly questionable whether Season 5 will be able to turn the ship around. Maybe all the showrunners can do now is to continue focusing on a potential Outer Banks spinoff, and acknowledge that whatever happened in the world of OBX during last year and this year ruined the beloved YA drama series. Outer Banks is available to stream on Netflix.