We've had three seasons of Outer Banks so far and while we've been enjoying every single second of it, we still can't help but think about what is going to happen next in the show's already announced fourth season. And while we totally wish we can get those episodes like tomorrow, we still got to do the next best thing: talk to some of the cast members of Outer Banks. After all, the show has become such a huge phenomenon (some have even become our cover stars!), but thankfully we got some our biggest burning questions answers by two of our biggest faves: Madison Bailey and Carlacia Grant.
Cosmopolitan talked with the Outer Banks baddies about what went down in the show's explosive third season, their characters finding love, hopes for season 4, and even how these pogues keep getting away with it all.
Your characters went through a lot this season, both emotionally and physically. How does it feel seeing it all come together?
Madison Bailey: I loved watching this season. I had as great a time as anybody. It's very rewarding to see. I feel like we've put in so much work this season. I felt like we we really went all in like and it's a little mind blowing. I can't believe we pulled it off!
This is the first time we're really getting to see Cleo be on of the pogues and get to know her a lot more. Carlacia, how was that experience for you?
Carlacia Grant: It was so exciting! At the end of season two, I was talking to the writers like, 'Well, where do we go from here?' We created this Tomb Raider-type character and it was so exciting playing this badass exterior girl that like no one can mess with last year. This year we're showing this girl who just likes a boy, but is also strong and badass.
We really wanted to be really intentional about exploring this romance with Cleo and Pope. Me and Jonathan definitely had those conversations and had conversations with the writers. At the end of the day, this is big for representation and showing Black love. So we really wanted to make it aspirational and maybe a slow burn and something that everyone could really understand. We know we had to get somewhere by the end of these episodes, but just showing real moments between all of us was fun. I think that it's so important to show multi-dimensional women in that way: powerful on the outside, but also powerful on the inside.
One of the hardest things this season is seeing Kiara's struggle with her parents, which I know a lot of people relate to.
MB: I was gonna say it was challenging ,but fun to explore. I love this arc with her parents this season. Kiara has always had a foot in both worlds—Pogue and Kook—but she has completely shed Kook. The only thing keeping her with that foot in that world is her parents. She's just trying to communicate what she wants and they're communicating what they want for their daughter. There's a balance of building trust and also going where the wind takes Kiara.
Speaking of trust, while I was watching this season, I just thought, There's no way they can keep getting away with this.
CG: We think the same thing!
MB: All the time. Like how, how did we do this?!
CG: We keep going to another island!
MB: The way we're easily traveling to these islands and just take the boat back to the OBX.
CG: And then we just ask our parents, 'Hey, is it okay if we just go to South America. But we'll be right back!' We definitely think, This would have never happened in my childhood.
MB: I would've been grounded for life. There's no sneaking out. I would've been shackled to something.
What was the hardest part of filming this season?
MB: I would say definitely the physicality of this season. It's all acting, but we're really swimming and running and jumping and all of that. We all pushed ourselves are are all pretty proud of ourselves for what we pulled off.
CG: And the elements that we're in. We're in Charleston and it's really, really hot. And we're in Barbados, and it's also hot. So like, we're doing all this very active moving in the most beautiful, you know, backdrops, but it is hot.
The finale ends on an 18-month time jump. One of the things we do see is Kie's parents rallying around her and the Pogues, even though they sent her away to that awful camp. I was surprised considering what they did.
MB: I agree. We see a huge betrayal on the parents part. Kiara was trying to compromise by helping out with the anniversary party. She was trying to build this trust and they turned their backs on her. I'm interested in knowing how they made it up to her in those 18 months too. I think it's a very hard thing to forgive, but with your parents, almost anything's forgivable at times, you know?
And Cleo seems to finally have a family now in the Outer Banks. Both with the Pogues and even Pope's family as well.
CG: It makes me so emotional, because I'm so happy for her. I had to imagine how hard it has to be for a person who has never experienced love in this way. She had to essentially raise herself and now she gets to accept all this love from people she didn't know. I think that one of her fears is a fear of love. I do feel like she has found her family and I think that she's teaching some of the other Pogues the meaning of stuff, especially as they get so caught up on chasing the gold. She has a lot of respect for the things that money can't buy.
What do you want to see from Cleo in season 4?
CG: I have some theories. I don't want to ruin them, but I would love to see Cleo's backstory. Like if a person came back from Cleo's past to really explain some of her mannerisms. It's Outer Banks. Her mom died, her dad left, but any of these people could appear somehow.
The season ends with them getting this brand new opportunity to find something new involving Blackbeard. Do you think they'll ever stop?
MB: I like the ending because I've always thought that they need to find something more sustainable for their love of treasure. I think this is a job opportunity. It's less about finding the gold and more 'Here's a way you can take that and explore it.' It could turn out that he has malicious intent. But at least we're chasing something because this is just like what we like doing.
CG: I think we all learned in our own individual journeys this year why we're chasing the treasure. Whatever we chase now, it's not just because we were these friends who made this decision a long time ago. Now with this reset, these characters have to really assess it all and ask, 'Why do we want this treasure? Is because I want something? Do I want money? Or is it because I want to be feel free and go on another adventure?'
Outer Banks season 3 is now streaming on Netflix.
