Outer Banks' Madelyn Cline: There's 'A Lot Of Resolve’ For Sarah On Season 3

Credit: JACKSON LEE DAVIS/NETFLIX

Hope for JJ and Kiara

Fans began shipping besties Kiara and JJ during season 1 after sensing their chemistry, and following her failed season 2 relationship with Pope, the viewers may finally get what they want. “Kiara could still end up with anybody at this point,” Bailey exclusively told Us in July 2021. “I think if there are scenes that really bring them together, then why not? But I don’t think you’ve seen enough scenes of just the two of them yet.”

Pankow told Us that JJ likely felt “left out” during season 2 when Kiara and Pope gave things a shot, though he held out hope for the pairing. “I think there will be a time and a place to have that talk but it’s just not yet because there are so many other things that he’s dealing with,” he explained.

Showrunners Jonas Pate, Josh Pate and Shannon Burke are more optimistic about Jiara than the cast. “Teen romance and teen soap are a big part of the show,” Josh told Entertainment Weekly in July 2021. “We wanted to explore the Ki-Pope relationship but obviously, we’re aware of how the fans feel about JJ and Ki. We wanted to tease that for the third season. We didn’t want to do it immediately, but we definitely want to do it just because that took us by surprise, like, the audience’s reaction to JJ and Kiara and rooting for that romance. So we were immediately open to it because it seems like an interesting idea to explore but we kind of left it for season 3.”

The cocreator added that relationships in general will be a major factor in the next season. “That was the plan, kind of architecting the characters toward opening up some romances in season 3,” he said.

In December 2021, Bailey exclusively told Us she's very curious about where the story will go next. "I'm on the edge of my seat with where the writers are going to take this. I'm honestly so passionate about Outer Banks," she shared at the time. "I feel like they can't go wrong with the story line anywhere, and if me and Rudy teamed up as actors, I think [it] will be really sick."