Production is officially underway on Outer Banks season 5, the final season of the Netflix original series about the Pogues and their wild adventures. Unfortunately, production is not going to end anytime soon, which means Outer Banks season 5 is not coming to Netflix anytime soon.
In an interview with Outer Banks star Madelyn Cline, Variety revealed that the cast and crew of Outer Banks season 5 will end in December 2025 or January 2026, weather permitting. If there aren't any major storms that impact the region this fall, production will wrap before the end of the year, but delays are possible.
Since filming started earlier this year, we've been expecting production would last through the end of the year. Unfortunately, it looks like production could last even longer than that. It's not something the cast and crew can control, the weather, so it's all subject to change. That's the bad news.
Outer Banks season 5 release timeline comes into focus
The good news is that the Outer Banks season 5 release timeline is coming into focus. Netflix already confirmed that Outer Banks season 5 will not premiere in 2025. We knew for a long time that it was never on the table, especially with production beginning in June.
Knowing production will end of 2025 or in early 2026, we have a much better idea when to expect Outer Banks season 5. First of all, we know it's coming in 2026. We won't be waiting until 2027. That's good news.
Based on when production will end, we know that Outer Banks season 5 is going to need a minimum of four months of post-production. That's on the short end, too. So, with production potentially ending in December or January, the earliest we could see Outer Banks season 5 is April-June 2026.
Again, that's the earliest we could see Outer Banks season 5. It's much more likely that there will be 6-8 months of post-production and promotion before the final season rolls out. You know Netflix is going to do another beach party for the final season premiere. It's going to be a massive celebration.
So, it's much more likely that Outer Banks season 5 will be released sometime between July and September. That's in the post-production range that we've seen for other seasons of Outer Banks on Netflix. For now, expect the final season of Outer Banks to be released in the summer of 2026.
I should also note that Netflix doesn't seem to mind these long breaks between seasons. The Netflix release calendar is obviously more important, so there's a chance, if Netflix has a stacked summer lineup, that the final season could be held until fall, but I don't think that will happen.
As for when that final season begins, Cline shared that there is no time jump from season 4 to season 5. Here's what Cline told Variety:
"We pick up pretty soon after Season 4 ends. We have one big time jump in all five, but just like the prior seasons, everything happens in such a short amount of time; it feels like it would be this huge, months-long adventure, but it actually doesn’t take that much time at all. I think this one follows the same formula."
So, that's where the story begins! The Pogues have just said goodbye to JJ (Rudy Pankow), and they are coming after Groff.
Cline returns for the final season, along with Chase Stokes, Madison Bailey, Jonathan Daviss, Carlacia Grant, Drew Starkey, J. Anthony Crane, and more. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like Pankow will be returning as JJ, but we won't know for sure until we see the final episodes.
Stay tuned for more news about Outer Banks season 5!