Netflix has released the final season of Outer Banks, with season 5 mercifully not split in half and stretched over two months. Netflix has done that a lot recently with big shows, but opted out this time for everyone’s benefit. And that’s a good move, it turns out, given how much fans seem to appreciate this finale.
There are, surprisingly, not nearly enough reviews in for a Rotten Tomatoes score on either the critic or audience side. Four critic reviews are in, which technically give it a 100%, but there certainly needs to be a bit more time given for those takes. On IMDB, meanwhile, where the majority of fans go to express their enthusiasm or disdain for shows, the data is also very promising. In fact, Outer Banks season 5 has set a record on IMDB for the series.
Outer Banks season 5 is the only season to have two episodes hit a 9 or above, in this case, a 9 for episode 9 and a 9.1 for episode 10, indicating satisfaction for the series finale, which is always a very, very tough thing to accomplish for TV shows. For comparison, the top three episodes of each season:
- Outer Banks season 1 – 8.5, 8.3, 8.2
- Outer Banks season 2 – 8.7, 8.6, 8.3
- Outer Banks season 3 – 8.5, 8.2, 7.8
- Outer Banks season 4 – 8.2, 8.1, 7.8
- Outer Banks season 5 – 9.1, 9, 8.6
Season 5 does start off slow, however, the first three episodes below an 8. But it actually increases every episode from there through the finale. That’s pretty interesting. Granted, the superfans who have watched the entire season in a day may be more prone to rate it higher, but still, if superfans are satisfied, that’s good news in its own right.
Outer Banks was a rare show to have a pretty tight release date window. From mid-2020 to August 2026 here, we’ve gotten 5 seasons and 50 episodes in just over 6 years. That is truly a rarity these days.
So, is Outer Banks over, over? Well, about that. While there will be no season 6 for Outer Banks, and the remaining cast is departing, there has been a prequel series, Kildare, in the works for a while. It is set 20 years before the events of Outer Banks and explores the origins of the social divide in the area. It is likely there is treasure hunting involved too, of course. A script is coming together, but it has no announced cast or release window yet. We’ll see if we get any more information on that after the finale settles in.
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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.