Outer Banks Season 5 Cast: All the Returning Characters and One Major Exit

Chase Stokes plays John B. Routledge, the leader of the working-class Pogue crew. He’s definitely returning for the fifth and final season of Netflix’s action-adventure series. Speaking about the show's conclusion in an interview with Hello! Magazine, Stokes said, “I'm really proud of the fact that we are able to tell the entirety of the story and end it on the right note versus going a little bit longer than we should have, and I think, for me, being able to hang up the bandana and let him finally take a nap is very rewarding, in the right ways.” He added, “I think one of the most important things for me always in playing John B. is accepting that flaws are part of the human experience.”

Madelyn Cline is officially confirmed to reprise her role as Sarah Cameron, the Kook princess. As John B.’s partner, Cline will return for the upcoming season as a series regular, and she had a great time filming it. “We filmed in Croatia this past year, and that was so epic,” Cline told Brit + Co. “Croatia's been like a bucket list destination for a lot of us, but the food was incredible. The ocean was unbelievable. We had so many fun nights in Dubrovnik. We were so close throughout that whole two-ish months we were there and the vibes just felt like season one again. We were on location, running around, goofing off, having the best time, and also in the most beautiful place.”

Kiara “Kie” Carrera will also be back for Season 5, with Madison Bailey returning as a series regular. According to Bailey, saying goodbye to the show has been “extremely bittersweet.” She told LRM Online during an interview at the Outer Banks Season 5 premiere, “I think we’re getting a really solid goodbye tonight and it feels good and I’m so proud. I’m happy. I’m more excited. The emotions haven’t hit me just yet. They are coming.” Bailey also described the final season as “exciting” and “action-packed,” adding, “We go big and we go home.”

Jonathan Daviss stars as Pope Heyward in the Netflix series and is among the cast members returning for the final season. Daviss has previously spoken about feeling an instant connection with the character. In an interview with Who What Wear, he explained, “What really stood out to me about Pope in season 1 was this idea of expectations and pressure that gets put on a lot of young Black teens and teens in general. There's this pressure to succeed, and it was something I truly have been through.” He added, “I'll look back on [Outer Banks] and remember it as a beautiful and special time in my life.”

Another star returning for one last time is Drew Starkey, who plays Rafe Cameron. According to Netflix, Rafe forms an “uneasy alliance” with John B, Sarah, Kiara, Pope, and Cleo in Season 5. It remains to be seen how that turns out. For Starkey, however, Cameron is more than just an antagonist. “I think he is a person who deserves love,” Starkey said in a GQ interview. “He needs to be seen to make him feel seen and understood. He always felt just like a black sheep. So yeah, I’m proud of him. I think he did the best he could.” But, Starkey also believes, “He still needs to go to therapy.”

Carlacia Grant is once again playing Cleo in Season 5. She was first introduced as a recurring character in Season 2 before being promoted to a series regular in Season 3. Grant is just as emotional as the rest of the cast as the Netflix series prepares to take its final bow. At the Outer Banks Season 5 premiere, she told LRM Online, “I was crying through glam today, so I’m very emotional.” Talking about her character, Grant said, “She’s so fun. She’s so free. I feel like I learned so much playing her because she just she doesn't care. She’s unapologetically her. So that’s what I’m gonna miss.”

The one character fans won’t be seeing in Season 5 is the beloved JJ Maybank, played by Rudy Pankow. Why? Because JJ was killed off in Morocco at the end of Season 4. It also looks like he won’t appear in flashbacks, either. When asked about the possibility, Pankow said, “That would be news to me,” during an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. Talking about his character and his surprising death, he said, “I enjoyed playing JJ and like the moments of just, like, creating that person. That is a little hard to leave. But it's a celebration, and I think the character stands for something and the writers did that to deepen that role and that chapter.”