P4L apparently doesn’t mean forever. Outer Banks fans were heartbroken when Rudy Pankow‘s character, JJ, died at the end of season 4. Now that season 5 was declared to be show’s last one, speculation arose about how long the series was supposed to go. So, was OBX canceled?
For the diehard Pogues, News47.us has rounded up everything you need to know about season 5 of OBX and why it will be the last one.
No, Rudy did not leave Outer Banks. While speaking with Netflix about his character’s demise, Rudy pointed to JJ’s selflessness, which helped the actor come to terms with his death.
“When I first found out JJ was gonna risk it all and not make it, I understood it,” Rudy told Netflix after season 4 part 2 aired in November 2024. “And the risks got bigger and bigger, and the stakes got higher and higher.”
Per Netflix, JJ’s death was always planned by series creators Josh Pate, Jonas Pate and Shannon Burke. Josh told the outlet that although “it was a really hard decision” to kill off JJ, his death “sets the stage for an epic fifth and final season.”
“We’re planning a story of redemption, and a season that embodies the friendship that JJ had come to represent,” Josh added. “JJ’s death was a hard but necessary piece of the architecture for the story, and we plan on honoring that as much as we can because we love the character as much as the fans do. And Rudy’s a great friend of ours.”
