I sat on the edge of the couch with my heart racing. I couldn’t take my eyes off of the screen as I watched the Pogues break into one of the scariest houses I’ve ever seen. The unkept Victorian mansion was worn down and surrounded by overgrown greenery and cracked garden statues. It didn’t help that the house was owned by an old town legend who had supposedly murdered her husband. Any noise or movement made me flinch, and like a little kid, I had to keep hiding myself behind my blanket as if it was going to protect me. That was about five episodes in at 12 am. By 4 a.m., I had finished the entire show and was wishing so badly that it already had a second season. 

Outer Banks follows the adventures of John B. (Chase Stokes) as he spends the summer trying to find his father, who has been lost at sea for months. With his friends Kiara (Madison Bailey), JJ (Rudy Pankow), and Pope (Jonathan Daviss), they also find themselves competing against fellow residents to find gold from a 200-year-old shipwreck. Along the way, the “Pogues” compete against their rich, snobby rivals the “Kooks” and the mysterious real estate mogul Ward Cameron (Charles Esten) for the treasure. 

The show was created by brothers Josh and Jonas Pate along with Shannon Burke, and while it is set in North Carolina, the majority of it was shot here in Charleston. The first 10 episode season was released on Netflix on April 15.

What I love about Outer Banks is that it is filled with non-stop action. There wasn’t a single episode that was boring or slow paced. The show moves fast and intertwines so many different plot lines. While I was trying to figure out where John B.’s father had gone, I was also trying to figure out where the gold was. Just as I thought the Pogues had solved the mystery, a new clue or character would swoop in and mix everything up. 

Aside from the main plot, there’s also tons of behind-the-scenes tension and drama surrounding the seemingly perfect Kooks.

From the surface, the Pogues seem like carefree beach bums, but each one of them is torn apart by conflict. With his father’s disappearance, John B. has been left to live alone with no adult support. The whole town thinks Mr. Rutledge is dead, but John B. can’t help but hold onto fading hope. 

Meanwhile, JJ struggles to navigate a complicated relationship with his abusive father who spends more time drinking and buying drugs than taking care of his son. Pope, the overachiever and nerd of the group, has to deal with the uncertainties of paying for college and making his family proud. Kiara, who comes from a loving and wealthy family, hangs out with the Pogues because she was outcast from the Kooks for being different. 

Despite their differences and hardships, these four friends are able to come together and make their own support system.

Outer Banks is hands down one of the best shows I’ve ever watched. It has something for everyone with a plot full of action, drama, romance, suspense and even comedy. If you’re looking for an escape from quarantine boredom, join John B. and the Pogues for the adventure of a lifetime.