Violence, Language and Sex Marr Netflix’s OUTER BANKS

Violence, Language and Sex Marr Netflix’s OUTER BANKS

By Tess Farrand, Associate Content Editor

Netflix’s teen drama series OUTER BANKS series follows two groups of teenagers in North Carolina — the Pogues and the Kooks. The Kooks are the rich kids while the Pogues are lower to middle-class.

OUTER BANKS debuted on Netflix in mid-April 2020 and quickly drew a large crowd because of the intriguing storyline. The protagonist, John B, is essentially an orphan. His dad is lost at sea and his legal guardian bailed on him. So, at 16, he’s living by himself and cruising the banks with his three pals, JJ, Pope and Kiara.

One day, the foursome come across a sunken boat which spurs them on a treasure hunt that they hope will lead them to $400 million. However, they aren’t the only ones hunting for riches.

For all its intrigue, though, there are considerable cautions.

Since OUTER BANKS centers on teens during the summer, there’s upper male nudity and girls in bikinis in virtually every episode. As for sex content, one female character named Sarah Cameron almost loses her virginity to her boyfriend but decides not to go through with it. That is, until she dumps him for John B. Just when you’d think some Christian content is coming into play, John B and Sarah have sex in a church bell tower, although it’s implied and not depicted.

OUTER BANKS has a regrettable amount of foul language with a particular adoration for the S-word. Hundreds of curse words infect the script, including taking the Lord’s name in vain. Characters also name call quite a bit.

Not to mention, there’s a fair amount of underage drinking that is not rebuked by parents. One 19-year-old character named Rafe, who’s a Kook with daddy issues, deals drugs and encourages his friends to snort cocaine at a party. JJ is a big fan of weed, too, and smokes in multiple episodes and sometimes gives joints to friends.

Violence also goes hand in hand with the script. Teens use guns, one jealous boyfriend tries to drown a peer of his, a father physically beats his son to the point his son almost kills him in anger, kooks beat up Pogues for no reason. Sometimes there’s blood and other times there isn’t.

As with any mystery/drama series, there’s a significant amount of lying but filmmakers do a great job at making sure their viewers know who’s trustworthy and not. In fact, that might be one of the best elements of OUTER BANKS- friendship and loyalty.

View this post on Instagram

me holding myself together after that last episode

A post shared by Outer Banks (@obx) on Apr 27, 2020 at 5:49pm PDT

OUTER BANKS’s plot and casting drives the series, although most of the cast are new to the Hollywood limelight.

Have you seen OUTER BANKS? Drop a comment below to let us know where you stand on the new series.

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What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.