Not to be dramatic here, but if there’s one word that would describe Outer Banks fans, it would be passionate. And so any news or updates that come out about the Netflix series, you know we’re going to be all over it. And like with anyone about their favorite show, the biggest question we always have is when the new season will debut after getting renewal news. Well, unfortunately we have some bad news when it comes to the release date of Outer Banks season 5.

Recently, Netflix dropped a bunch of exciting updates about some of its biggest releases coming this year. Even if not all of them received release dates like Squid Game season 3 and Ginny and Georgia season 3 did (yay!), many of the shows did at least get release windows or confirmations that they’ll be dropping this year. But that wasn’t the case for OBX, and it’s what us fans have feared. The final season of Outer Banks most likely is not coming to Netflix this year in 2025.

Now the streamer didn’t explicitly say this. However with the action-adventure show being as popular and big as it is, the platform definitely would have said something and included it in their upcoming 2025 releases. But it was not. That does mean there’s the very real possibility we’ll have to wait until 2026 for Outer Banks season 5. And even though we don’t like it, unfortunately it does make sense.

Based on a filming update we got in December 2024, co-creator Josh Pate revealed that filming for the new season wouldn’t start until spring 2025, and production would continue through the end of the year. So there’s no way the series could have a 2025 release if filming is going to go on until the final months of the year. Then, there needs to be time set aside for post-production too.

Look, this is definitely disappointing and not what we OBX fans want to hear. I just hope Netflix doesn’t hold the final season until October 2026, which would put us at a two year gap between seasons 4 and 5. And we all know how much Netflix likes its two-year gaps. If we do have to wait until 2026, which is very likely, I at least hope it’ll be within the first six months of the year. I don’t think that’s too much to ask!

Outer Banks season 4 of course left us with the biggest and most heartbreaking cliffhanger, which is JJ’s death. How will the Pogues, and viewers, continue on without him? He’s such an integral part of the friend group and series, it’s going to be so strange not having his impulsive but sweet attitude around. Season 5 is definitely going to focus on the aftermath of his loss, and the Pogues’ determination to take down those who caused his death.