Rudy Pankow and Madison Bailey became close friends before playing love interests — JJ and Kiara — on Outer Banks.
The Netflix series, which debuted in 2020, follows the conflict between two groups of teenagers in a coastal North Carolina town. The social divide is introduced through the Kooks a.k.a the wealthy residents and the working class, who are also known as the Pogues. The search for a lost treasure causes the groups to be even more at odds while a found family forms between the Pogues at the center of the show.
Outer Banks has primarily filmed in South Carolina, which gave the cast an opportunity to develop a bond. Bailey and Pankow, along with Chase Stokes, Madelyn Cline, Jonathan Daviss, Carlacia Grant, Drew Starkey and Austin North have often discussed how working on the show brought them all closer together.
“We spent so much time working together. It was really great because the entire cast all lived in the same apartment complex,” Stokes told Nylon in 2020. “On the weekends everybody would come over, play games, blast music, eat food. We had a lot of time collectively as a cast to really sink our teeth into. It was kind of this natural organic thing for everybody.”
Pankow and Bailey, however, caught everyone’s eye not only because of the scenes between their characters. The pair often posted photos and videos together while spending time on — and off — set.
“We both have this rambunctious energy to do random things and say random things all the time and not take anything too seriously,” Bailey shared with Pop Sugar in 2020. “Based off that, we vibed immediately because we were just joking around and having a good time.”
As Outer Banks found more success, the demand for their fictional characters to get together became very strong. Fans got what they wished for in season 3 when JJ and Kiara finally got together after two seasons of build-up. That didn’t last long though thanks to a time jump and the shocking decision to kill JJ off at the end of season 4.
Pankow and Bailey’s dynamic was called into question after his departure from the show. Some fans pointed to social media activity that hinted at a divide between the cast’s significant others (Pankow is dating Elaine Siemek, while Bailey has been in a long term relationship with Mariah Linney since 2020.) Others have noticed that Bailey and Pankow didn’t do any joint press to promote their characters getting together, which was a departure from how Stokes and Cline (and Daviss and Grant) approached their respective romantic arcs on screen.
Several romantic JJ and Kiara scenes that went viral after fans pointed out that stunt doubles were seemingly used instead of Bailey and Pankow during pivotal moments. Neither Bailey nor Pankow have previously addressed their friendship status. They have been photographed together at promotional events for the show alongside their fellow costars.
