Created by Josh and Jonas Pate along with Shannon Burke, Outer Banks is an action-adventure mystery teen drama starring Chase Stokes, Madelyn Cline, Madison Bailey, Rudy Pankow, Jonathan Davis, and more. The series follows the conflict between Pogues and Kooks, two groups of teenagers in search of a lost treasure. The series has been renewed for a fifth and final season.

Rudy Pankow and Madison Bailey Rudy Pankow and Madison Bailey in Outer Banks | Credits: Netflix

The fourth season of the show premiered in two parts, with the first being released in October 2024 and the second in November 2024. Upon release, Outer Banks received a positive response from the audience, but what has caught the attention of the audience more than the show is the behind-the-scenes drama involving Bailey and Pankow.

Madison Bailey and Rudy Pankow found filming Outer Banks ‘difficult’

It has now been well established that Rudy Pankow, who plays JJ on the show, will not be returning for the fifth and final season of Netflix’s popular show Outer Banks. Ahead of Season 4 Part Two’s premiere, Madison Bailey, who plays Kiara on the show and JJ’s love interest, reportedly had a falling out.

Fans speculated that the two of them used body doubles to film a PDA-filled scene in the recently released season. Bailey and her partner Mariah Linney had unfollowed Pankow’s girlfriend Elaine Siemek.

Now, according to reports by Life and Style Magazine, the duo, who had a falling out in real life but played lovers on-screen, had a difficult time filming. The source shared,

There were times when filming together was difficult. The tension is not something they’re ever going to admit to because it just reflects badly on the show and everyone. There were a lot of whispers that those things between the two of them soured. They were very close friends at one point, and something did seem to happen to break that bond.

Because the bond Bailey and Pankow once shared had fallen apart, that made filming for the two of them difficult. However, it was reported that the actors were super professional and did not try to cause any issues on set or with their performances. Still, there was a lot of chatter around the two and how strained their relationship had become.

Rudy Pankow Rudy Pankow will not return for final season for Outer Banks | Credits: Netflix

For JJ’s last scene in Season 4, Rudy Pankow appreciated the actress by stating that he knew everyone was on board with the idea of his character’s end. He added,

Madison and I brought it, and I know we crushed it. It was emotional, but I think deep down, everyone was on the same page. Let’s make an impact. And we did.

The publication reported that despite rumors of them using body doubles because they refused to film together, this is completely off base. The actors denied it, according to the source. It was noted that Madison Bailey had a very hard time saying goodbye to Rudy regardless of the drama that went on between them.

The source adds that everyone was shaken up and sad because of Pankow leaving, and there have been hints that the makers would try to find a creative way to bring the actor back for the final season, but for now, it’s a goodbye.

Fans believed that Pankow asked the show’s producers to write his character off the show, but Shannon Burke shared with Tudum that they were always certain that one of the Pogues to die on the show was going to be JJ.

Fans begged Outer Banks’ makers to pair Madison Bailey and Rudy Pankow together

Kiara and JJ were not a couple on the show until season three. Fans noted the chemistry between the two actors from the debut season in 2020 and begged the makers to get the two of them together on the show. When the duo went official with their respective partners on social media, their partners were subjected to hate.

Rudy Pankow and Madison Bailey Rudy Pankow and Madison Bailey’s friendship reportedly had a fall out | Credits: Netflix

The actress, during one of her lives on social media, mentioned that they never had any romantic relationship while the fans kept saying that they belonged together. The source shared with Life & Style,

The awful part for both of them is the way their girlfriends got dragged into the drama. The horrible things that their fans have said online and the comments they’ve left on social media have been brutal.

The source noted that the online hate towards their partners had caused the actors the most hurt and made them defensive and protective. Pankow shared on his social media that he wants to express the importance of spreading positivity and needing to know when it is unfair to express one’s distaste for something or someone, especially when one can do it behind an anonymous identity.

Madison Bailey also shared in an interview with ET in 2020 that Madison and Kiara and Rudy and JJ are two different people.