
SOUTHEASTERN N.C. — It’s the time of year when Port City Daily counts down its most read pieces throughout 2023.
CATCH UP: No. 3 Most Read Story of 2023: 5 local businesses out, Wawa in
When it was announced Netflix’s beloved show “Outer Banks” would be coming to film in the actual region where it’s scripted locations are mentioned in the show — Masonboro, Figure 8 — fans (and readers) went wild. It was shared on social media by the thousands, with many clamoring for extra and background roles.
Creator Jonas Pate — who lives in Wilmington — told PCD in the spring his goal was always to come back home: “Finally, four seasons in, we get to go to North Carolina.”
Pate, his twin brother Joshua and collaborator Shannon Burke had plans to originally film the show in the Port City. But the controversial House Bill 2 sent some producers in film industry, including Netflix, packing to other states.
Instead, crews set up home base in Charleston, South Carolina, and aired the first season to much success in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Pate wanted to utilize his home’s pristine beaches, especially, in season four. Previous seasons of “OBX” have traveled to other locations for coastal shots, including most recently in Barbados.
“We’ve rarely actually shot beaches in Charleston,” Pate said last spring. “We’ve always gone to other places.”
Yet, as the summer season arrived, the film industry strikes strengthened, when actors from SAG-AFTRA joined the writers from the Writers’ Guild of America to effectively shut down the industry even further. Pate told PCD they had enough scripted content previously written to carry them through summer, but without actors cameras couldn’t roll.
All film permits halted, pausing the show’s return to the Tar Heel State until late fall. After the strikes resolved, “Outer Banks” was up and running locally, filming in Wrightsville Beach and Fort Fisher for three weeks in November and December.
The official announcement of its arrival to town was published in June and was the second most read story of 2023:
Tips or comments? Email info@localdailymedia.com.
Want to read more from PCD? Subscribe now and then sign up for our morning newsletter, Wilmington Wire, and get the headlines delivered to your inbox every morning.