Outer Banks may be preparing for its final ride, but Netflix isn’t necessarily finished with the Pogues and Kooks just yet.
An Outer Banks prequel, tentatively titled Kildare, is in development at Netflix from original series creators Josh Pate, Jonas Pate and Shannon Burke. The potential new series would turn the clock back 20 years before the events of Outer Banks to explore the origins of the social divide that has shaped life on Kildare Island.
The news arrives at an especially interesting moment for the franchise. Outer Banks Season 5, which Netflix has confirmed will be the show’s final season, premieres Thursday, August 20, 2026.
While the Pogues’ current adventure is coming to an end, Kildare could give Netflix a way to keep exploring the world they leave behind.
What Is the Outer Banks Prequel Kildare About?
According to TheWrap, the proposed prequel is set approximately two decades before Outer Banks and will explore how Kildare Island became so sharply divided between the wealthy Kooks and working-class Pogues.
That class conflict has been embedded in Outer Banks since the beginning.
John B and his friends weren’t simply a group of teenagers chasing treasure. Their identity as Pogues put them on one side of an island where money, family history and social status frequently determined who held the power.
Kildare would apparently dig into how that divide developed long before John B, Sarah, Kiara, Pope and the rest of the current generation began their adventures.
The project is still in development, however, and Netflix has not announced a formal series order.
The Outer Banks Creators Are Already Working on the Script
The project isn’t merely a vague idea for something that could happen years from now.
Josh Pate confirmed that work on the script is underway.
“We’re working on the script,” Pate told TheWrap, adding that the creators are developing the project with Netflix and concentrating on getting the story right.
Pate, Jonas Pate and Shannon Burke created Outer Banks together and would return to develop the prequel.
The concept has reportedly been under consideration for some time, giving the creative team an opportunity to expand a piece of Outer Banks mythology that has existed since the show’s earliest episodes.
Will Outer Banks Characters Appear in Kildare?
Possibly — but don’t expect the current Pogues to simply show up 20 years younger.
Because Kildare takes place two decades before the original series, the prequel would primarily explore an earlier generation of island residents.
The creators have indicated that the story could include characters audiences already know alongside new characters, opening some intriguing possibilities involving the families that eventually produced the Pogues and Kooks viewers know today.
That could make the parents’ generation particularly important.
A prequel also gives the writers room to revisit established family histories and relationships from a completely different perspective, potentially showing how rivalries, alliances and resentments were passed from one generation to another.
Exactly which familiar characters might appear has not been revealed.
Is Kildare an Outer Banks Spinoff?
Kildare is being developed as a prequel rather than a direct continuation of Outer Banks.
The distinction matters because Season 5 remains the final season of the original Netflix series.
Instead of extending John B and the Pogues’ story beyond its planned conclusion, Kildare would move backward in time and explore the island itself.
That could ultimately give the Outer Banks universe a different kind of future.
Rather than simply replacing the original cast with another group of treasure-hunting teenagers, the prequel can use the mythology already established across five seasons to tell a story about how Kildare became the place audiences first encountered in 2020.
Outer Banks Season 5 Premieres August 20
Before fans start looking 20 years into Kildare’s past, there’s still one final adventure with the original Pogues.
Outer Banks Season 5 premieres Thursday, August 20 on Netflix, bringing the flagship series to an end after five seasons.
The final season reunites Chase Stokes, Madelyn Cline, Madison Bailey, Jonathan Daviss, Carlacia Grant and Drew Starkey for what Netflix is billing as one last ride.
For now, Kildare remains in development, so there is no premiere date, production schedule or announced cast.
But the timing of the news sends a pretty clear message to fans preparing to say goodbye to Outer Banks: the Pogues’ story may be ending, but Kildare Island could still have plenty of stories left to tell.
Thomas Miller is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Seat42F, covering television, movies and streaming entertainment. He launched Seat42F in 2007 and has spent nearly two decades covering the entertainment industry.
