Fact-Check
boat in the water from 'Outer Banks'

This Is The Biggest Lie Of Outer Banks Season 2

The locations are gorgeous, but they're not exactly accurate.

Netflix

In Season 2 of Netflix’s action-packed series Outer Banks — which hit Netflix on July 30 — things are even more intense for the Pogues. Not only are John B. and Sarah still on the run, but this season, the Pogues are on the hunt for a potentially bigger treasure than the gold. But while it may seem like John B. and his crew are running around the Bahamas as well as the Outer Banks islands in North Carolina, that’s actually not the case. So, where was Outer Banks Season 2 *really* filmed?

Contrary to the show’s name, the Netflix series filmed most of Season 2 in Charleston, South Carolina. So, even though the Pogues weren’t actually hanging out on the Outer Banks, they were nearby, just a state over. According to News 2, a local affiliate for NBC, the crew shot in various locations in South Carolina, including Shem Creek in Mount Pleasant, Kiawah Island, and downtown Charleston. And the South Carolina-shot scenes aren’t all a lie — in Episode 4, the crew actually goes to Charleston, so the filming location was accurate in one episode, at least.

This isn’t anything new; Season 1 was also filmed primarily in Charleston. While the series creators originally envisioned filming in Wilmington, North Carolina (which is at least in the same state as the Outer Banks), Netflix execs nixed that. This is because, at that time, North Carolina supported an anti-trans “Bathroom Bill” that prohibited transgender people from using the bathroom of their choice. Thankfully, the Outer Banks team was on board for the switch-up. “When we wrote [the show], it was 100% Wilmington in our heads,” Jonas Pate, the show’s co-creator, writer, and director told the Wilmington Star-News. “We wanted to film it here. But Netflix made the right decision to insist on inclusivity and we completely agree with them.”

Netflix

The Charleston location may not be the only fake-out of the season, though. The first few episodes largely take place in Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas, where John B. and Sarah went to escape the police and also retrieve the gold that Ward, Sarah’s dad, stole and hid away. However, there are no reports of the show actually filming in the Bahamas. We do know, however, that parts of Season 2 filmed in Barbados. The final scene of Season 2 (no spoilers) takes place in Barbados, so that checks out. But it’s possible they also shot other scenes there too, like the Pogues’ beach scenes and even possibly John B. and Sarah’s Bahamas adventures.

TBH, regardless of where the cast actually filmed, it’s all really freaking beautiful, so I’m jealous of their travels no matter what.

Outer Banks Season 2 is on Netflix now.