10/21

Featured in MsMojo: Top 10 Netflix Original Series for Teens (2020)

Narrative

On an island of haves and have-nots, teenager John B enlists his three best friends to search for a legendary treasure connected to his father’s disappearance. Chase Stokes, Madelyn Cline and their “OBX” co-stars quiz each other for the best lines from their popular Netflix series. The film was shot on location in Charleston, South Carolina; it was originally slated to be shot in Wilmington, North Carolina.

So what’s not to like?

After watching all 3 seasons of Outer Banks, I can’t deny that I was amused and entertained: All episodes are chock-full of fast-paced adventures, treasure hunts and villain chases, all set in exotic locations and with some romantic entanglements between the young and attractive cast thrown in for good measure. Well, I have some reservations too. The events are all extremely far-fetched and unrealistic: how this group of teenage friends repeatedly manage to escape from right under the noses of the police or heavily armed criminals, often in the midst of a hail of bullets, but always unharmed; or how they solve baffling mysteries (like treasure hidden for ages or the location of the legendary El Dorado) in the blink of an eye or thanks to unexpected strokes of luck.

And of course, silly nicknames like JJ and Pope and John B (what does the B even stand for?)

The young cast is obviously meant to illustrate the meaning of true friendship, but their childish behavior starts to get on your nerves, with all the bro’ing and dude’ing and the inevitable backwards baseball caps. They all look good, but the acting is just adequate, with only Drew Starkey really standing out as the troubled Rafe, and Rudy Pankow being quite convincing as the resourceful, ADHD-stricken JJ. In fact, it’s more of a teen series, barely going beyond the boundaries of The Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew.

The very last scene of season three laid the groundwork for another season, I bet I won’t be able to resist it

Maybe as a somewhat adult person I shouldn’t even be watching it, but hey, sometimes it’s nice to indulge in something casual and entertaining without thinking too much. Once again… No need to waste time scrolling endlessly – here’s the full lineup of new movies and TV shows streaming on Netflix this month.