The adventures of John B. and the Pogues on Outer Banks can feel suspended above reality at times as they go on treasure hunts that occasionally reach similar levels of danger and surprise as an Indiana Jones movie. However, beneath the big action and surprising twists are a group of relatable characters, and this season Chase Stokes, who plays John B. revealed the very personal reason he really connected to the Pogues leader while filming Season 3 of OBX.
Following the Season 2 finale, when we found out John B.’s dad Big John was actually alive, it became clear that even though the new season will feature the Pogues on the road to El Dorado, the father-son relationship will be at the heart of the story. In an interview with EW, Stokes spoke about the main character’s trajectory in the latest season of Outer Banks, and how his dad would play a big role in that. On top of this relationship deeply impacting the show, Stokes candidly spoke about how he could connect to John B. personally this season, because of his own experiences with his family. The actor said:
Coming from a family where my mom's been divorced twice, I've felt that disconnect from a father figure a lot, so it was kind of a deep dive on a personal level that connected on a professional level. This season, for me, is an ode to growing through some of the pain of never really facing that, so there were a lot of therapeutic moments throughout filming where John B and I really connected on a lot of different levels. Reliving it was tough, for sure, but [it's] very much a year of growth for me — and John B is going through experiences to ultimately become the best version of himself by the end of this season.
Throughout the first two seasons of Outer Banks we’ve seen John B. struggle with the idea that his father might be dead. Now, that he’s alive, it will be interesting to see how their relationship develops, and how the young character will evolve with his father back in his life. Hearing that Stokes can relate to the central challenge his character is dealing with throughout the series, and to know that the actor was able to find a sort of catharsis by living out John B.’s story is very touching.
I know one of the big questions I had about Season 3 of Outer Banks revolved around John B.’s relationship with his father. So, hearing how big of a character John B.’s dad is among the Outer Banks cast this season, and knowing how personal it is to Stokes makes me so excited to see how the next chapter of the Pogues story plays out.
Season 3 of Outer Banks premieres as part of the 2023 TV schedule on February 23, and in the meantime, you can catch up on Seasons 1 and 2 of OBX with a Netflix subscription.
