By Crishelle Christman
In the intensely isolated year of 2020, where everyone was living off of TV and social media for entertainment, Netflix released a small teen drama series named Outer Banks that practically blew up overnight.
No one expected the show to resonate with audiences in the way it did, with fresh-faced actors, unknown showrunners, and a simple narrative.
But, by the magic and luck of Hollywood, audiences were sucked into the show's twists and turns, vicariously living through John B's treasure-hunting adventure while confined to quarantine.
The show's success was comparable to past teen drama shows like The O.C. and 90210, and a couple of weeks after its premiere, the show was renewed for a second season.
Now flashing forward to 2024, Outer Banks has now had three successful seasons and is ready to celebrate the release of the final part of their fourth season with an event to bring all those who found love for the show in isolation together. Netflix recently threw their second ever "Poguelandia" event, a makeshift music festival completely themed around their hit show Outer Banks.
The event gets its name from a line one of its main characters, JJ, says when he and his friends are trying to make the best out of a bad time after being marooned on a deserted island in the Bahamas: "I claim thee Poguelandia." Since spoken on screen in the Season 2 finale, it has become an icon of the show, along with its flag, which features a chicken.
This year's "Poguelandia" is the second-ever occurrence of the event, with the first-ever version of the event being held in Huntington Beach, California, in 2023 with musical performances from Khalid, Alt-J, Lil' Baby, and more. This year's event was held at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, and while a little bit smaller than the prior year's event, it was still nothing short of a party.
Tickets for the event were released for free in early October, when the first part of the fourth season dropped, and sold out in three minutes. 2024's "Poguelandia" artist lineup consisted of Remi Wolf, GloRilla, and the Grammy award-nominated band Jungle.
In addition to musical performances, there were many photo spots with iconic set pieces from the show, a merch booth, and a plethora of food stalls with Outer Banks themed items curated by Carlacia Grant, who plays Cleo in the show. Additionally, fans in attendance were able to receive free products, samples, and merch from brands collaborating with the show, including Lottie London and Byrd, at specific booths within the event.
Perhaps the most important part about "Poguelandia," especially for any die-hard fans in attendance, is that the entire cast of the show is also in attendance, and fans have the opportunity to interact and meet them throughout the event. The weather was drab, with light rain and overcast skies. Still, the event persisted and Netflix's team was prepared, handing out free "Poguelandia" branded ponchos to attendees. A little rain never deterred John B and the pogues - musical performances were still held inside the hangar so attendees could venture inside if the light mist was a little too much to bear.
Near the end of the event, before Jungle came out for the night's final performance, the cast surprised the crowd with a new trailer for Part 2 of the fourth season, which would be released on November 7th. The trailer was met with thundering applause and cheers for everyone's favorite characters, and the cast and creators got to see how passionate the show's fanbase remains even four years after the premiere of their first season.
All four seasons of Outer Banks are now streaming on Netflix.