Rudy Pankow and Madison Bailey turned shut associates earlier than taking part in love pursuits — JJ and Kiara — on Outer Banks.
The Netflix collection, which debuted in 2020, follows the battle between two teams of youngsters in a coastal North Carolina city. The social divide is launched by the Kooks a.ok.a the rich residents and the working class, who’re also referred to as the Pogues. The seek for a misplaced treasure causes the teams to be much more at odds whereas a discovered household kinds between the Pogues on the middle of the present.
Outer Banks has primarily filmed in South Carolina, which gave the forged a chance to develop a bond. Bailey and Pankow, together with Chase Stokes, Madelyn Cline, Jonathan Daviss, Carlacia Grant, Drew Starkey and Austin North have usually mentioned how engaged on the present introduced all of them nearer collectively.
“We spent a lot time working collectively. It was actually nice as a result of the complete forged all lived in the identical condominium advanced,” Stokes informed Nylon in 2020. “On the weekends all people would come over, play video games, blast music, eat meals. We had loads of time collectively as a forged to actually sink our tooth into. It was sort of this pure natural factor for everyone.”
Pankow and Bailey, nonetheless, caught everybody’s eye not solely due to the scenes between their characters. The pair usually posted pictures and movies collectively whereas spending time on — and off — set.
“We each have this rambunctious power to do random issues and say random issues on a regular basis and never take something too significantly,” Bailey shared with Pop Sugar in 2020. “Primarily based off that, we vibed instantly as a result of we had been simply joking round and having an excellent time.”
As Outer Banks discovered extra success, the demand for his or her fictional characters to get collectively turned very sturdy. Followers bought what they wished for in season 3 when JJ and Kiara lastly bought collectively after two seasons of build-up. That didn’t final lengthy although due to a time bounce and the surprising choice to kill JJ off on the finish of season 4.
Pankow and Bailey’s dynamic was known as into query after his departure from the present. Some followers pointed to social media exercise that hinted at a divide between the forged’s vital others (Pankow is relationship Elaine Siemek, whereas Bailey has been in a long run relationship with Mariah Linney since 2020.) Others have observed that Bailey and Pankow didn’t do any joint press to advertise their characters getting collectively, which was a departure from how Stokes and Cline (and Daviss and Grant) approached their respective romantic arcs on display.
A number of romantic JJ and Kiara scenes that went viral after followers identified that stunt doubles had been seemingly used as a substitute of Bailey and Pankow throughout pivotal moments. Neither Bailey nor Pankow have beforehand addressed their friendship standing. They’ve been photographed collectively at promotional occasions for the present alongside their fellow costars.
Preserve scrolling to see the sweetest moments from Pankow and Bailey’s friendship earlier than his exit from Outer Banks: