Outer Banks Star Madison Bailey Says the Show Needs to Explore the Impact of Race on Its Black Main

Outer Banks Star Madison Bailey Says the Show Needs to Explore the Impact of Race on Its Black Main

Bailey shared some insight into how the season 3 finale's 18-month time jump will potentially affect the main characters, saying: “Seasons 1 and 2, there was a childlike excitement for treasure. Even in season 3, we’re young and it’s all cool and exciting. I believe this will give us a chance to think about things in a more mature way.”

More room to explore the lives of the Pogues — the main cast, which includes Bailey, Chase Stokes, Madelyn Cline, Jonathan Daviss, Rudy Pankow, and Carlacia Grant — beyond a nonstop treasure hunt means more opportunities to examine what affects them throughout their everyday lives on Kildare Island… like race.

“The writers of Outer Banks dead wrong for not even MENTIONING racism in the show like…. u cannot have this conversation abt [sic] classism & elitism w/out racism ESPECIALLY REGARDING POPE,” one fan tweeted in 2020. In a follow-up tweet, they referenced the hyper-aggressive season 1 dynamics between white, wealthy character Rafe (played by Drew Starkey) and two Black characters, Pope (Daviss) and Sheriff Peterkin (Adina Porter). By season 3, half of the main Pogues are Black, a detail that Bailey says shouldn't be ignored.

“You have three characters who are Black, and I’ll speak on my character specifically,” continued Bailey, who plays Kiara Carrera, a biracial teen who comes from the upper-class side of the island. “Her whole theme is a foot in both worlds, and we’re lacking a huge part of that, which is her race. That said, there are moments. They’re too brief, but there are moments."

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Fernande Dalal

Update: 2024-05-02

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