F  L  A  U  N  T

 Photographed by [Ian Morrison](https://www.instagram.com/imorrison/?hl=en). Co-created and executive produced by Shannon Burke and Jonas and Josh Pate, _Outer Banks_ is an edge-of-your-seat drama set on the coast of North Carolina. When a tight-knit group of teens from the “wrong side of the tracks” uncovers a chilling long-hidden secret, it sets off a chain-reaction of illicit adventure that the teens will never forget.  [Chase Stokes](https://www.instagram.com/hichasestokes/?hl=en) wears [GENTLE MONSTER](https://www.gentlemonster.com/) glasses. Photographed by [Ian Morrison](https://www.instagram.com/imorrison/?hl=en). **Can the tension between the Pogues and the Kooks serve as a microcosm for tension in the U.S. at present?** I mean I think there is a big underlying theme between the clash of the classes on the show. The way they live, the way they talk, the way they walk, the way they kind of look at each other. It’s definitely not a focal point of the show so to speak, but it’s definitely something we focus on. **There’s a sense of deep-rooted friendship that translates well on screen, how did shooting together in South Carolina sort of strengthen the chemistry?**  I think we all kind of went into it with this ideology that really we had nothing to lose. A lot of us are pretty early in our careers, so we came in with this thought process of saying, ‘let’s just commit!’ So you mix that comfortability. Rudy who plays JJ, he and I got a place together because we wanted to make that friendship dynamic super, super for real, so we lived together in the same apartment for 6 months.  Photographed by [Ian Morrison](https://www.instagram.com/imorrison/?hl=en). **Why are coming-of-age stories important?** It’s an opportunity for teenagers to have an idea of what they have the opportunity to live into. I think with our show in particular, we don’t really beat around the bush. We’re honest about the fact that like at 16-17 years old, you’re probably going to be sneaking beers from your parents refrigerator and you’re probably going to be smoking a little pot. And that’s just kind of the storyline that we didn’t want to falsify. We wanted to give an authentic, real expression of what a teenage experience is in a fictional world, but have it feel so grounded in reality that the fictional aspect sort of gets lost in translation. * * * See the other profiles on the cast of Outer Banks: [Madison Bailey](https://flaunt.com/content/madison-bailey-outer-banks), [Madelyn Cline](https://flaunt.com/content/madelyn-cline-outer-banks), [Jonathan Daviss](https://flaunt.com/content/jonathan-daviss-outer-banks), and [Rudy Panjow](https://flaunt.com/content/rudy-panjow-outer-banks).