In an interview with Decider, Pate shared that it was “super important” that the show realistically depicted how teens acted impulsively at times. They’re all equally angsty, they’re always getting in trouble, and they allow heartbreak to push them into making rash decisions that do them no good.
Pate said:
“We all have teenagers, and we see how stupid they can be every once in a while. So we want to make that realistic.”
Co-creator Jonas Pate (brother of Josh) added to the conversation, explaining that since the action-adventure story was “heightened,” it was necessary to keep the narrative “grounded in some way.” Look, here’s the thing: “Outer Banks” might be about finding lost treasure, but at its core, it’s a tale teeming with teenage antics. It sometimes tries to create a foundation of history that is so unbelievable, it’s hard to take seriously. But that shouldn’t take away from the fact that it’s thoroughly entertaining, and the creators are just trying to accurately represent how teenagers think and do things.
