Rudy Pankow’s time in Outer Banks might have come to an end—or at least, that’s what the end of Season 4 makes it seem, but the actor’s time on the show left him with a good cushion that means he doesn’t necessarily have to move on to his next project quite yet. The show’s fourth season ended with Pankow’s character, JJ Maybanks, being killed by his own father, Chandler Groff. Some fans have speculated he could still return for Season 5, but for now, it seems like the character’s time on the show is over.
The actor spoke to Tudum about being thankful for the journey, which seems to be a sign that he will not return. “I want to leave the cast and crew with the biggest thank-you. It’s been such a pleasure to come to work,” he said. “This is by far the biggest thing I’ve ever done in [my] experience, and to have this as my start is a start of a lifetime. I’m going to miss it. Thank you for so many fun memories I’ll have the rest of my life.”
Outer Banks follows John B. (Chase Stokes), Sarah (Madelyn Cline), Kiara (Madison Bailey), JJ (Rudy Pankow), Pope (Jonathan Daviss), and Cleo (Carlacia Grant), or the Pogues, aka the poor kids as they hunt for treasure. JJ’s death at the end of Season 4 sets up the fifth and final season.
If Pankow’s journey is truly done, how much did he make from the show and how much was he paid per episode?
Rudy Pankow’s net worth and how much he made on Outer Banks
Several outlets have reported Pankow’s net worth to be around $500,000.00, though the number has not been confirmed. There’s also no confirmed number for how much Pankow and his castmates were paid per episode, but estimates indicate around $30,000.00 per episode is more or less the starting rate for Netflix shows. Considering Pankow has been on Outer Banks for 4 full seasons of 10 episodes, that explains his net worth.
His net worth doesn’t come close to one of his Outer Banks stars, Austin North, reportedly worth around $5 million. Madelyn Cline, meanwhile, is reportedly worth $1 million, with Chase Stokes reportedly around $650,000, and both Madison Bailey and Jonathan Daviss worth the same as Pankow.
Pankow also recently voiced the character of Collin in the video game Painted Shores. He also appeared in the movies 5Lbs of Pressure, The Crusades, and Accidental Texan. Pankow’s Outer Banks character was just killed off, so not enough time has passed for him to have announced any other upcoming projects.
The reasons for Pankow’s departure from Outer Banks are still unknown. Co-showrunner Shannon Burke said it was a storytelling decision, saying, “We were pretty sure early on that this was where it was going. We thought that one of the Pogues would die almost in the very beginning in season 1, and we were pretty sure it was going to be JJ. We just weren’t sure when we were going to play that card. We knew this would be JJ’s season—this is JJ’s story. And we realized pretty early on, like, Okay, we’re going to play this card now.” However, rumors have swirled about a possible rift between Pankow and co-star Madison Bailey which might have played a part in him leaving before the show’s final season.
