Chase Stokes shares heartfelt thoughts on Rudy Pankow's exit

Chase Stokes discussed how his relationship with now-former co-star Rudy Pankow was impacted by JJ's passing on Outer Banks.

"When you spend five years with somebody doing a show like this, there's that lifelong bond," Stokes, 32, said in response to Pankow's unexpected departure during the Friday episode of SiriusXM Hits 1 The Morning Mash Up.

Therefore, none of it is altered, and no one has any problems with that.

Stokes acknowledged that not filming with Pankow, 26, created a shift.

“It’s just one of those things as work takes you to different places and takes you to different people, there’s that natural progression of distance,” he added. “But we always find our way back to one another.”

Earlier in the show, Stokes contacted two of his best cast pals, Madison Bailey and Jonathan Daviss.

“When you’re in a town like Charleston, South Carolina, and you have the success of the show, you have to be a little bit more strategic and careful about how you operate in society,” he explained. 

“Just having that level of success with a group of people, you have this instant bond and a lifelong one at that. I was literally at dinner with Madison Bailey and Jonathan Daviss two nights ago.”

Stokes continued: “I was in L.A. for 48 hours. They’re like, ‘We’re coming to find you.’ I was like, ‘I don’t wanna get out of bed.’ They’re like, ‘Don’t care, get outta bed.’ It’s family.”

After Pankow's character, JJ Maybank was abruptly killed off in season 4, viewers were caught off guard. 

This glimpse into the dynamics of the Outer Banks cast follows. In the popular Netflix series that premiered in 2020, John B (Stokes), Sarah (Madelyn Cline), Kiara (Bailey), Pope (Daviss), JJ (Rudy Pankow), and Cleo (Carlacia Grant) formed a fictional family.