Outer Banks fans are switching off creator's new series just moments in

Outer Banks creator Jonas Pate's new series has been slammed just hours after its release, with some viewers confessing they couldn't make it through the entire show.

Pate, who is widely known as a showrunner on the Netflix hit drama, has just released The Runarounds on Prime Video. The new production also benefits from Outer Banks' other creators Josh Pate and Shannon Burke, who serve as executive producers.

With this hit-making trio in charge, viewers had expected to devour the YA show in one sitting. But early reviews have been brutal.

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Set in North Carolina, the teen drama follows a group of young adults who form a rock band after graduating high school.

With the realities of adulthood slowly creeping in, the band is forced to choose between pursuing their dreams or settling for the traditional university route.

The drama stars real-life musicians-turned-actors who didn't know they were auditioning for a TV show until after they bagged the roles. The group is made up of music stars William Lipton, Axel Ellis, Jesse Golliher, Jeremy Yun and Zendé Murdock.

Following its debut on Monday (September 1), Variety published a scathing review, which described The Runarounds as a "complete waste of time."

Elsewhere in the article, the critic wrote: "The Runarounds doesn’t work. It offers nothing new to the YA genre, and its jumbled nature makes it unlikely that viewers will make it past the pilot, let alone the whole eight episodes of the season."

And it seems this review was on the right lines as viewers have confessed to switching off the show just episodes in.

Taking to IMDb, one TV fan said: "It might be good, but I quit after the third episode midway. I do not even understand the concept.

"It's a 2000 series made in 2025 and it completely misses the mark. I wished I could say something positive except for some music. That's about it."

They added: "Go watch it and tell me if it's getting better. I for now quit."

Someone else echoed the disappointment, stating: "Randomly stumbled upon this and thought it would be a captivating watch... the story is so unoriginal I simply don't know what to make of it."

However, a Rotten Tomatoes user was quick to defend the series. They penned: "I think this show is fun the music is fantastic and if you just take it for what it is and stop over analysing it you'll realize that for music lovers this is a fun show! I love it."

It's still too early to know viewers' final verdict but things are not looking up for the new Prime Video drama.

The Runarounds is streaming now on Prime Video