The race for the gold has never been tighter.

Streaming on Thursday, the third season of “Outer Banks” finds John B Routledge (Chase Stokes), Sarah Cameron (Madelyn Cline) and the rest of the Pogues stranded on a deserted island, free to do whatever they want after losing the gold they found. However, they are once again thrown into the fight for the treasure, with the stakes being their lives as they know them.

Before the show’s premiere at the Regency Village Theatre in Westwood on Feb. 16, the Daily Bruin’s Alexis Jones spoke with cast members Charles Esten, Drew Starkey and Charles Halford about what viewers can expect to see in the newest chapter of the Netflix series.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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Daily Bruin: Do audiences see any positive development from your characters, Sarah’s antagonistic brother Rafe (Starkey) and father Ward (Esten), this season?

Drew Starkey: I think we see a lot of character development from everybody’s character, which is nice. We kind of got to slow the story down in a way. It’s fast-paced, but there’s still enough time for everybody to develop organically and naturally. I think that’s what’s good about this season is that we got to slow down and explore different parts of each character.

Charles Esten: These writers don’t know how to write without development. They’re always moving you forward. They’re always advancing these characters, which is all you really want. It makes sense that Ward has reached everything he’s wanted. He’s got all the treasure. He’s got all the gold, but he’s just lost his daughter, and he was just spared by John B (as he was) not thrown overboard after this incredible fight. So there’s a whole lot of turmoil going on inside him because he thought he was doing this for his family, and then you find out you lose all that. That’s the journey of season three. It was so much fun to get to shoot, and I’m grateful for these writers offering those kind of changes.

DB: How did you determine how to portray your character, John B’s father Big John, after he was already introduced in the series pilot episode as this ominous presence who audiences later thought had died?

Charles Halford: Even in the early seasons, I feel like I had a lot to draw from: just a father on a treasure (hunt) to provide for his son. In my personal experience, it was like, ‘If only I can get this treasure, it’s okay that I’m not there,’ because I was out there getting this (treasure to provide for my son). Even with the little bits that Big John had in the first couple seasons, that was always strong. I think that this third season honors that tradition but also puts John B and (Big John) in a position to have to face some of that (unresolved tension). I think it really does do service to that relationship, and it’s complicated. There’s no easy way to cut it.

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DB: How does the father-son dynamic play out between John B and Big John this season, considering this will be the first time viewers see them interact with each other?

CH: I think it’s surprising. I think it’s heartfelt, and I think it’s bittersweet. I think it’s real. I feel like the stakes are really high, and we’re kind of in this crazy world, but all those wants from your father and from your son and those needs, I really do think that (the characters) honor a truth in that. I really do believe that that will resonate with everybody. I don’t know how complicated anybody’s relationship with their parents are, but I know everybody’s got a parent or at least an idea of a parent. I think it’s a really interesting exploration of that natural state (of parent-child relationships) – only with beautiful locations, amazing casts, great scripts and an amazing story.