Cr. Jackson Lee Davis/Netflix © 2026
Caroline Arapoglou has spent the last several weeks living out of a suitcase. As one of the leads in the Netflix hit Outer Banks, which launched its fifth and final season on August 17, the Atlanta actor has been traveling nonstop for photo shoots and press appearances. As much as she’s enjoyed celebrating the milestone, Arapoglou is looking forward to returning home.
“I’m excited to get back to Atlanta,” she says.
Outer Banks, which debuted in 2020, follows a group of teenage friends known as the Pogues as they chase buried treasure, unravel family secrets, and repeatedly find themselves in trouble in and around their hometown on the North Carolina coast. Arapoglou has worked on the show from the beginning: she plays Rose Cameron, the stepmother of three Pogues–Sarah, Rafe, and Wheezie–and wife of the wealthy, ruthless Ward Cameron.
Over five seasons, Rose has emerged as a cool and confident, but often morally questionable, presence in the Cameron family drama. Now, Arapoglou is reflecting on the end of the character she built for the last six years.
Cr. Jackson Lee Davis/Netflix © 2026
“I think we were all hyper aware that, to be on a show for five seasons, this could be a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” she says. “I just felt really grateful.”
For the last decade Arapoglou has lived in Brookhaven, where she and her husband are raising their two young children. And while her lengthy list of TV credits includes Stranger Things, The Walking Dead, and Outer Banks, her career began in theater on Atlanta stages.
“Our theater community became home,” says Arapoglou. “That’s where I built so many of the friendships that I have now–I actually met my husband doing a play in Atlanta.”
That foundation has allowed her to pursue her career without sacrificing the life she’s created off-screen.
Courtesy of Caroline Arapoglou
“It feels like this lucky combination of being able to build my career and my family [in Atlanta] and have them coexist in a really beautiful way,” she says.
Like many actors, Arapoglou once assumed Los Angeles would be part of her future. Instead, Georgia’s booming film industry gave her the opportunity to build a successful career without leaving the community she’d come to love. And as self-taped auditions became the norm, it became easier to travel for work while keeping Atlanta at the center of her life.
At the same time, while her own career has flourished, she’s watched Atlanta’s creative community grow alongside it.
“As the opportunities have grown in the city, I feel like our Atlanta talent has been there to really perform and deliver,” she says. “I keep seeing my friends show up in more projects and in bigger capacities. It’s been fun to see us all grow up and succeed together.”
Courtesy of Caroline Arapoglou
When she’s not on set, Arapoglou says she gravitates towards her favorite elements of Atlanta: its art scene and its well-deserved reputation of being a city in the forest. She and her daughter enjoyed the recent Viktor&Rolf exhibition at the High Museum of Art, and she’s a regular at Chastain Park where she likes to walk the trails before meeting friends for coffee. It’s the combination of culture and green space, she says, that keeps the city feeling both vibrant and livable.
“We’re so lucky to have the Alliance and the High and all of this world-class art,” she says. “And then you can be on a hike or on a walk in 10 minutes. That’s one of my favorite things about the city.”
Courtesy of Caroline Arapoglou
At the same time she’s been enjoying Atlanta with her young family, Arapoglous has spent six years on set for Outer Banks, watching as the show grew into a global hit. As the final season brings the story full circle, Arapoglou says viewers can expect high stakes even as long-running storylines draw to a close.
“We answer a lot of questions,” she says. “And I hope fans have as much fun watching it as we had making it.”
As she prepares to say goodbye to Rose, she’s holding on to the lessons she’s taken from her character. Playing someone so self-assured taught her that confidence isn’t always innate; it can be something you practice until it becomes real.
“Rose is more confident and maybe a little more bold than I can be,” Arapoglou says. “[This role] taught me that confidence can be an exercise: You have to put that on like armor. It taught me how to get out of my own way and just do it.”
With Outer Banks ending, a newborn at home, and her ongoing journey in the film industry, Arapoglou is entering a new chapter with her armor intact. And with whatever comes next, she knows where she’ll return when filming wraps.
“I ended up in Atlanta by chance, but staying and making it my home is completely by choice,” Arapoglou says. “The city has been so good to me.”
