Exclusive
John B, Sarah, JJ and the rest of the gang from Netflix’s “Outer Banks” are not fabrications of its creators – they were ripped straight from the pages of an existing novel … the novelist claims in a new lawsuit.
Called a man Kevin Wooten has sued both the streaming giant and the ‘OB’ makers Shannon Burke and Jonas and Joshua Pate … claim the entire lot to plot the plot of his book “Pennywise: The Hunt for Blackbeard’s Treasure!” almost beat by beat.
In his suit, obtained by TMZ, Wooten says he published his book in 2016, which documents the story of 4 young adults who encounter a local legend who leads them to a buried treasure of a legendary shipwreck along North Carolina’s outer shores.
Wooten says he has sold a number of copies, including hard copies in the town of Wilmington … where he claims the Pate brothers spent a significant amount of time, and where they publicly said they had the inspiration for their new hit show.
That’s no coincidence … according to Wooten, who argues that it’s likely the Pates came across his novel and used it as the basis for “Outer Banks”. KW claims there are striking similarities that you just can’t deny … right down to the structure and characters.
Wooten claims that the archetypes of his protagonists and those of the show are nearly identical, and so are the villains – namely, a wealthy benefactor and a corrupt cop. He also says the plot is much the same … including clues they find and places they lead.
Wooten wants damages, but also wants to see a title card in the credits that reads: “Story by Kevin Wooten, based on the novel Pennywise: The Hunt for Blackbeard’s Treasure!”
As Blackbeard himself might say … blimey!