Allow Madison Bailey to Reintroduce Herself

Introducing In Focus, a monthly feature where we turn the camera on the next-gen talent making waves across entertainment and fashion.

For the last four years, Madison Bailey has cemented her status among young Hollywood elite while playing the loveable, headstrong Kiara “Kie” Carrera, a central member to a scrappy cast of ruffians known as the Pogues in the Netflix megahit Outer Banks. But the 25-year-old knows she can’t treasure-hunt on the North Carolina coast forever. With a fifth season hanging in the balance, the actress has her sights on her next act: music.

“I have high hopes this isn’t the last for this series,” Bailey admits during our interview while promoting Outer Banks‘ fourth season. She’s probably right. The show did amass an impressive 15.5 million views within a few days of part one dropping (part two premieres on November 7), so signs are pointing to more rugged adventures ahead. Compared to the duration of other popular teen dramas—think Gossip Girl, Riverdale, and Vampire Diaries—OBX has only reached its half life at this stage, but as its cast of promising 20-somethings gets older and more eager to grow their careers, the show could be at a crossroad. “I just hope we have the time to know it’ll be our last season and really soak in those moments. We all know we’re going to be in each other’s lives in the long run,” Bailey says.

The cast—which also includes Chase Stokes, Madelyn Cline, Rudy Pankow, J.D., and Carlacia Grant—shares a unique bond. All relative newcomers at the start of the series, they experienced a rapid ascent to stardom. Suddenly, a legion of fans were interested in them. It’s a strange experience for anyone, but they had each other. There are group chats, shared TikTok algorithms, and a deep understanding that none of their lives are normal. “There’s a lot that runs through your mind, being in the spotlight and being in the industry. When you get with people who are in it, you can have those open conversations, and it’s very much needed,” Bailey says.

For her next project, Bailey isn’t straying far from home, i.e., Netflix. Just in time for Halloween, she is starring in the streamer’s time-traveling horror film Time Cut alongside Ginny & Georgia‘s Antonia Gentry. The movie follows Bailey’s Lucy Field as she tracks down her sister’s masked killer days before her murder more than 20 years earlier. There are few young women, let alone Black women, who have been welcomed into the open arms of the Netflix cinematic universe like Bailey and Gentry. Their time together on set could be emotionally taxing depending on the day. Bailey jokes, “The only people that truly understand are the people that are going through it.”

Between simultaneous press tours for OBX and Time Cut and wrapping a soon-to-be-announced project, Bailey is practically penciling in her life by the minute. To say she’s busy is an understatement. During our call, she gives me a peek at her planner to show me her week ahead, and it’s enough to give any type B person a heart attack. “Look at how insane this looks,” she says, holding the color-coded agenda with scribbled handwriting up to the screen. There’s so much to do and such little time, but somehow, she’s adding more. At the moment, her focus is on her most personal and grounding project to date—her burgeoning music career.

Bailey has spent time secretly in the recording studio with a group of trusted songwriters and producers honing her sound. Her first single, “The Grey,” came out at the end of September, marking an exciting and long-overdue venture for the actress. Over early 2000s–inspired chords, she sings about the empowering feeling that comes with living in two worlds and standing in her power.