More Than A TV Series: The Runarounds Are A Real Band

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at U Conn chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

“No way. They probably aren’t a real band.”

That’s what I said to my roommate as we watched the pilot episode of a new series on Amazon Prime, The Runarounds. Our nighttime routine usually always consists of watching an episode of a show, and since we were finishing up The Summer I Turned Pretty, we were looking for something new to watch.

After watching the first episode, we were completely obsessed with the show and probably would have binge-watched the entire season if we didn’t have classes the next day. Needing to find out more, we did a quick search on Instagram — only to find the band’s verified account. In their bio, they had written, “yes we are a real band on a real tour this fall.”

I stand corrected.

FUNNY HOW THE UNIVERSE WORKS: how the band (and show) came to be

The show itself comes from Jonas Pate, the co-creator of the show Outer Banks. The band was created from a casting call he issued back in 2020, where he was looking for a group to appear in season three of Outer Banks. With more than 5,000 musicians responding to the call, five were selected: William Lipton, Axel Ellis, Jeremy Yun, Zendè Murdock and Jesse Golliher. At the same time, Pate was already writing what would become The Runarounds and the group would go on to film the pilot episode in 2022.

The band members elaborate on the process in more detail on the Zach Sang show where they talk about the audition process, songwriting and how they ultimately built a successful band and relationship. Almost all the members (except Lipton) had never acted before.

MORE ON THE BAND: THE SONGS ARE WRITTEN BY THEM

In the same interview on the Zach Sang show, the members of The Runarounds explain that the songs that appear in the show are written by the band and how Pate wanted the band to sound authentic.

“[Pate] wanted to be authentic,” Lipton said. “He wanted us to sound like it would be us.”

Other band members add on, explaining how they wrote around 40 songs and only 16 landed on the album. They say that some of the songs were written based on their personal lives, while others were written based on the script and the show.

To date, The Runarounds have a full album as well as a live EP released on streaming platforms such as Spotify and Amazon Music. The album, Original Soundtrack, contains all of their original songs as well as one cover. The live EP features a select few of those original songs performed at the University of Southern California.

The live EP was released in 2023 — well before the general public knew there was going to be show.

More on the SERIEs: WE need a season two

The series is a fictional drama about a group of high school graduates that come together to form a band in hopes of getting a record deal. Throughout the first season, you see their crazy summer before college and get to experience the intense emotions following the ups and downs of a band looking for their big break. Although the show is fictional, certain elements of the characters are from the band members’ real lives. In the series, Topher Park, played by Yun, is on the high school golf team and is planning on attending Princeton in the fall. In real life, Yun is actually on the Princeton golf team.

I personally really loved the first season. Without giving too much away, I appreciated how the show managed to get into the depths of each of the characters’ personal lives despite the main plot being focused on the band. The side plots are very interesting and have just as many — if not more — twists than the main plot. I also love the additional characters that help out with the band and the individual relationships they form with each of the band members.

final thoughts

I listened to the entire album and EP while writing this article. If you’re into indie rock, I think you are going to love The Runarounds sound. If you are in need of some “feel good” upbeat music, I recommend this band. I really like the acoustics on the live EP and suggest starting there. I love the sound of live versions of songs — I think it adds an authentic feel. Regarding the series, you should definitely consider watching. I watched it in a span of three to four days. The show came out just in time to get ahead of seasonal depression (and to be my new comfort show). The series and the music accompanying is just so comforting and is very easy to become addicted to.

If you want to learn more about the band members individually or get insight on the band’s tour, you can follow their Instagram — which they are very active on! The band has recently announced that they are going to extend their tour into 2026 and have added additional dates in the US. If you’ve finished the first season, you can listen to their music on Spotify and other platforms or even go see them live in concert!