Outlander to end with Season 8
David Farnor | On 19, Jan 2023
Outlander will officially end with its eight season, STARZ has confirmed.
The time-travelling drama, based on Diana Gabaldon’s best-selling book series, follows the story of Claire Randall (Caitriona Balfe), a married WW11 combat nurse from 1945 who mysteriously falls back in time to 1743 where she is immediately thrown into an unknown world and her life is threatened. When she is forced to marry Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan), a chivalrous and romantic young Scottish warrior, a passionate relationship is ignited that spans decades.
The show most recently aired its sixth season, based on material from the sixth book in the Outlander series, A Breath of Snow and Ashes, which saw the threat of the Revolutionary War loom over Fraser’s Ridge and Claire and Jamie had to choose what is best for their family.
This summer, the show will return for its seventh season, based on An Echo in the Bone, which will run for a bumper 16 episodes and include the American Revolution.
Now, STARZ has announced that it has renewed the show for an eight season that will be its last and comprise 10 episodes.
However, the good news is that fans won’t be seeing the last of the Fraser clan, with STARZ officially giving the green light to prequel series Outlander: Blood of My Blood, which will tell the story of Jamie’s parents, Ellen MacKenzie and Brian Fraser.
Kathryn Busby, President of Original Programming at STARZ, said in a statement: “For nearly a decade Outlander has won the hearts of audiences worldwide and we’re pleased to bring Claire and Jamie’s epic love story to a proper conclusion. But before we close this chapter there is plenty of their passionate story to tell over the course of 26 new episodes and even more to explore of this dynamic world and its origin story. We’re thrilled to continue to partner with Matthew, Maril, and Ronald and can’t wait to see where their alluring storytelling takes us next.”
“Outlander: Blood of My Blood is, at its heart, a love story,” added Matthew B Roberts, showrunner and executive producer. “It will explore what lengths a person will go to find love in a time when love is considered a luxury, and when marriages are made strategically, often for political or financial gain. The title is a nod to Jamie Fraser’s marriage vow to Claire and there will be several names and faces that Outlander fans will know and recognize. Jamie and Claire’s TV story may be coming to an end with season eight, but Diana is continuing on with their literary journey in her wonderful book series and is working diligently on book ten. With Jamie and Claire, and now Brian and Ellen, there is still so much more to come in the Outlander universe, and we cannot wait to continue sharing these stories with our dedicated fans.”