‘Outlander’ season 3: Sam Heughan, Caitriona Balfe send New Year’s greetings; the bigger picture

We want to start this “Outlander” article by doing what seems appropriate at this time of the year: Wishing everyone a happy and healthy new year! There is obviously a lot to look forward to with the series, and we’re sure that many of you out there have that written down as one highlight in particular coming up in the months ahead.

Today, we are most pleased to report that we aren’t the only one wishing you many happy returns; in the video below, series stars Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe both raise a glass in honor of January 1. It’s a warm greeting, and an additional reason to smile on this day.

While this is at its core a kind gesture by Starz to release these videos (they also did so for Christmas) and by Heughan and Balfe for taking part of them in them, there is on a meta-level a greater benefit to doing them than first meets the eye: Community-building. They help to remind you that this is a show that extends year-round one way or another, and that the people involved are always thinking about their viewers. The “Outlander” team had the foresight to take a handful of minutes and make these in advance, and it’s a subtle reminder that the show is still out there and worth getting excited about (not that many fans out there needed an additional reason).

Is it possible that we over-analyze many such things? Sure, but it’s our job to do so, and we do think “Outlander” deserves further commendation for going the extra mile. Holiday greetings like this are not done by every show out there, and we do think they play a role in tightening a fandom that already awarded this show Best Fanbase and also Show of the Year at the 2016 CarterMatt Awards.

“Outlander” season 3 will premiere in the spring. While you wait for that — and also while you wait for Starz to release a few more goodies here and there — let us know your own hopes for the new year in the comments! (Photo: Starz.)

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