‘Outlander’ episode 6: Ron D. Moore on strategy, catering for book fans

When Starz decided that they were going to bring “Outlander” to the small screen, they knew that there were going to be some challenges. The books are so popular, after all, that messing something up could cause absolute chaos and really set the network back.

Luckily, it seems as though the show used the right strategy here almost from the get-go: Making sure that there was a plan to satisfy fans of the books first and foremost. Speaking to Collider, executive producer Ron D. Moore made it clear that the plan was to make the show appeal to fans of the book, and then hope that other viewers find it along the way:

“We don’t tailor it for the non-fan. Starz, from the get-go, said to make it for the fans of the book. They said, ‘Trust the book. We trust the book. And trust that anyone who samples it and does not know the material will just get pulled into the story.’ So, that’s our philosophy. We just trust this story, so come along with us for the ride. If you know where it’s going and you’ve read the book, you’re going to have one experience. But if you come to this project, not knowing much about it and you just turn it on, it’s a compelling story. Here’s this woman who’s thrown back in time. Suddenly, she’s with these highlanders. She wants to get home to her husband, who you’ve met in the opening frame. Here’s this 18th century world with danger, romance and violence. What’s going to happen to her? It’s just an interesting story.”

Clearly, that plan does seem to be working, at least in that “Outlander” has become one of the most-popular series on the network in such a short amount of time. It also has in its back pocket already a season 2 renewal. Cheers to that!