Outlander season 3: Diana Gabaldon’s role (and what it means)

One of the most interesting aspect of almost any show is the involvement of the author; with that, Diana Gabaldon’s role in Outlander season 3 is fascinating.

In a post on Twitter over the weekend, Gabaldon confirmed that after making a cameo in season 1 and writing the season 2 episode entitled “Vengeance is Mine,” this time around she’s serving as a consultant, citing her busy schedule as a reason. (Makes sense, when you consider all of the work that is on her plate.) Being a consultant means many things to many people, given that some are more involved than others. In some cases, it can mean very little, but that is not the case on this show. As she wrote in response to another Twitter user, the show’s writers / executive producers often do listen to her opinions — she had yet to see the season finale script from Matthew B. Roberts at the time of creating the post, but maybe she will soon.

For Roberts and the rest of the team, it of course makes sense to get feedback from the person responsible for the Outlander story and the characters of Jamie and Claire Fraser. She knows and loves the characters more than anyone, and if you have this great resource, why not use it? There is no ego involved here, and everyone’s just trying to create the best overall product possible. The series is one of collaboration and positive energy, and constant interaction is a way to perpetuate that.

We like to think of the relationship between literature and adaptations sometimes as symbiotic. If both are strong, one can enrich and lend support to the other. The series would not exist without the books; meanwhile, the series enables the books to have a larger platform. We know that for us, we are looking forward to seeing what’s in the books that doesn’t make it to air, even though we’ve imposed it upon ourselves to get through the TV series first. (We don’t want our opinion of the work onscreen to be impacted at all by affection to the source material.)

Ultimately, we’ll see what Outlander season 3 looks like when it premieres this fall. Per Gabaldon, Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone is the title for book nine in her series. It does not have a firm release date at present.

Want some further news pertaining to all things Outlander? Then head over to the link here! We’ll of course continue to provide further coverage for you throughout the week. (Photo: Starz.)