Outlander season 5 renewal talks reportedly underway, but no renewal yet

Will we see an Outlander season 5 renewal coming sooner rather than later? It absolutely seems so based on what the studio is saying.

While speaking to EW Radio earlier today Chris Parnell, Sony Pictures Television’s co-president of programming (not the guy who used to be on SNL), made it clear that the season 5 talks are in fact underway with Starz:

“In order to keep this show year by year and not have a Droughtlander, we had better start hustling on season 5 right now … I can tell you there are early talks on us doing that, to absolutely not have an extended Droughtlander like we’ve had before. That’s the goal.”

Is Parnell really delivering the biggest shocker on us of all time here? Not exactly. CarterMatt has said for weeks now that the network and Sony need to hustle to get a season 5 renewal together by the spring, given that this is the only way to avoid another extended hiatus. That’s the biggest reason for the lengthy wait between season 2 and season 3.

Because Outlander seasons 3 and 4 were not ordered until much of the way through season 2, that delayed everything in terms of getting season 3 made. There’s so much work that needs to be done before cameras start rolling — the writers room needs to produce the story, locations need to be scouted, characters need to be cast, and sets need to be built. There’s so much more that happens in pre-production with this show than with many others, especially due to it being an adaptation of such a popular book series. The writers need to go and study the source material even before the writing room opens. If another season is ordered months before the writers room is set to begin their work, that gives everyone time in order to do the necessary preparation. That means that Outlander can meet the super-high expectations of many of its devoted fans who expect great things from what is a rather great show.

For now, Outlander season 4 seems to be primed for a premiere next fall provided there are no unforeseen delays. Filming started at a time where it should finish in either the late spring or early summer. That gives the editors plenty of time in order to get the show together for the fall. A little bit of consistency can also go a long way for a show hoping to maintain its fanbase — while the diehard fans will watch it no matter when it airs, there’s it’s important that more casual fans know when a show is going to come on the air. That, in our mind, is one of the things that aided Game of Thrones in its first six seasons.

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