Could Outlander really divide one book into two seasons?
These are questions that were first pondered over recently at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour for Starz, as network head Chris Albrecht spoke about the success of the show — while also reassuring everyone that there is no reason to worry about the long-term future of the franchise. We do think that another two-season renewal will be here for the series at this point by the end of the spring, but that still does not answer the question as to whether or not it’s possible we end up getting to see a pair of different seasons at the same time.
Logically, we understand why it may make some sense to devote more time on the show for telling each story — the books are massive and incredibly packed with content, so much so that telling the story of one of them per season could prove difficult. There were times in Outlander season 3 that this was challenging, as we had the entire story of Helwater told within one single episode. We don’t think that the balancing act between brevity and making sure that the proper story is told is going to be getting any easier in the years ahead.
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On the flip side, there’s another challenge if you try to extend the show by moving away from the one-season-per-book format — you are extending the life of the show. Doing ten seasons of a show like Outlander would be a challenge in itself, given that the vast majority of premium cable series simply do not make it this long. Even some of the most successful ones ever, including Dexter, Six Feet Under, and The Sopranos, didn’t make it past eight seasons. Game of Thrones is also ending at around that part. We know that in some cases there is simply less source material to adapt, but it’s typically challenging to be able to get everyone on board any show for ten years. It’s an enormous challenge and just getting there is tough. Trying to do something for eleven or twelve seasons could be even more difficult.
Ultimately, our feeling is just this: Go where the story leads you. Maybe there is a book that merits more than one season, and then maybe there is a book that only merits eight or nine episodes. So long as the ratings are good and everyone is happy, Outlander will last until the story is told and the producers are satisfied.
Do you think that Outlander should split up some of the books across multiple seasons, or keep the series going in the way in which it is now? Share in the comments! Also, you can like CarterMatt on Facebook to receive some more insight regarding Outlander and other shows we cover. (Photo: Starz.)