Outlander on International Women’s Day: Heroes behind the scenes
With this article, we want to acknowledge some of the heroes that have been responsible specifically for the series’ success over the past year and beyond. There are obviously many more not listed within this article, and they are all worthy of equally tremendous recognition for crafting a great show and also providing the representation and diversity of ideas that television needs in 2018. This is just a small sample of those worthy of applause.
Diana Gabaldon – You have to start with Diana, since without her words there is no Outlander and the entire show fails to exist. It is so easy to think in the now in terms of how hard the cast and crew have worked the past few years. Diana has been putting in the work for decades. Her talent inspires every single aspect of the show.
Toni Graphia – The series executive producer largely responsible for helping to lead the Outlander writers room. She may not be someone you hear from throughout the entire year, but without her work constantly overseeing the story and cultivating scripts, nothing on this show would be as it is. She gives the actors the avenues to exhibit their passion.
Norma Bailey – Outlander has employed a number of female directors since the start of its run, putting it on the forefront of all of TV when it comes to representation. Bailey is responsible for directing two episodes of season 3, with the most notable one being “A. Malcolm” — the famed Print Shop episode. Her work shined in this episode, and crafting it was no easy task given just how high fan expectations were going in.
Suzanne M. Smith – The casting genius who is responsible for so many of your favorites landing roles on this show. Time and time again, she finds the right actors for some of these roles, and performers who are able to capture the essence of who some of these people truly are rather than just going for a big name or a familiar face.
Terry Dresbach – One of the hardest-working costume designers in the entire TV industry. Just think in terms of everything that she’s had to do — she’s effectively had to come up with period costumes for five different time periods and places so far (1940’s Scotland, 18th-century Scotland, 18th-century France, 1960’s America, and 18th-century Caribbean). This is without even mentioning the work she is doing to recreate pre-Revolutionary War America for season 4.
Maril Davis – Without her running behind the scenes as executive producer, nothing would work anywhere near as seamlessly. It’s hard to even list out the many different things that Davis does in order to ensure that Outlander is successful, especially since she, like some other producers, must help to oversee work on separate continents. In the midst of everything she does, Davis also still finds the time to be fairly active on social media.
Wendy Kemp Forbes – One of the prominent makeup artists on the series, someone personally singled out by Sam Heughan earlier in the day on social media for her work.
Of course, the cast of fantastic women – Of course Caitriona Balfe is at the center of the series and does an incredible job, but let’s not forget about everyone from Sophie Skelton to Laura Donnelly, Lauren Lyle, Nell Hudson, Lotte Verbeek, and many others who have turned up through three seasons and delivered.
Related – How Starz and Outlander fans can make season 4 as successful as possible
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