Outlander season 5: Diana Gabaldon on Sam Heughan, Caitriona Balfe producing

There’s a good chance you’ve heard the big news related to Outlander over the past week: Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe are producers! This is something that’s been a long time coming, and it is also something that should contribute to making the show a better, stronger overall story. These are two people who know their characters of Jamie and Claire backwards, forwards and sideways, as they should given that they’ve been around since the beginning.

Outlander video – Check out our latest character discussion video below all about Claire! For more news, remember to subscribe to CarterMatt on YouTube so you don’t miss out on our upcoming Outlander videos, and check out our official playlist.

So what does the series’ own author have to say about the promotions, and what they mean for the show as a whole? That’s something that Diana Gabaldon herself addressed in a new podcast interview with the folks over at Outlander Cast:

“The reason why they want to be producers, and why they should be producers, is that it gives them equal voice in what their characters are like. As simply actors, they are pretty much at the mercy of the showrunners, the writers, [and] of the directors. They can say ‘I don’t like that scene, I don’t want to do that’ and the [powers that be] can say ‘well tough, you just gotta do it’ … That sort of thing.

That’s not good for the atmosphere of a show or for an actor’s morale. On the other hand, due to the more voices you add, the messier it gets. You have a potential for more conflict if you add more producers, but on the other hand, it can be a fruitful conflict. I think in this case, it certainly will be. Sam and Caitriona will have a stronger voice in who their characters actually are.”

We do think that this is a very solid description of what Balfe and Heughan’s roles are going to be moving into season 5 — they won’t have complete creative control of everything with their characters, but there will be a much larger say from them in specific decisions. They are working at times with writers or producers who may not have been with the show as long and with that, they may have specific insights that they can contribute as to their characters’ thoughts processes.

In the end, we’ll see how this plays out, but we do think overall this should prove to be rather fruitful for Outlander as a series.

Related – Be sure to check out some more news when it comes to Outlander, including our ongoing Outlander perspectives article series

What are you the most excited to see when it comes to Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe being producers on Outlander season 5? Be sure to share right now in the comments, and check back soon for more news. (Photo: Starz.)