Outlander season 5 update: Why locations are so secretive

Today is day 4 of Outlander season 5 production, and we know that there have been some exterior scenes filmed already. At the same time, though, production has done an incredible job of keeping most of their work under wraps and making sure that their environments are virtually untouched by onlookers and paparazzi looking to profit off of the series.

While the secrecy of filming locations is something that tends to be fairly accepted and understood at around the midway point in production, the start of filming is always a good time to post a refresher to get it all out in the universe again about why producers do what they do. Cast members do not openly discuss specific filming locations, and there is no production-approved source that tells people where things are being filmed and when.

Want to check out some recent Outlander video coverage? We’ve got a discussion below all about the first season 5 table read, and we certainly think that this is worth your time! On the other side of watching this, subscribe to CarterMatt on YouTube for more updates and also check out our Outlander playlist for more.

1. The secrecy of the stories – we know that it’s counter-intuitive that a book adaptation would need to be under such a lock and key, but there are changes from the book series to the show. Also, there’s a rather-hefty army of fans out there who have never read any of the books in the first place. Outlander doesn’t just want to cast them aside. They want to recognize their existence and the #1 way for them to do just that is by making sure that they can have that Christmas-morning feeling when they watch new episodes and are surprised. It’s a hard thing to pull off in 2019, a time when there are so many rampant spoilers coursing through the internet; nonetheless, they want to at least act as though they are doing their best.

2. Keeping the workday moving – Outlander loves its fans. The fact that there are official conventions and an active social community around the show is proof. They just don’t want to actively encourage onlookers at locations since you’ve got an added noise factor to think about. Plus, it does put the cast in that awkward position where they want to do good by their fans but also have to adhere to a work schedule. It’s easy for someone to feel disappointed if they travel for hours in Scotland to see filming and they leave without even getting a glimpse of a cast member; by trying to keep the locations secret, we’re getting a situation where the production is almost trying to preemptively prevent that disappointment altogether.

3. They film a lot of scenes in studio – While Outlander ventures out on location perhaps more than your standard TV show, they do still film a number of interior shots — think in terms of the cabin or inside various other buildings. These are done back at the show’s production home base, and it’s hard to advertise filming that happens at a point where it’s virtually impossible to anyone to see it/get any scoop.

While you may have to wait for it, we’re still confident that all of the great Outlander content will be very much worthwhile. Season 5 is going to be premiering, pending some miracle move on the part of Starz, at some point in 2020.

Curious in some more Outlander filming updates?

Then check out the link here for more news on who is writing the premiere + more on the show’s writing process in general. (Photo: Starz.)