When should Outlander season 3 premiere on Netflix? Our hope

When will Outlander season 3 premiere on Netflix? Over the past month, we know that new viewers have been able to discover the show. We know that it’s somewhat atypical for premium cable networks to want to do something like launch episodes on a streaming service, but it does have its benefits. It’s a way to bring more viewers onto the show, and watching on Starz down the road! That’s the end goal with the streaming service getting involved — it’s an opportunity to boost ratings, make more money for Starz and Sony, and maybe get a season 7 on the other side. (Remember, season 6 is already happening — that was announced some time ago.)

Here’s the bad news: If you’re planning some sort of epic binge of the third season, you better be prepared for a long wait. Because Netflix only got the first two seasons of Outlander now, this is a signal that there aren’t going to be more for some time. There’s no incentive for Sony to rush things along with another season on there and for Starz, it benefits them to still have some episodes exclusively on their service. We wouldn’t be surprised, in fact, if there was some sort of deal put in place for Starz to have exclusive rights to some episodes.

The best time for Netflix to get more episode is when Starz gets more Outlander. That’s our take on it, at least for the time being. It would be great to see season 3 arrive on the streaming service after season 5 airs as a means to get people more excited about catching up to where viewers are on Starz. Also, it would ensure that the network itself still have two seasons that are exclusive to them. Isn’t this a situation where everyone wins?

As for what we’re going to be thinking about for the next few months, it’s this: How much will Netflix help the overall viewership for Outlander? It’s something that benefited shows like Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead in the past, but this is a different era where viewership is more saturated. At the time that those two series broke big on Netflix, the service didn’t have anywhere near the same sort of breadth of programming that it does.

As for when Outlander season 5 will premiere…

Think along the lines of 2020, probably some point past the first couple of months of the year. We wouldn’t mark anything in permanent marker at the moment, but it’s worth circling in pencil as you prepare for the future. (It’s too bad that the show’s not coming to Comic-Con this year; that was already confirmed.)

Photo: Starz