Outlander season 5: On production, hopeful air dates, & more

Outlander season 4

We’re still waiting for Outlander season 5 … and we’re probably still going to be waiting for a long time.

Yet, over the past few weeks, one of the things that’s gotten a little bit of weird is how it feels like what was once a clear picture in relation to production and possible premiere dates has started to get a little bit foggy. Some of that may just be publications starting to twist words or misinterpret statements. Another part of it may just be seeing cast members in different places in the world and wondering if there is some sort of break. (Remember, some cast members just don’t appear in every episode.)

So, for the sake of clarity, let’s sort out some of the necessary info tonight.

On filming – Production kicked off roughly three months ago and at this point, the show is pretty far in! With past seasons, we’ve seen production take nine months … but those also had an extra episode. With season 5 only having 12 episodes, it’s likely that this one will run at least a few weeks shorter. That should mean that it may very well wrap within this calendar year. Could it be faster? Sure, if there is a way discovered to speed up filming various episodes.

Let’s also make this clear — there hasn’t been any info out there on any delays that are going on behind the scenes. That just feels like nonsense to assume that any one actor having a day or two away from the set means that the whole production stops.

On when it will premiere – The past two seasons of Outlander were done with filming months before they premiered on Starz. With that in mind, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where the show premieres this year. 2020 is a much safer bet and we’d be surprised if it airs within the first couple months of the year.

On the future beyond it – There is another season official at the moment (think season 6), and it’s possible that Netflix/More4/some other ways to get viewers on board will lead to a season 7. We’d love a season for every Diana Gabaldon book, but that’s not a sure thing.

On any spin-0ffs – While Gabaldon is working on pertaining to Master Raymond and Lord John Grey already has his own, there’s no word as of yet from Starz on if any adaptations are coming … though we’d welcome them, even if they were just limited series to air between filming to ease the Droughtlander.

Meanwhile, let us know more of your thoughts on this story in the comments.

Photo: Starz

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