Outlander season 5 airing early 2020; Sam Heughan, Caitriona Balfe photo

Outlander season 4

Finally, Starz has confirmed the news that so many of us have wanted to return: An approximate return date for Outlander season 5.

In a new post on Twitter, the show’s official account confirmed what we’ve speculated for some time — we will not see new episodes air this year. Instead, Starz noted that the new episodes will air in “early 2020,” which could mean January or it could mean a month or two later. We would imagine that the show will return by mid-spring, and with this return date in mind, you’re going to see the series eligible for the 2020 Emmy Awards. More so than that, though, we now know a little bit more about when it is coming back to the air … and that gives us an end to this lengthy Droughtlander.

To go along with this news, Starz also released a new pair of BTS photos featuring Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan. Take a look at those below! This gives you a fantastic sense of both Claire and Jamie’s costumes for the upcoming batch of episodes — they’re as fantastic as always, and it gives you a great sense of the period setting and the subtle evolution of the characters over time. Moving into season 5, these characters are more settled — Fraser’s Ridge is their home and they’ve come to love the community that’s been built there. Moving into season 5, it’s only going to expand.

Throughout the upcoming episodes, you will see more characters, including Marsali and Fergus, move to Fraser’s Ridge — while the Frasers may be happy as a whole with more people around, they are going to need a bigger home! Also, they need to brace themselves for more threats. The fate of Murtagh is still going to be a focal point of the story coming up following what happened at the end of season 4 — we know that Governor Tryon wants Jamie to seek him and the Regulators out, but also that Jamie is loyal to his fellow Scotsmen. He’s not going to want to do anything that hurts them. This is going to be dramatic, rich, and hopefully as well-acted as everything we’ve seen to date.

What do you think about Outlander season 5 premiering in early 2020? Be sure to share in the comments.

Photo: Starz

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