Outlander season 6: What does Sony exec’s exit mean for show future?
As first reported by Deadline, Parnell is stepping down from his Sony Pictures Television Studios Co-President position later this month after more than a decade and a half on the job. He will be heading over to Apple TV+ moving forward. Parnell’s contributions to the Sony TV team are invaluable, as he helped to lead development for shows including Outlander, Breaking Bad, Timeless, The Blacklist, and many others. He has also been a more outspoken supporter of his shows than many other executives, fighting to save Timeless after its cancellation and openly saying that he hopes Outlander will be able to tell the full story of Diana Gabaldon’s books “to completion.” (Diana, in a post on Twitter below, wished him will on his next chapter.)
So what does Parnell’s exit mean for the future of Outlander? We think it’s always a bummer to lose someone so passionate about the show, especially since Chris was there from the very beginning and the studio helps to license the show all over the world. It is a loss, but it’s also not a situation where the wheels suddenly come off Outlander and it ceases to exit. It’s a total mistake to say that there are no other Outlander supporters anywhere else at the studio — it’s one of the biggest franchises that Sony has, and they will continue to want to keep it on the air for a long time. We just hope that all of the other executives are as passionate about the property as Parnell has been over the years.
For now, know that we’ve got at least one more season of Outlander to go … and hopefully more beyond that. Everything is at somewhat of a standstill right now in the TV business for a number of obvious reasons.
How many more seasons do you want for Outlander?
Do you share the same hopes here as Chris? Be sure to share right now in the comments, and also stick around to receive some other news.
Photo: Starz