Outlander renewed for season 8, will be final season
The good news, of course, is that Starz has greenlit the Caitriona Balfe – Sam Heughan drama for a season 8. However, they’ve also noted that this will be the final season. It will last for ten episodes, and it at least means we have something more to look forward to after the premiere of season 7 this summer.
In a statement, here is what Kathryn Busby, President, Original Programming for Starz, had to say:
“For nearly a decade ‘Outlander’ has won the hearts of audiences worldwide and we’re pleased to bring Claire and Jamie’s epic love story to a proper conclusion … But before we close this chapter there is plenty of their passionate story to tell over the course of 26 new episodes and even more to explore of this dynamic world and its origin story. We’re thrilled to continue to partner with Matthew, Maril and Ronald and can’t wait to see where their alluring storytelling takes us next.”
The origin story is Outlander: Blood of My Blood, which we will be diving more into a little bit later today. For now, the final season of the flagship show deserves at least some time in the spotlight.
Why end the show here?
The simplest answer that we can offer is that financially, shows get more and more expensive as they go deeper into their runs, and this one (as noted by Busby) has already gone on for almost a decade. It would have been nice for us to have a season for every Diana Gabaldon book in the series, but there are very few premium-cable shows in general that make it past season 8. This is how long we got Game of Thrones, after all!
Our hope is that season 8 will at least give closure to Jamie and Claire’s story in TV form — there may be more to be described in the books, but we tend to think of the two somewhat separately since there are distinctions and differences.
What do you think about Outlander season 8 being the final season at Starz?
Be sure to share right now in the comments! Once you do just that, come back for some other updates.
(Photo: Starz.)