Outlander – Emmy campaign video: Show execs talk writing process

We are very much within the heart of Emmy campaign season at the moment, and that means some new Outlander content is emerging! The fine folks at Sony are doing everything within their power to promote the show, and that includes the video below featuring executive producers Matthew B. Roberts and Toni Graphia.

Roberts and Graphia are in many ways the architects for the show — they figure out a way to take the words of Diana Gabaldon and portray them on the screen. The struggle, as they explain in this video, is a difficult balancing act. They have to find a way in which to appeal to the book audience, while also telling a story that non-readers are going to appreciate and understand. That’s no easy task.

Writing a show like this is truly a collaborative process, and that’s something that Roberts and Graphia both echo. They realize that it’s not so much about one person standing in the limelight; instead, it’s about finding the best ideas and getting them into the script. The two also discuss here what the actual process is like writing a script, from the breaking process to the outline to the writing process to receiving notes and editing. Given that there are multiple writers for the show, everything needs to be broken down in structured in a way that everyone can be on the same page constantly. It’s structured creativity and it can be greatly satisfying. A big part of what makes Outlander so fantastic, after all, comes via the writing. You see that in episodes like “Freedom & Whisky,” “A. Malcolm,” and “First Wife.”

It would be lovely to see the series’ writers recognized in some form at the Emmys this year, though like with many other categories, the competition is heated. There is immense competition out there from series like The Crown, Westworld, The Handmaid’s Tale, and The Americans — Game of Thrones may have relied more on action this past season than others, but we wouldn’t be surprised if the series ended up getting a writing nomination again anyway.

Related – See more recent Emmy campaigning via Caitriona Balfe

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