Outlander season 5: Don’t expect any filming in America next year

Why doesn’t Outlander film in America? That’s a question that we’ve heard a good bit around the fourth season, which spent its time in Scotland over the course of the past year.

It’s a question that we certainly understand many people having, largely because the story emphasizes so much being in North Carolina. There’s a sentiment that comes with many shows that you need to film in the same location that the story is set so that you can capture things identically. Yet, that often doesn’t happen. There are many shows, whether it be dramas like Dexter, comedies like How I Met Your Mother, or even fantasy shows like The Originals that film for the most part in a separate place from where they are set.

There are a number of different reasons why this happens, and convenience is of course a part of it. Outlander still has scenes that are set in Scotland in season 4 and because of that, it made sense to concentrate production in that area. You already have the crew established there, a familiarity with the people issuing permits, and it is certainly also cost-effective. To film in a new place, there are often so many different things that need to be considered whether it be work permits for the crew you bring over, finding new crew members, getting locations, flying over the cast, and dealing with local governments for a myriad of small issues. There’s a lot of different stuff that you need to take on.

With Outlander, one of the reasons why they’re able to make Scotland work as North Carolina is simply because there are some geographic similarities. They are not identical by any means, but we’ve heard many of the cast and crew talk about how they can make Scotland into a suitable double. Both regions do have a similar amount of greenery and in heading into some more forested areas, Outlander can draw contrast between where they were the first three seasons and where they are now. If the show couldn’t make things work in Scotland, they would probably move elsewhere.

As for why we imagine Outlander will stick around in Scotland for season 5, a lot of that stems from the familiarity that is already there with the location. Also, some of the locations, props, and sets are already built and that saves the series a considerable amount of size and money. While nothing is confirmed as of yet when it comes to season 5 filming locations (production doesn’t start until February!), we don’t see any signs that the series is planning to change their plans in the slightest.

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Related – Check out some more Outlander – Sam Heughan discussion

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