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By Billie Schwab Dunn
Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter
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As the premiere of Outlander Season 7 is only days away, fans of the hit show are starting to wonder when the popular series will end.
Outlander first began airing in 2014, based on the historical fantasy novels by author Diana Gabaldon. The show follows Claire Randall (Caitríona Balfe) after she is transported back in time from 1945 to 1743 Scotland, where she meets and falls in love with Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan).
The first half of Season 7, released over a year ago, ended with Claire, Jamie, and Young Ian (John Bell) returning to their beloved Scotland. Season 7, Part 2 starts airing on Starz on November 22—and there is a lot of drama in store. "It's such an emotional roller coaster," executive producer Maril Davis says of the season's second half during an October 17 panel discussion at New York Comic Con. "Death, loss, redemption... everything is in the second half."
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While Outlander is fast approaching its conclusion, there's no need for fans to be too upset just yet, as Season 8 will be the series' final chapter. Here is everything you need to know about the final season, as well as the future of the franchise.
Newsweek emailed Starz for comment on Wednesday outside of normal business hours.
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What Happens in 'Outlander' Season 7, Part 2?
The story will continue where Part 1 left off, with Jamie, Claire, and Young Ian sailing back to Scotland. However, pleasant homecomings in Outlander are fleeting, and the Frasers will be wrenched apart once more when Lord John Grey's nephew is injured in the American Revolution. Jamie and Claire's marriage will be tested like never before as they face the perils of the armed conflict.
Meanwhile, Roger (Richard Rankin) and Brianna (Sophie Skelton) are separated across time as Roger goes after their son Jemmy through the stones. Viewers will also see favorites Geillis Duncan (Lotte Verbeek) and Dougal MacKenzie (Graham McTavish) return for the season's second half, which comprises eight episodes.
Executive producer Davis said at New York Comic Con in October that Episode 11 may be the most talked about, adding: "Bring your whiskey, your tissues, it's pretty intense."
Who Is in 'Outlander' Season 8 Cast?
Balfe and Heughan will reprise their roles as Claire and Jamie Fraser in the final season. Bell will also return as Young Ian. Others returning in Season 8 are Lauren Lyle as Marsali, César Domboy playing Fergus Fraser, Skelton as Brianna and Rankin as Roger Mackenzie.
New cast members include Kieran Bew playing Captain Charles Cunningham, a retired British soldier, Frances Tomelty as Elspeth Cunningham, Captain Charles Cunningham's mother and Carla Woodcock for the role of Amaranthus Grey, a new member of the Grey family.
Filming for Season 8 wrapped in late September 2024 in Scotland and is expected to premiere in 2025 or 2026. An exact date has not been announced.
How Will Season 8 End?
The season will begin with Claire, Jamie, and Young Ian returning to Scotland for the first time since Season 3. They will confront the trials of the Revolutionary War, having to choose between fighting for the land they have called home and sticking by their loved ones.
The show's eighth season will have 10 episodes in total, which will bring the story to a close following its 16-episode seventh season. Claire and Jamie's story will reach its natural conclusion in its final episodes.
As Gabaldon has only published nine out of a planned 10 volumes, with the last book still being written, the showrunners created their own ending for Claire and Jamie in the season finale. To avoid spoilers, the plot for the final season is being kept under wraps.
Is 'Outlander' Season 8 the Last Chapter?
Season 8 will be Outlander's final installment, with production for the eighth and final season beginning in March 2024 and ending on September 27, 2024. The showrunners discussed the show's conclusion with Gabaldon beforehand.
"We are ending [the show] the way we are, we just wanted to be respectful of not ending it the way maybe the way she [Gabaldon] would," Davis said.
So what did Gabaldon think about it? "It was interesting... I was not upset by it," she said. "It was not something I wrote, so I'm very objective about it. It was well done, I think it will work very nicely."
In a statement, Kathryn Busby, president of original programming for Starz, said: "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."
Stars Say Farewell to Their Characters
After they concluded filming, Balfe and Heughan took to Instagram to share emotional farewells to their characters.
Balfe shared a carousel of various photos from throughout the show's run, thanking author Gabaldon, showrunner Ronald D. Moore, and the cast and crew.
"How to capture a life ....?" she wrote in the caption. "Claire changed my life. This show changed my life. It's impossible to put into words but the simplest thing to say to you all ... THANK YOU."
Heughan also shared a farewell post to the platform, posting a variety of behind-the-scenes photos and writing: "Hard to say goodbye to this character... our crew, that have become our family, our friends. That's a wrap on pick ups, reshoots and the final drive home with @daviehollywood. Thank you to everyone that made @outlander_starz possible, @diana_gabaldon and to the fans."
He finished his post with the quote from the show: "Nothing is lost Sassenach, only changed."
'Outlander' Prequel
While Outlander fans might be sad to know the show is coming to its conclusion, it is actually not going to be the end, as Starz has greenlit a prequel titled Blood of My Blood.
The new show will focus on the love story between Jamie's parents, Ellen MacKenzie and Brian Fraser, and as such it will also feature a number of characters that fans of the original will recognize.
Matthew B. Roberts will act as writer, showrunner and executive producer on the show, and its first season has been given a 10-episode order, with Gabaldon returning as a consulting producer on the show.
In a statement, Roberts said: "Outlander: Blood of My Blood is, at its heart, a love story. It will explore what lengths a person will go to find love in a time when love is considered a luxury, and when marriages are made strategically, often for political or financial gain.
"The title is a nod to Jamie Fraser's marriage vow to Claire and there will be several names and faces that Outlander fans will know and recognize."
He added: "Jamie and Claire's TV story may be coming to an end with Season 8, but Diana is continuing on with their literary journey in her wonderful book series and is working diligently on Book 10.
"With Jamie and Claire, and now Brian and Ellen, there is still so much more to come in the Outlander universe, and we cannot wait to continue sharing these stories with our dedicated fans."
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