'Outlander' executive producer keeps the door open on future of series after Season 8: 'I would like to...'
'Outlander' is now officially in the endgame as the iconic and long-running time-traveling Starz classic gears up for its final season. Claire (Caitríona Balfe) and Jamie (Sam Heughan) return for one 'epic conclusion' of the series as they return to Fraser’s Ridge after the Revolutionary War.
Times have changed, and they encounter new developments in their community upon their return. Developed by Ronald D. Moore, the fantasy TV series based on Diana Gabaldon's book of the same name drops its final installment on Friday, 12 a.m. ET. Season 8 of 'Outlander' is based on Gabaldon’s ninth book in the series, 'Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone' (2021), and because the author consults on the series, there is a possibility that the new season may include some storylines from the unreleased 10th book, 'A Blessing for a Warrior Going Out'.
Earlier, Outlander's executive producer Maril Davis spoke to RadioTimes about the final instalment. "I mean, we would’ve gone on. I think there was – or I would say, I would’ve gone on, I don’t want to speak for you," Davis said. "I just think, you’d have to talk to Caitríona [Balfe] and Sam [Heughan], see how they felt, but I do think that after 10/12 years of doing this, people probably want to move on and do something else for a change, spread their wings. But I mean, I would like to finish out Diana’s books. We don’t have book 10 out yet, so I mean, there’s an opportunity to come back, depends on how we leave this season 8."
Season 7 ended with Claire looking for Frances (Florrie May Wilkinson) and finding her singing 'I Do Like To be Beside the Seaside'. The latter had left Claire disturbed by showing a pendant given to her by her mother, engraved with her name, 'Faith', the same as Claire's dead daughter. When she asks Frances about the song, which was written in 1907, she replies, saying her mother, Faith, used to sing it to her. The scene closes with Claire's final thoughts about wanting to tell Jamie that she believes their daughter may be alive.
The official logline reads, "As Season 8 begins, Jamie and Claire soon find the war has followed them home to Fraser’s Ridge, now a thriving settlement that has grown and flourished in their absence. With new arrivals and changes made during their years away, the Frasers are confronted with the question of what they are willing to sacrifice for the place they call home and, more importantly, what they would sacrifice to stay together. While the Frasers keep a united front against outside intruders, family secrets finally coming to light threaten to tear them apart from the inside. Although they’ve left the war for America’s freedom behind, their fight for Fraser’s Ridge has only just begun."
The final season stars Caitríona Balfe as Claire Fraser, Sam Heughan as Jamie Fraser, Sophie Skelton as Brianna MacKenzie, Richard Rankin as Roger MacKenzie, John Bell as Young Ian Murray, David Berry as Lord John Grey, Charles Vandervaart as William, and Ransom Izzy Meikle-Small as Rachel Murray.
