‘Outlander’ Author Diana Gabaldon Weighs in on the Possibility of Season 7 Being the Last
Outlander stars Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe are currently in Scotland filming season 7 of the Starz time-traveling drama. The on-screen couple known as Jamie and Claire Fraser are filming a super-sized season with 16 episodes that will cover the end of Diana Gabaldon’s sixth book A Breath of Snow and Ashes. As well as her seventh book, Echo in the Bone.
Is it possible that season 7 will be the end of the TV series? Here’s what the Outlander author and the stars of the hit drama have to say.
Diana Gabaldon weights in on the possibility of ‘Outlander’ Season 7 being the last
Outlander Season 7 is currently being filmed on location in Pollok Park in Glasgow, Scotland, and in the show’s custom-built studio in Cumbernauld. Gabaldon says that she is “amazed and pleased” that the show has run for seven seasons. But admits that she and the showrunners have started talking about potential endings.
“We came to a few conditional conclusions. But we won’t know until we get further down the road,” Gabaldon told The Times.
“If we have a season eight that would be totally great, and if we don’t get a season eight then the seven we have are really good, and we can contrive a reasonable ending if that should be the case. We keep our fingers crossed. It’s rare for a hit series to go that long.”
Both Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan have hinted the end of the TV series could be near
Balfe and Heughan were cast in their roles nearly a decade ago. And both actors have only signed contracts through season 7.
The Belfast star pointed out that the fate of Outlander is not in her hands, and she has no influence on the decision-making. However, she does admit that 10 years is a “nice kind of time frame” to wrap up the series.
“We will have hit the almost 10-year mark by the end of [season 7], which feels like a nice kind of time frame, but we don’t know. Those decisions are far above my pay grade,” Balfe told Vanity Fair.
With the announcement that the Outlander universe will be expanding on Starz via a new spinoff series, Heughan admitted that he could “absolutely see Outlander without me.” But do these comments from the Outlander stars and the author indicate the end could be near? Not necessarily.
The ‘Outlander’ author has hinted the TV series will last 10 seasons
Balfe says that “as long as the scripts remain good” and they “still have new things to explore,” she believes the series will continue. Each season of Outlander has essentially covered the corresponding book in Gabaldon’s literary series, and the author is currently writing the 10th and final book. She has hinted that the Starz series will get a full 10 seasons so they can tell Jamie and Claire’s entire story based on Gabaldon’s completed work.
“I am well ahead of them at the moment, so I don’t think they’re going to catch me up,” Gabaldon said. She’s also declared that they will “never” catch her — like Game of Thrones did with George R. R. Martin — and she will “certainly finish” the final book before they finish the TV series.
Outlander Season 1 through 5 are available on Netflix. Season 6 is now playing on the Starz app.
