Everyone knows that the hit Starz drama, Outlander, is still very capable of bringing fans dramatic reveals and some of TV’s sexiest romantic moments, but the show is nearing its endgame. In January 2023, the historical romantic drama (which is still in Droughtlander mode as of June 2024, until Part 2 of its super-sized Season 7) was announced to be ending with a 10-episode eighth season, leaving dedicated viewers without the book finale that’s still being written by author Diana Gabaldon.
Good news awaited in that sad announcement, however, because we are going to be able to go back even further in time with the prequel spinoff series, Outlander: Blood of My Blood. Though there are absolutely things about the new drama that we don’t know right now, we do have quite a bit of info regarding the first official expansion of the on-screen world. So, let’s get down to the details!
What Is The Outlander: Blood Of My Blood Premiere Date?
This will be your standard good news/bad news situation, with the bad news being that as of early June 2024 no premiere date for Outlander: Blood of My Blood has been announced. The good news? Starz announced early in February of the same year that the spinoff had already begun filming! Plus, the end of the hiatus for Outlander Season 7 Part 2 has been revealed to be November 22, 2024, so my guess is that viewers will at least be way closer to that premiere before we get any update on the release for OBOMB. We might even be forced to wait until after the second set of Outlander episodes is done airing, so it could be quite a while before we have any news on this.
The Outlander: Blood Of My Blood Cast
Seeing as how the upcoming show has been in the midst of principal photography for about four months now, you can bet that several cast members have been assigned roles, with the main players being announced by Deadline in February 2024. The leads, which will consist of Jamie’s and Claire’s parents, as well as Jamie’s powerful grandfather, were revealed then, with news of additional cast members coming along later. Here is who’s playing which character, as we know it right now:
Harriet Slater (Ellen MacKenzie)
Harriet Slater has taken on the role of James Alexander Malcolm MacKenzie Fraser’s mother (whom Claire and Jamie’s daughter, Bree, is said to look a lot like), Ellen MacKenzie. The actress has been seen on Pennyworth and Belgravia: The Next Chapter, and was in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny in 2023.
Jamie Roy (Brian Fraser)
Jamie Roy is set to bring Jamie’s young father, Brian Fraser to life. During Season 1 of Outlander, we saw a couple of flashbacks of Jamie’s father (as portrayed by Andrew Whipp) right before his sudden death, though Ellen has never been on screen before. Roy has starred in the Lifetime movies Burning Little Lies and Your Boyfriend Is Mine, and the UPtv movie, Squeaky Clean Mysteries: Hazardous Duty.
Hermione Corfield (Julia Moriston)
Hermione Corfield is bringing Claire’s mother, Julia Moriston, to the screen for the first time. The actress has been in series such as We Hunt Together, and films like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and xXx: Return of Xander Cage.
Jeremy Irvine (Henry Beauchamp)
Last, but certainly not least, we have Claire’s dad, as actor Jeremy Irvine is portraying Henry Beauchamp. Irvine starred in the series, Treadstone, and has appeared in movies such as The Last Full Measure, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, and War Horse.
Tony Curran (Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat)
Mid-February 2024 saw the news that another character we’d seen briefly on Outlander would appear in his younger years, as Tony Curran will play Jamie’s powerful, scheming and self-interested paternal grandfather, Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat. Curran has been seen recently in the series, Your Honor, along with The Flash, Secret Invasion and Ray Donovan. He’s in movies like Deadwood: The Movie and Underworld: Evolution.
Returning And New Characters
In addition, it was confirmed by Starz toward the end of the same month that we'll definitely be seeing younger versions of some Outlander characters who haven't been around for at least a couple of seasons at this point, if not more.
Viewers will be treated to actor Rory Alexander (Pistol) as a young Murtagh (who will likely still be in love with Jamie's mom, Ellen), Sam Retford (Coronation Street, Ackley Bridge) is portraying Jamie’s uncle, Dougal, Séamus McLean Ross (Payback) appears as Dougal's brother and their future clan leader, Colum, and Conor MacNeil (Industry, The Tourist) is the young Ned, who went on to become the Fraser clan's lawyer and a trusted family advisor.
Even more cast members were announced by the network in April 2024. Fans will also get to see a more youthful version of Jamie’s beloved aunt, Jocasta Cameron, as she’ll be played by Sadhbh Malin (Love, Rosie), as well as Arch Bug (Terence Rae, Black Dog), who’ll be seen as a bodyguard for Clan Grant, Murtagh’s aunt/Ellen’s Castle Leoch maid, Mrs. Fitz (Sally Messham, A Small Light)
As for character’s we haven’t seen on screen before, Jocasta’s sister, Janet MacKenzie, is being portrayed by Ailsa Davidson (Halo), and the 20th century will see Julia’s war department boss Lizbeth played by The Reckoning’s Annabelle Dowler, while Harry Eaton (Eastenders) takes on the role of Henry’s friend/fellow soldier, Private Charlton.
Early April 2024 saw TV Insider announce an additional four cast members and the characters they’ll be playing. The 18th century will also show us Jamie’s paternal grandmother, Davina Porter (Sara Vickers, Watchmen), a housekeeper for Lord Lovat, and Jamie’s maternal grandfather (i.e. dad to Ellen, Dougal and Colum, and laird of the MacKenzie clan), Red Jacob MacKenzie (Peter Mullan, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power).
The outlet also announced the characters and cast members for Malcolm Grant (Jhon Lumsden, Blood, Sex & Royalty), son of the laird of Clan Grant who is a possible suitor for Ellen, and his father, Isaac (Brian McCardie, Rob Roy). Unfortunately, McCardie died suddenly on April 28, and Starz has yet to reveal whether or not he completed filming or if his role will be recast.
The Outlander Prequel Will Focus On Jamie And Claire’s Parents
When the prequel spinoff was first announced, the plan was for the plot to set its sights on the love story between Jamie Fraser’s parents, Ellen MacKenzie and Brian Fraser. However, when the February 2024 casting news was revealed, we found out that the story has been updated to also follow Claire’s parents, Julia Moriston and Henry Beauchamp, in England during World War I. As executive producer and showrunner Matthew B. Roberts told Starz when news of the spinoff first came to light:
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.
As noted in the casting section above, this means that those who watch Outlander will be treated to much younger versions of characters like Dougal MacKenzie and Brian's friend/sorta rival for Ellen’s affections, Murtagh Fitzgibbons Fraser. And I’m always here for more Murtagh!
The Series Will Have 10 Episodes In Season 1
When the prequel was announced, the network also let us know that this historical, dual-time-period story will be given a good amount of time in the first season to set things up, as there will be 10 episodes for everyone to enjoy. Fans of the parent show (as well as any who adore the novels) are sure to know some details about the characters who will be involved here, but the episode count will allow for plenty of time to establish both of the timelines and the characters for any newcomers.
Several seasons of the long-running series that we already know and love have had 13 episodes, so it’s not impossible that, should this new show prove equally popular, a possible second season might shoot for additional episodes. As far as the runtime of each episode goes, my guess is that it will follow Outlander’s path and have each installment at around an hour in length, with the potential for longer episodes that begin the story and close out the season.
Outlander’s Matthew B. Roberts Will Act As Showrunner And Executive Produce
As previously noted, Starz also revealed that Matthew B. Roberts will act as showrunner, while also executive producing Outlander: Blood of My Blood. He just so happens to hold the same gigs on the original series, and helped create the new show with his fellow Outlander executive producers Ronald D. Moore and Maril Davis (both will also executive produce here). Roberts also wrote the upcoming drama.
Author Diana Gabaldon Is Writing A Book About Jamie’s Parents And Will Serve As A Consulting Producer On The Show
It was late in 2022 when Diana Gabaldon, the writer behind the many Outlander novels and several spinoff books and short stories, announced on her website that while working on the tenth and final installment in Claire and Jamie’s adventures, she had also begun work on the story of Brian and Ellen’s courtship and eventual marriage, even sharing an excerpt from her initial writings. Because the author is already well versed in the 18th century time period of her stories (along with, obviously, knowing everything there is to know about her characters), she has officially been announced as a consulting producer on the hotly anticipated prequel.
We don’t know yet if her novel will also focus on Claire’s parents in WWI, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the show added that tale because Gabaldon decided to make their love story part of her book, as well.
We obviously have more to learn about Outlander: Blood of My Blood. Until such a time, you can continue to stream any and all shows like Outlander. Now, if they could only give us a spinoff series about the ever popular Lord John Grey, I think the fandom would absolutely be even happier.
