Starz’ Outlander, based upon Diana Gabaldon’s time-traveling books, is currently bodice-ripping towards the end of the seventh season. Hopefully, the wait for the eighth and final season (still starring Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan as Claire and Jamie Fraser) won’t lead to another “Droughtlander,” or fans could get rowdy, but there will be distractions to tide viewers over. Those include Sam Heughan’s thriller series that debuts this month, and a potential spin off could still happen with Lord John Grey.
Sooner than a possible John Grey adventure, however, Outlander universe will go back in time again to before Jamie and Claire were born. Let’s talk about what has been unveiled so far about the Blood Of My Blood prequel.
Plot
Diana Gabaldon has been very hands-on with the writing process on this show, and she had a blast. In fact, Gabaldon told Collider how this series was “so much easier than writing novels.” She further explained how Blood Of My Blood isn’t based on an existing book but, rather, “based on the synopsis of the first” book (out of three) that she has material for on Jamie’s parents. For the past few years as well, Gabaldon has been providing slight updates on those books as well as the in-process tenth Outlander novel, but it’s probably safe to assume that Blood Of My Blood will arrive far ahead of those future books.
As a limited prequel series, Blood Of My Blood will run for 10 episodes and will be set in Europe at various ancestral stomping grounds with the following logline: “The series will center on these two parallel love stories set in two different time periods, with Jamie’s parents in the early 18th-century Scottish Highlands and Claire’s parents in WWI England.”
Additionally, TV Line has noted that the casting of Sara Vickers points toward a housekeeper character who takes their name from Davina Porter who voices the Outlander audiobooks. This trivia ties into a source of Jamie’s trepidation:
In a Season 2 episode of the TV adaptation, an ashamed Jamie confesses to Claire that his father was an acknowledged bastard of Lord Lovat; he apologizes for not having the courage to tell her the truth before their wedding.
Vickers’ character will actually be retconned into the story as Jamie’s paternal grandmother who doesn’t appear in the Outlander books but is mentioned in The Outlandish Companion, which sure feels like a full circle moment.
Cast
Starz hasn’t revealed whether we will see flashes of future Jamie and Claire interspersed throughout this prequel series. However, their parents will be portrayed by Hermione Corfield and Jeremy Irvine ^^^ (on the Claire side) along with Harriet Slater and Jamie Roy (on the Jamie side), below.
Rounding out the cast will be Sara Vickers, Jocasta Cameron, Brian McCardie, Terence Rae, Jhon Lumsden, Annabelle Dowler, Peter Mullan, Harry Eaton, Sally Messham, Ailsa Davidson, and Sadhbh Malin.
Release Date
Outlander‘s eighth season wrapped over the fall, and Starz hasn’t revealed that finale season’s release date or whether Blood Of My Blood will air before or after the flagship series concludes.
Trailer
Since no trailer exists yet, this is a wonderful place to watch a trailer for Sam Heughan’s next series, The Couple Next Door. He’s in suburbia, so presumably, no kilts shall be worn: