Saying Goodbye: Outlander’s Final Season (Part 1 of 3)

Thirteen years ago, in July of 2013, the official announcement was made by the cable network Starz that they had found the actor to play the role of legendary Jamie Fraser from the long-running book franchise Outlander by author Diana Gabaldon.

At that time, I gobbled up any news I could find about the planned small screen adaptation of that beloved series of books not because I was a fan of the franchise or because I was all that familiar with an actor by the name of Sam Heughan (although I had seen him in a few other TV productions) or because I had even read the books – which I hadn’t up until then.

No, it was because of the man behind the production: Ronald D. Moore

As a big fan of Moore’s vast amount of TV work – especially the much-heralded reboot of Battlestar Galactica that had come to an end in March of 2009 – I wanted to be on the forefront of covering his next big project: bringing that worldwide hit franchise to the small screen, something many others had tried and failed to do in the past.

A few months later, a little-known model-turned-actress by the name of Caitriona Balfe was cast – almost at the last minute – as the lead character Claire Beauchamp Randall Fraser. And then the production was – as they say – off to the races. The pilot episode was filmed in Scotland in the fall of 2013 and the subsequent episodes of the debut season continued filming for the remainder of 2013 and season one wrapped on September 24, 2014.

A packed auditorium at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Los Angeles played host to the first Outlander Fan Gathering in January 2014, and I’m proud to say I was one of MANY fans who showed up for that first look at the Ronald D. Moore production, which featured not only Moore himself but also author Diana Gabaldon. This event also featured the first appearance before an audience of lead actors Heughan and Balfe.

If only we all knew then what we know now about the tenure of this show on Starz: Thirteen Years!

RELATED: Outlander

The debut of the pilot episode of Outlander was set to air on Starz on August 9, 2014, but before that big day, a red carpet premiere was held on July 25 at the Spreckels Theatre in San Diego as part of that year’s San Diego Comic Con (SDCC); and featured in that big event were cast members Caitriona Balfe, Sam Heughan, Tobias Menzies (who played the dual role of Frank Randall and nefarious Black Jack Randall), Graham McTavish (who played Dougal McKenize, the brutal uncle of Jamie Fraser) and Lotte Verbeek (who played the presumed witch Geillis Duncan) along with author Gabaldon and series creator Moore.

I was fortunate enough to score a ticket to that premiere and was able to cover some of the red carpet activities along with our amazing videographer Mynda. To say the least, taking part in all the hubbub of that premiere as well as the much anticipated FIRST ever panel for Outlander at SDCC was an experience I will never forget. Sitting in that audience at Spreckels Theatre as the pilot episode aired for the VERY FIRST TIME, I could feel the excitement and anticipation in the air. It was a gasp-worthy event that did not fail to spur the audience to cheer and cry and react “with all the feels.” I recall getting goosebumps during the scene where the women of the town participated in the Samhain festival, performing the traditional Gaelic dance around the stones of Craigh Na Dun in honor of Saint Odhran, a 6th-century monk recognized for his devotion and legendary acts of sacrifice.

Needless to say, that first year covering Outlander was pretty amazing, but getting to witness all the episodes of that show over the course of its eight season run has been a memorable experience to say the least. And, given that the show will air its final two episodes EVER on May 8 and May 15 of this year – it is hard to believe that the show is coming to an end.

Over the course of those years, I attended a number of Outlander events whether it was through SDCC or the Paley Center for Media (Paley Fest to be specific) and providing recaps of every single episode EXCEPT for this final season that has been airing since March 6.

To be honest, I have been dreading the end of the series because it has been such an essential part of my TV viewing over the past 13 years despite the extremely long waits – which became known as Droughtlander – between the new seasons. All of us who are fans of this franchise (books and/or TV series) are really going to miss the time traveling romance of it all, but after 101 episodes (which is the official count of all the episodes once the final two have aired on Starz), we can all say that it has truly been quite an experience: one that we will never forget and one that we can, thankfully relive by binging the show and/or re-reading the books. And, what’s more, Diana Gabaldon is still working on that 10th book so there will still be more story to learn about Jamie and Claire.

Take a trip down memory lane with me as we look back at the very first trailer for the debut season of Outlander, as shown below:

As well as pictures that I took at some of those early Outlander events:

Please join me next week as I plan to provide a short recap of all of the episodes of the 8th and final season of Outlander except for the series finale – which will air on May 15, 2026. I plan on providing an in-depth recep of the series finale too.