'Outlander' Prequel Series Officially in the Works

The fate of Outlander may be up in the air, but even if Season 7 is the last, fans can be certain of one thing – it won't be the last of the Frasers. As production continues on Outlander Season 7, Starz announced Friday that an Outlander spinoff, titled Outlander: Blood of My Blood, is officially in the works. The confirmation came after news first surfaced in February that a prequel series was being eyed.

The new series, which is currently in development, is set to follow the love story of Jamie Fraser's parents, Ellen MacKenzie and Brian Fraser. Per Starz, the writers' room is underway on the drama, which has Outlander executive producer and showrunner Matthew B. Roberts attached as writer, showrunner, and executive producer. Ronald D. Moore, who developed Outlander for television, will also executive produce along with Maril Davis. Story Mining & Supply Company will also executive produce with Diana Gabaldon serving as a consulting producer. It seems likely that the prequel series will tie into Gabaldon's prequel novel, which she first teased to Town & Country back in February, revealing that she was currently working "the prequel volume, which is the story of Jamie Fraser's parents, Brian and Ellen... That one is actively talking to me."

"Outlander is a riveting show that from season to season has captured the hearts of its fans around the world," Kathryn Busby, President, Original Programming at STARZ, said. "We are excited to peel back the layers of this vibrant world to bring our audience the origin of where it all began. Matthew, Maril and Ronald will continue to bring their excellent vision and creativity to this new iteration, and we can't wait to see what happens next."

News of Outlander: Blood of My Blood comes as Outlander nears its seventh and possibly final season. The hit series initially premiered 2014 and centers around the story of Claire Randall, a married combat nurse from 1945 who is mysteriously swept back in time to 1743. After news broke in March 2021 that Outlander was renewed for Season 7, Gabaldon indicated that the upcoming season could potentially be the last. Speaking to The Times in July, Gabaldon said, "we have had talks with showrunners about potential endings. We came to a few conditional conclusions. But we won't know until we get further down the road," later adding, "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." However, there has been no further word on whether Season 7 will be the final season or if the show will be picked up for Season 8.