The love story between Claire (Caitríona Balfe) and Jamie (Sam Heughan) in STARZ’s epic series, Outlander, is as passionate, exciting, and harrowing as any epic love story ever told before. Having survived wars, sexual assaults, separations, and the death of loved ones, the couple have found a way to remain together despite all this as the flagship series heads towards its eighth and final season. The franchise is set to expand with the highly anticipated prequel series, Outlander: Blood of My Blood, which will officially arrive on Friday, August 8. The spin-off will introduce not one, but two epic romances for audiences to sink their teeth into. So the question arises: How will the romances compare to the epic love story of Jamie and Claire?
Executive producer Maril Davis has an answer. They’re comparable. “We weren’t in Scotland as much as we’d like towards the end [of Outlander],” she says. “Coming back to this, the darker stone of Castle Leoch, getting back to our origins and our roots is so exciting.” In terms of the actual love stories, audiences can prepare themselves for thrilling ride. “We are going to [show] not only one great love affair, but two great love affairs and how those parallel love stories intertwine and show us how we got to Jamie (Sam Heughan) and Claire (Caitriona Balfe),” she adds. “And along the way we’re going to see the family dynamics of three different clans and see an amazing rollicking adventure.”
Prequel series creator and original Outlander showrunner and executive producer, Matthew B. Roberts, in a separate part of the interview, explores the thought process behind crafting the series. “When I first thought about doing the prequel, my initial thought was just Jamie’s parents, Ellen and Brian, because there’s the thread in the book,” Roberts explains. “As I started to work it out, there wasn’t a lot of story there. I thought, ‘Well, we’ll need to tell both stories to give this legs for a series that could be ongoing.'” The flagship series, Outlander, and its prequel, are both based on author Diana Gabaldon’s writings. Davis goes on to explain that, given that the author wrote so little about Claire’s parents, it opened up the world.
“We’ve talked so long about how Outlander is the story of Jamie and Claire. It does feel like you’re missing a big piece of the puzzle if you’re not telling her parents’ story as well and showing both sides of the coin.”
‘Outlander: Blood of My Blood’ Returns Bonnie Scotland To the Fore
Setting aside the love story of Jamie and Claire, Outlander also holds great appeal with the many locations audiences get to visit. From the New World to France and Bonnie Scotland, there were many locations to aesthetically please. None more so than Scotland though. From Craigh na Dun to Castle Leoch to Lallybroch, the Scottish Highlands unveiled many gems. Series creator Roberts reveals that in Outlander: Blood of My Blood, Scotland returns to the fore.
“There was a little saying we had that Scotland should be number one on the call sheet. We should always make sure she is in every scene and you feel her. We try to show the beauty, how it gets into your blood and is in the blood of the characters. There’s probably a few double entendres with Blood of My Blood. It’s not just the characters; it’s also what Scotland does to you.”
Mark your calendars for the debut episode of Outlander: Blood of My Blood on Friday, August 8.