As one of the most passionately beloved cable series out there at the moment, Starz’s equally romantic and brutal drama Outlander is set to follow up on 2022’s shortened sixth season with its biggest batch of episodes since Season 1. What’s more, it was revealed earlier this year that the network was kicking around ideas for a prequel project based within Outlander‘s historical setting. Now, Starz has given fans something to celebrate by not only confirming the prequel’s in-development existence, but also by dropping some big details about it.
First and foremost, the project now has an official title: Outlander: Blood of My Blood, and don’t go thinking this will open up the time-jaunting series for vampire mayhem. The use in this case refers strictly to family bloodlines, though I can easily imagine more than a little blood will be shed for reasons both blessed (such as childbirth) and malevolent.
Somewhat similar to the upcoming Winchesters prequel for The CW’s longtime hit Supernatural, Outlander: Blood of My Blood will “follow the love story of Jamie Fraser’s parents,” per Starz’s announcement. Just in case anyone wondered where Sam Heughan’s character learned to be so damned smooth, this show aims to prove that the sexy apple didn’t fall far from the sexy tree. Or possibly something far more poetic and insightful than sexy trees.
The network confirmed that the writers’ room is currently in session for the new prequel project, which will have Outlander multi-hyphenate Matthew B. Roberts as head writer and showrunner, as well as an executive producer. Roberts has been a writer and EP on Outlander since its earliest days, is the current showrunner for the flagship series, and has also served as director for one episode, and second-unit director across several more. The book series’ author, Diana Gabaldon, will be involved behind the scenes as a consulting producer, while Outlander‘s TV developer Ronald D. Moore will be executive producing the new series.
Here’s what Starz’s President of Original Programming, Kathryn Busby, had to say about the new show:
Outlander is a riveting show that from season to season has captured the hearts of its fans around the world. 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.
Outlander Season 7 has added some new cast members as it plows forward far ahead of its eventual release. While waiting to hear more news about who might be portraying Jamie’s parents, check out a bunch of other shows that will likely quench the Outlander thirst, and head to our 2022 TV premiere schedule to see what else is hitting the small screen this year.