SHOWRUNNER EXCLUSIVE
Stoned Love
Producer Matthew B Roberts explains how Outlander’s penultimate season sets up the show’s finale
WORDS: TARA BENNETT
“Lallybroch!” “Bless you.” “No, it’s the – oh, YOU.”
A LITTLE OVER A decade ago, when executive producer Ronald D Moore (Battlestar Galactica) was given permission by author Diana Gabaldon to adapt her beloved historical/sci-fi Outlander books into a streaming series, there was no cause to worry about endings.
At the time, much like George RR Martin with his fantasy series A Song Of Ice And Fire, Gabaldon had written seven novels and many short stories detailing the epic life of Second World War nurse Claire Randall, who touches a standing stone and is sent to 1743 Scotland, where she meets Highlander Jamie Fraser. There was more than enough story!
The television series, starring Caitríona Balfe as Claire and Sam Heughan as Jamie, has also become a global hit. And with the release of “Part II” of season seven this month, and Starz’s commission for an eighth and final season, the show catches up to Gabaldon’s ninth of 10 intended Outlander novels.