In the midst of another Droughtlander, how do Fraser aficionados entertain ourselves? We revisit the idea of spinoff TV series centered on David Berry’s Lord John Grey.
Here’s a short primer for those unfamiliar with author Diana Gabaldon and her work: Lord John is a British military man who was the governor of Ardsmuir Prison, where Jamie was an inmate in Season 3. The two struck up an improbable friendship in spite of the fact that Grey is a gay man with feelings for the Scot, who doesna feel the same. Since then, John has become one of Jamie’s closest friends and even agreed to raise Jamie’s illegitimate son, William. (Long story.) At the current point in Starz series’ adaptation of the novels, Lord John and Jamie are on the outs after Jamie beat him up for sleeping with Jamie’s wife, Claire. (Much, much longer story — find out more about it here.)
Lord John also is the central character of his own line of novels and novellas, which are set in the same universe as Outlander both before and after John meets the Frasers.
Yes, Starz already has an Outlander spinoff — the prequel Outlander: Blood of My Blood, which tells the story of Jamie and Claire’s parents — coming in August. But all of this means that there’s ample source material for another TV show, starring Berry and chronicling Grey’s exploits in London and beyond. The actor himself told our sister site Deadline that such a series had been in the works at one point, but “ultimately, at the time, it was decided that that wasn’t the right fit, or wasn’t the right thing for them. I was prepared to do it, and I’m still prepared to do it.”
The more we think of it, the more we need this series to come to fruition: Lord John’s story is dramatic, intriguing and inherently sexy (at one point, he says to Jamie, “I tell you, sir — were I to take you to my bed — I could make you scream. And by God, I would do it.” TRY TO TELL US YOU’RE NOT INTERESTED NOW).
Plus, there are plenty of opportunity for familiar faces — a certain redhead, perhaps? — to make an appearance or two.
MYSTERIOUS WAYS
While Outlander is historical fiction with a splash of time-travel, Diana Gabaldon’s Lord John stories wrap historical fiction around mysteries. A potential spinoff television adaptation could be Sherlock-style fun, with a compelling leading man using his sleuthing skills to solve the problems (and often murders) at hand.
LJ CAN GET IT
Lord John is a closeted gay man in both the Outlander series and his own string of stories, but that in no way means he lives like a monk. A standalone series could explore his rather varied tastes in romantic partners…
LJ CAN GET IT (cont’d.)
… including Hanoverian Capt. Stephan Von Namtzen (whom we’ve dream cast here with TURN: Washington’s Spies‘ Ian Kahn…
LJ CAN GET IT (cont’d.)
… or maybe even Sleepy Hollow alum Neil Jackson)…
LJ CAN GET IT (cont’d.)
… and indigenous guide-with-benefits Manoke (whom we wouldn’t mind seeing Dark Winds‘ Kiowa Gordon play).
KILT-Y PLEASURE
Those familiar with Gabaldon’s Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade and The Scottish Prisoner know that John has more run-ins with Jamie during his years as a prisoner than the Starz series has depicted. These range in tone (that scene in the stable, woah) and circumstance (trip to Ireland, anyone?) and offer a fuller picture of the two men’s path to hard-won friendship…
KILT-Y PLEASURE (cont’d.)
… which is a verra good reason for Outlander‘s Sam Heughan to make a guest appearance or two, aye?
THE GANG’S ALL HERE
Speaking of characters who appear in both of Gabaldon’s fiction streams, a Lord John spinoff would give us more time with the deliciously wicked Geillis Duncan, with whom Grey has a very interesting conversation in Lord John and the Plague of Zombies. Meanwhile, Percy Wainwright — the mysterious man whom the Starz series introduced in Season 7 — makes his debut in a Lord John novella and later shows up in the Outlander novels; he’d be another easy crossover character.
THOUGHTS?
