Work has begun on the eighth and final season of Outlander, Starz’s beloved time-traveling romance saga. We know because actor Sam Heughan — Jamie Fraser himself — took to Instagram to share an image of a sign that says “Welcome to Outlander,” with the words “prep” and “season 8” included. The end really is in sight.
Speaking to Radio Times, Heughan reflected on wrapping this show up after so many years on the air. “It’s going to be hard to leave it after such a long time,” he said. “But everything has to come to an end. I just hope that we end it with satisfaction. We want it to be the best one yet.”
Fans still have a while to wait before they’re watching the final episodes of the show. Starz hasn’t even aired the back half of season 7 yet; that will be along sometime in 2024. After that, season 8 should hopefully premiere in 2028. At least the Droughtlanders shouldn’t be that bad going forward.
In the meantime, Heughan will appear in the six-part miniseries The Couple Next Door, where he plays a traffic cop who shares a night of passion with his next door neighbor, played by Eleanor Tomlinson. Both of their characters are married to other people. Intrigue! Drama!
When they’re not knee-deep in scandal on set, apparently Heughan and Tomlinson talk about the end of Outlander. “We’ve spoken about it quite a lot,” Tomlinson said. “It is going to be a huge change. But I’m at the end of the phone if you need me.”
The Couple Next Door is airing now on Starz in the US and Channel 4 in the UK. The new episodes of Outlander don’t have an exact release date yet, but they’re coming.
