Everything We Know So Far About Outlander Season 8

Starz’s historical Scottish drama Outlander has been a runaway success. Based on the books by Diana Gabaldon, we begin in 1945 with Claire Randall (Caitríona Balfe), a WWII nurse who is then mysteriously transported back in time to 1743. There, she meets and falls in love with the dashing highland warrior Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) and becomes embroiled in Jacobite risings against the British crown. Having kicked off in 2014, prequel series Blood of My Blood is about to kick off – but we’re still excited to see the end of the main story in Outlander season 8. Here’s everything we know so far about the next instalment.

MORE: Inside The Remote Scottish Filming Locations In Outlander: Blood Of My Blood

Outlander Season 8: Plot, Cast, Release Date & More

Sam Heughan (“Jamie Fraser”) and Caitríona Balfe (“Claire Fraser”) in Outlander Season 7

Starz confirmed Outlander season 8 was definitely happening way back in 2023, with a final 10 episodes following the bumper 16-episode seventh season. Flash forward to summer 2025, and LA Comic Con attendees got the inside scoop: the grand finale will air in early 2026.

‘I think originally season 7 was going to be the end,’ star Sophie Skelton (who plays Brianna Fraser) told C&TH at the end of 2024. ‘I think it’s always good to tap out while you’re ahead and not to milk something, so hopefully we’re ending on a high. Season 7B is great, but season 8 is honestly the best season – so I think it’s good to leave it there.’

Having starred in Outlander since the second season in 2016, reflecting on the journey as a whole, Skelton said she was ‘still processing 10 years of the end of an era’, adding ‘you go through the five stages of grief a little bit when you finish something like this’.

‘It’s such a rare occurrence for TV to go that long, and there’s no manual of how to deal with the end, so I think it was quite a roller coaster of, well, the grief process,’ Skelton said.

Rosa Morris (“Mandy”) and Sophie Skelton (“Brianna Fraser MacKenzie”) in Outlander season 7. (Starz)

What Will Happen In Outlander Season 8?

With season 7 creeping into the events of Outlander’s eighth book, Written in My Own Heart’s Blood (2014), Outlander season 8 will cover the events of Gabaldon’s ninth book, Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone (2021). In that novel, it is 1779 and Jamie and Claire are finally reunited with their daughter Brianna (Sophie Skelton), her husband Roger (Richard Rankin) and their children on Fraser’s Ridge. But, now living in the North Carolina backcountry, the Revolutionary War is creeping to their doorstep.

Meanwhile, Brianna and Roger have their own demons to face, mainly in the form of the villainous Rob Cameron (Chris Fulton) who chased them out of the twentieth century. Their plot in Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone mainly focuses on their worries that more conspiracists will try to track them down, so we expect Outlander season 8 to cover this, too.

‘As ever with Outlander, there will be some reunions, and there are probably going to be some deaths,’ Skelton teases. ‘The heartstrings are going to be a little bit torn… One of the most exciting things about it is that you’ve got so many old and new faces back. It just feels like a really big ensemble, and I think that that’s such a magnificent way to go out. It’s like a big bang.’

Rosa Morris (“Mandy”), Richard Rankin (“Roger MacKenzie”), and Sophie Skelton (“Brianna Fraser MacKenzie”) in Outlander Season 7

Who Stars?

It has been confirmed that Tobias Menzies will not return as Black Jack Randall for Outlander season 8, despite his character briefly appearing in the books. That said, we expect all the following stars to return:

• Caitríona Balfe as Claire Fraser
• Sam Heughan as Jamie Fraser
• Sophie Skelton as Brianna
• Richard Rankin as Roger
• César Domboy as Fergus Fraser
• Lauren Lyle as Marsali Fraser
• John Bell Young as Ian Fraser
• Kristin Atherton as Jenny Murray
• David Berry as Lord John Grey
• Charles Vandervaart as William Ransom
• Izzy Meikle-Small as Rachel Hunter

Sam Heughan (“Jamie Fraser”) in Outlander Season 7

Is There An Outlander Prequel?

At the same time as Outlander season 8 was announced, Starz confirmed an Outlander prequel was in the works, too. Titled Blood Of My Blood, it will tell the story of Jamie’s parents, Ellen MacKenzie and Brian Fraser. The first season will consist of 10 episodes, and it was renewed for a second season in June 2025, ahead of its August premiere, which star Rory Alexander says is ‘very exciting’.

Speaking to C&TH, Alexander, who plays legacy character Murtagh Fitzgibbons Fraser (Jamie’s godfather played by Duncan Lacroix in the original series), describes Blood of My Blood as ‘a little bit fresher, a bit younger, and maybe a bit cooler [than Outlander]. It’s still got the Highlands and the battles and some pretty epic themes – just with a bit more of a current edge.’

‘Outlander: Blood of My Blood is, at its heart, a love story,’ adds Matthew B. Roberts, showrunner and executive producer. ‘It will explore what lengths a person will go to find love in a time when love is considered a luxury, and when marriages are made strategically, often for political or financial gain.

‘The title is a nod to Jamie Fraser’s marriage vow to Claire and there will be several names and faces that Outlander fans will know and recognize,’ Roberts added. ‘Jamie and Claire’s TV story may be coming to an end with season eight, but Diana is continuing on with their literary journey in her wonderful book series and is working diligently on book 10. With Jamie and Claire, and now Brian and Ellen, there is still so much more to come in the Outlander universe, and we cannot wait to continue sharing these stories with our dedicated fans.’

Caitríona Balfe (“Claire Fraser”) and Sam Heughan (“Jamie Fraser”) in Outlander Season 7

WATCH

All episodes of Outlander are streaming now on mgmplus.com