In late April, Caitriona Balfe told Glamour that filming on the new season has “been really good. We’re almost finished with the first block of episodes, but it’s been really fun.”
How many episodes are in season 7?
Much more than season six, that we know for sure. Starz P.R. confirmed with Glamour that it will be a whopping 16 episodes. It’s the biggest since season one (also 16 episodes), but even that was split into two parts that aired over 2014-2015.
Which book is the new season based on?
Season seven will be based on the seventh (out of nine) book in the Outlander series, An Echo in the Bone. In case you haven’t read the books—and the series does deviate a bit from them—I won’t reveal what happens, but you can read more about that here if you wish to do so.
What about new cast members?
Caitriona Balfe, Sam Heughan, Sophie Skelton, and Richard Rankin will all be back.
On October 11, 2022, Starz announced some big casting news: “Loyal fans will recognize Graham McTavish reprising his role as “Dougal MacKenzie,” Jamie’s uncle whom he killed just before the battle of Culloden; Nell Hudson as “Laoghaire Fraser,” Jamie’s ex-wife and Marsali’s mother; Steven Cree as “Old Ian Murray,” Young Ian’s father and Jamie’s brother-in-law; Andrew Whipp as “Brian Fraser,” Jamie’s father; Layla Burns as “Joan MacKimmie,” Marsali’s sister and Jamie’s stepdaughter; and Lotte Verbeek as “Geillis Duncan,” Claire’s former friend-turned-enemy and a fellow time traveler from the 1960s.
Several new actors will be joining the cast for season seven, including Gloria Obianyo as “Mercy Woodcock,” a free Black woman navigating the hardships of life in Colonial America; Rod Hallett as “Benedict Arnold,” the notorious Revolutionary soldier turned traitor; Chris Fulton as “Rob Cameron,” a new acquaintance of Roger and Brianna; Diarmaid Murtagh as “Buck MacKenzie,” the illegitimate son of Dougal MacKenzie and Geillis Duncan, and Roger’s ancestor, a role previously played by Graham McTavish in season five, and Kristin Atherton as “Jenny Murray,” Jamie’s sister and Young Ian’s mother, a role originated by Laura Donnelly in seasons one through three.”
On May 5, Starz announced Charles Vandervaart will star as Jamie Fraser’s son, William Ransom. He is the secret son of Jamie (though Jamie of course knows) and has been raised by his stepfather, Lord John Grey (David Berry), who last made an appearance in season six. William is the ninth Earl of Ellesmere; per the press release, he “will arrive in Wilmington full of patriotic zeal and enthusiasm to join the British Army and help put an end to the escalating tensions in the American Colonies. As fans may remember from season three, William is actually the biological son of Jamie Fraser, though he does not know the truth of his parentage. On the surface, William Ransom is a courteous aristocrat, but simmering under the surface is a Highlander’s fire.”
