Breaking down a potential Outlander Season 4 premiere date
We know Outlander Season 4 will premiere in November 2018 but there isn’t a date yet. Here’s a look at the main contenders for a premiere date.
When Starz announced Outlander Season 4 would premiere in November 2018, fans were understandably a little disappointed. Sure, that announcement came with two seasons being picked up, but it’s two months later than we all hoped and wanted. It’s two extra months of Droughtlander to fill.
However, now it’s time to move on. At least we’re getting the season this year and Droughtlander is still shorter than the last one. With the premiere month, it’s time to work out a potential Outlander Season 4 premiere date.
Assuming Outlander will air Sundays
More from Opinion
- Droughtlander suggestions: Check out Silo on Apple TV+
- Outlander season 7 episode 8 review: The Frasers are back in Scotland!
- Outlander Season 7 episode 7 review: Does Jamie die in Outlander?
- Outlander Season 7 episode 6 review: Claire meets William (again)!
- Outlander Season 7 episode 5 review: Does Young Ian have a son?
We’re assuming for this that Outlander will stick with Sunday nights. There’s not really a reason to switch from this night. Sundays have been good for many shows. Counterpart enjoyed Outlander’s spot and now new shows Sweetbitter and Vida are taking over that slot with their half-hour dramas.
Power will also take over that Sunday slot when it returns for Season 5. It’s a good night and it did very well for Outlander Season 3–the audience grow by around 45%.
So to break down the potential Outlander Season 4 premiere date, we’re assuming Sundays will be the date for the new season.
Earlier in November is better
There are four Sundays in November:
- November 4
- November 11
- November 18
- November 25
The best of those four dates is the first Sunday! And that’s not just because we want it as soon as possible.
We couldna wait to tell you any longer. #Outlander will return to #STARZ for Season 4 this November AND for Seasons 5 and 6! https://t.co/GEqYWkh3e3 pic.twitter.com/U0ojNQrkcb
— Outlander (@Outlander_STARZ) May 9, 2018
Let’s start with the fact that November 5 is Bonfire Night. This is a night in the UK that involves a lot of bonfires and fireworks in celebration of a failed gunpowder plot centuries ago. While it doesn’t hold the same significance and most of the rest of the world has no idea about it, it would just be fun to have the premiere of a show about a Scottish highlander and an English nurse as close to this day as possible.
But Starz won’t likely care about any British holiday. The focus will be on the American ones and there’s a significant day in November: Veteran’s day. This takes place on November 11, so that pretty much rules that Sunday out as a good one to premiere. It can still be a date with a new episode, just no the premiere.
November 25 is also the Sunday after Thanksgiving. There’s going to be a lot of recovering that weekend and this weekend isn’t usually a good one to air the Outlander Season 4 premiere episode. Again, it’s okay for a new episode but not the premiere. However, the network could consider a break over Thanksgiving weekend.
As for November 18, this would be a bad choice for timing, especially if a break over Thanksgiving weekend does take place.
https://twitter.com/Outlander_STARZ/status/994301911787606016
Christmas break needs to be considered
Unlike Outlander Season 3, Starz will need to consider Christmas break this season. This is usually two weeks long, so we’ll go with that time frame for this current breakdown of potential episodes. We’re taking out December 23 and December 30 as dates for new episodes.
With a November 18 start date, we’d get five episodes of Outlander Season 5. This does make the date a potential option since Outlander Season 3 took a break after Episode 5, but that was for two reasons: the next episode had the anticipated print shop scene and the break allowed the longer episode to run into The Walking Dead Season 8 premiere’s timeslot.
November 4 as a premiere date allows seven out of 13 episodes to air. This is a little more balanced and would likely be the point two certain characters meet–after all, the filming of this was a little later than expected.
Next: When will Outlander Season 5 premiere?
With all this in mind, November 4 seems like a more likely date. But considering the way all networks have been making decisions lately, it wouldn’t be surprising if Starz decided to show all with its Outlander Season 4 premiere date.
When do you think the Outlander Season 4 premiere date will be? What date would you prefer it to fall on? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Like Claire and Jamie on Facebook for more Outlander news when we get it.