Why there’s no need to worry about the fate of Outlander just yet

There are many fans worried about the fate of the Outlander TV series. It’s nothing to be concerned about just yet. Let’s just enjoy the current ride we’re on.

I’ve seen a lot of fans, especially in Facebook groups, worried about the fate of the Outlander TV series. Whether it’s opinions of what the actors are doing now, opinions of the TV show writing, or even behind the scenes at STARZ, there are fears that the show will be canceled. There’s nothing to worry about right now.

When Chris Albrecht stepped down as STARZ CEO, there was immediate concern about Outlander. After all, he was the show’s biggest supported, constantly happy with how well the show is performing. If he left, would the next person also be supportive of the show?

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Well, even if Lionsgate wants to push more of its own shows, which is certainly possible, it’s still going to want to keep shows that perform well on the air. Those shows are the ones that will bring the money in for the company, and that means shows like Power, Outlander, and American Gods are pretty safe for the time being. They’re the three highest-rated shows — and Outlander is now the second highest-rated show on the network as American Gods Season 2 didn’t keep the ratings the first season had.

This may change when it comes to Outlander Season 5. We may see the Nielsen ratings drop, but that doesn’t mean much for a show on STARZ. The viewers through the STARZ app are not counted by Nielsen. Like Netflix and Amazon Prime, those figures are used internally only and aren’t available to the public unless the companies choose to release them.

There are high chances that fans watch the series through the app. This could certainly explain why American Gods was renewed for its third season despite its live TV ratings dropping considerably from the second season — although, that’s slightly different as it’s a Prime Original internationally and will get money for production from two sources.

Outlander Season 6, which has been confirmed, likely isn’t going to premiere until 2021 at the earliest. We could be looking at 2022. By that point, the whole TV landscape will likely be different. There will likely be more streaming services, the decisions to keep shows may be made with different factors, and STARZ & Lionsgate may be under a different brand or ownership. We can’t see that far into the future and we have no stones to travel through to find out.

There’s no point even worrying about what’s going to happen in two or three years time. Right now, we should focus on Season 5, knowing that there will be a sixth season. Hopefully, the show will be renewed further and hopefully, that renewal comes early enough to avoid a long Droughtlander. But for now, let’s focus on the moment.

Do you worry about the future of the TV series? Would you keep watching if the show if it was renewed but had long Droughtlanders? How do you watch the series? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Outlander Season 5 is currently in production. Follow Claire and Jamie on Twitter for more updates as we get them.