Get ready for another long season of Outlander. While announcing Season 6 would be the shortest season to date, STARZ confirmed that Outlander Season 7 will be longer than initially planned.
The bad news on World Outlander Day was that Season 6’s episode count was reduced from 12 to eight. There are a few reasons for this, mostly the pandemic. It’s caused problems for filming, so production decided to make a few changes, including reducing the episode count.
Those four episodes aren’t just going to disappear, though. Outlander Season 7 is extended from 12 episodes to 16.
According to Entertainment Weekly, filming will begin next year. That does mean there will be another long Droughtlander coming up, but hopefully nothing like this Droughtlander!
Outlander Season 7 matches Season 1
There has only been one season before Outlander Season 7 to get 16 episodes. The first season got the longer season order, with the season cut in half. Poor Jamie had to hang in a windowsill with an empty pistol for six months.
It is possible that Season 7 will see something similar happen. We could end up with eight episodes and then a break for the next eight episodes. This will allow the show keep Droughtlander to a minimum, especially with filming not happening until sometime next year when things start to turn a little more normal.
Will Season 7 be the last?
There are concerns that this extended season means something bad for the show. It sounds like it could be the final season of the series.
It’s important to note that the speculation that it’s the end is just that: speculation. The showrunners have never said that they’re ending with seven seasons. That’s just all that they’ve been greenlit for by STARZ so far.
However, it’s certainly possible that the show could find a way to wrap things up with the seventh season. While it wouldn’t be the book’s ending, it’s possible that they’ll work with Diana Gabaldon to wrap the story because there’s a risk of getting ahead of the books. Gabaldon has always stated that isn’t possible, but Book 9 is only just coming out so there could be a chance, and the show probably won’t want to do a Game of Thrones!