There’s a lot on the shoulders of Outlander: Blood of My Blood, especially when it comes to the future of this universe as a whole. If Sassenachs want to see more Outlander spinoffs, they’ll need to make sure they tune in for this prequel series.
Despite being one of the most successful shows on STARZ, it’s taken 10 years for the premium cable network to bring an Outlander spinoff. You would have thought that with the success of the series, STARZ would have wanted to keep the universe going, knowing that there was always going to be an endpoint for Outlander. It suggests that there isn’t the confidence in the universe growing, and that puts a lot of pressure on this prequel series.
STARZ still hasn’t brought us an Outlander spinoff focused on Lord John Grey
Despite many fans asking for it and David Berry being interested in it, STARZ is still not interested in a Lord John Grey series within the Outlander universe. It’s not like there isn’t a book series available, just as ClaireandJamie.com has recently proven with the Outlander Book Club. There are multiple short stories that tell us of things Lord John Grey got up to between Jamie leaving Ardsmuir and going to Jamaica.
Why would STARZ not want to do a spinoff when there’s interest? It would suggest that the network knows there isn’t enough interest in the adaptation. With the high cost of producing period dramas, the network won’t want to risk something that it just doesn’t see success in.
It puts pressure on Outlander: Blood of My Blood
It means that the Outlander prequel focused on the parents of Claire and Jamie has a lot more pressure on it. With Outlander coming to an end with season 8, STARZ will lose the show that has millions of people tuning into on a weekly basis. Yes, the viewership has declined based on the Niesen ratings, but they don’t account for the STARZ subscribers, so it’s a little harder to tell just how much the viewership has declined. Even then, there are still millions watching on a yearly basis, and many rewatch it.
Outlander: Blood of My Blood will be the remaining show, and that’s assuming that it’s renewed for a second season! There’s always a risk that it won’t be, and to help keep the universe alive, fans need to watch the story.
A lot of people do tune in purely for Claire and Jamie, which suggests that they may not bother with the prequel spinoff. That would suggest that another spinoff wouldn’t work, because it wouldn’t include this main love story that has had people engrossed season after season. As we know so much about Brian and Ellen, it makes sense to start the universe growth with Outlander: Blood of My Blood, but I fear that it might end with too much pressure on its shoulders.
Outlander: Blood of My Blood premieres on Friday, Aug. 8 on STARZ.
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