As Outlander fans wait patiently for the final season of the series, there was some question about the premiere date. On Friday, Nov. 7, Deadline and then others shared the premiere date for the season, but it wasn’t clear where that premiere date came from.
After all, STARZ hadn’t officially released the date at the time, but somehow, publications had got their hands on the key art with the premiere date. So, it looked like — once again — it was an accidental leak from someone in marketing.
By Monday, Nov. 10, the premiere date was confirmed. Outlander season 8 is officially premiering on Friday, March 6 on STARZ.
How accidental are these Outlander leaks?
This isn’t the first time the release date for a season has been released earlier than it should. There was a promotional trailer just ahead of the release of the Outlander season 4 premiere that included the premiere date. Then there have been statements from various actors, including Sam Heughan, about when the show would come back.
Droughtlander is hard, and Sassenachs will take what they can get when it comes to news. The problem is there are plenty of times the rumors are just started by overzealous fans, so it’s hard to know when we can get excited.
Yet, the release dates with images have ended up being right. It begs the question whether the releases have been all that accidental, or if they’ve been planned with the content pulled quickly just to start a discussion. After all, everyone knows that there is someone who will have got a screen grab of a video with a release date!
It seems odd that time and time again, Outlander is plagued with these leaks, but other STARZ shows aren’t. And it would make sense to want to create a buzz.
Droughtlanders are long
Because of how long Droughtlanders can be, it makes sense for a network to want to create buzz around it. With a leak, there is suddenly a lot more chatter and speculation about Outlander, and that puts the show back on the radar of fans.
It makes sense when you consider how easy it is for people to forget their favorite show is coming back. It’s happened multiple times, leading to a show being swiftly canceled because the audience didn’t return, and it’s a huge problem with the streaming era of shows.
What doesn’t make sense is doing it with the final season, as the show is already coming to an end. However, STARZ will want Outlander to go out with a bang, especially with the creation of Outlander: Blood of My Blood.
Leaks or mistakes are a great way to get people talking. Just look at how easy it is for people to start sharing a sign that is put upside down, or how much people will share when there’s a mistake in the wording. While this buzz seems like it could hurt a business at first, it also gets the business’s name in the minds of people, creating just the interest that’s needed, and maybe, that’s what has been happening with Outlander all along.
Outlander season 8 will premiere on Friday, March 6 on STARZ.
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