Outlander Season 7A coming to Netflix Canada offers hope for U.S. viewers

Something we have been keeping a close eye on is whether Outlander Season 7A will make it to Netflix. Will we have to wait until all 16 episodes of Season 7 air before a Netflix release?

Well, Canadian viewers don’t need to wait. The eight episodes of Outlander Season 7A are coming to Netflix Canada in May.

This offers some hopeful news for those in the U.S. who want to watch the series on Netflix instead of having another subscription service with Starz. However, this doesn’t guarantee the release.

Netflix Canada has always had a different deal for Outlander

One thing we need to remember is that the licensing of shows works differently in each international location. While the majority of Netflix Originals are globally released at the same time, the third-party content that is licensed is location specific.

Netflix Canada has always had a different deal for Outlander compared to the United States. This is due to the content already being licensed up here. When Outlander started, Starz wasn’t in Canada. At first, the series aired on Showcase, but then W Network picked it up for the second season. That has been the linear home since then. It goes to the Global TV App and Stack TV to stream afterward—but it now doesn’t stay there.

The episodes then head to Netflix. This started with the first two seasons. Then from the third season, the show arrived in full on Netflix 11 months after the premiere date on W Network. Yes, the Netflix Canada release is based on the premiere date, whereas the U.S. release is based on the finale date.

It shows that Outlander Season 7A could arrive on Netflix U.S.

While there are different deals, it shows that the show can be released on Netflix in two halves. This offers hope for Netflix U.S. fans. Due to the long wait for Outlander Season 7B, the season could be treated as two separate entities for the licensing deal.

It will depend on the exact wording in the contract with Starz. Keep in mind that Netflix U.S. gets the episodes two years after the finale date. The Outlander Season 7 finale technically hasn’t aired, and it won’t air until likely in January 2025. This suggests that Netflix U.S. will have to wait until 2027, but Starz could make an exception due to the way that the show has been released on the streamer.

Starz will want seasons of the show exclusive to its platform for as long as possible. That was the reason for the two-year wait. There will still been episodes exclusive to Starz if the first half of the season is released on Netflix U.S. There will be the second half of Season 7, which wouldn’t head to Netflix until early 2027. By that point, Season 8 should have been out for some time, and that will stay exclusive likely until 2028.

The Netflix Canada release does show that it is possible U.S. fans will get Season 7A. It doesn’t guarantee it, though.