There are many fans who would love to see Lord John Grey lead an Outlander spin-off series. It’s not like there isn’t enough source material to do it. And yet, Starz and Matt B. Roberts show no signs of bringing one.
Why would that be? I have some thoughts about why it probably isn’t happening. At least, not just yet.
The Lord John Grey books are set within the Outlander timeline
The first problem is the timing of the books. They are all set during the timeline of Outlander, and this could cause some problems for scheduling conflicts.
It would also cause a problem for casting. David Berry certainly seems to be a vampire. He doesn’t age! However, could he pull off the younger version of his character still? It could lead to needing the character to be recast, and that wouldn’t work for fans.
On top of that, there’s the need for a slightly younger Jamie Fraser. Can Sam Heughan still pull off the Jamie that is in Helwater. I think so, but maybe Starz is worried about that.
There isn’t the budget for a Lord John Grey series
It really does come down to budget for TV shows. If there isn’t a budget available, a show won’t be greenlit. We know that the budget for a show like Outlander has to be huge. Period dramas are costly.
So, there is a chance that there isn’t a budget for this show just yet. Maybe there will be once Outlander has come to an end.
It could be that Starz doesn’t think there will be enough of an interest to warrant the budget, though. Not everyone is interested in Lord John Grey’s story. Some people want to see a Frank series, some want to know more about Master Raymond, there are so many other characters with stories to tell.
Starz may want to see how the prequel series goes first. This will then tell the network if there is room for the Outlander universe to grow further.
Nobody has the time for it just yet
Matt B. Roberts is currently working on Outlander: Blood of My Blood as well as the final season of Outlander. Running shows takes a lot of work, and the two shows are likely to double up crew members as much as possible. Why not keep the people who already know the universe?
This leads to issues for schedules for everyone. It’s not just the actors, but everyone else involved. There may just not be the time to bring a good Lord John Grey series just yet.
This doesn’t mean it will never happen. The focus is on the other two shows right now, and rather than bring in a creative team, we may need to wait for Outlander to end for another spin-off series.