As we gear up for the final ever episode of Outlander, fans will likely be a mixture of emotions right now – flitting between sadness that the show is ending, anticipation for how the series will close out and adoration for the years that the period drama and its cast have graced our screens.

We’ve known for a while now that Outlander would be finishing up with its eighth and final season but that doesn’t make it any less of a bitter pill to swallow for fans, we’re sure. However, the show isn’t returning for a ninth season and is finished as we know it.

 

Of course, the original show has already spawned one spin-off series, the prequel Outlander: Blood of My Blood which has proven to be quite the success and is set for its season 2 release soon.

 

Why won’t there be an Outlander season 9?

A couple in period clothing stand close together under a wooden shelter in the rain, looking into each other’s eyes with a forest behind them.
Caitríona Balfe and Sam Heughan in Outlander. Amazon/MGM+

There’s no one definitive reason why Outlander is ending with season 8, but it does indeed draw to a close with its eighth season and there won’t be a ninth.

When the news was initially announced, there were plenty of fans who couldn’t understand why one of TV’s most successful period dramas would be drawing to a close – but it just seems like now is the right time to bid farewell to our cast of well-known characters.

When asked why they thought ending Outlander with season 8 was a good idea at a set visit, Outlander showrunner Matthew B Roberts and executive producer Maril Davis actually admitted to Radio Times and other press in unison: “We don’t!”

Davis continued: “I mean, we would’ve gone on. I think there was – or I would say, I would’ve gone on, I don’t want to speak for you. I just think, you’d have to talk to Caitríona [Balfe] and Sam [Heughan], see how they felt but I do think that after 10/12 years of doing this, people probably want to move on and do something else for a change, spread their wings.

“But I mean, I would like to finish out Diana’s books. We don’t have book 10 out yet so I mean, there’s an opportunity to come back, depends on how we leave this season 8.”

As the execs note, series stars Sam Heughan and Caitríona Balfe have devoted much of their careers to leading Outlander, with both of them having led the show for nearly 13 years in total. So, it’s natural that the stars would want to bow out on a high.

While Balfe has starred in films like Ford v Ferrari and Belfast and Heughan has starred in shows like The Couple Next Door and Suspect, the fact remains that no longer having to film Outlander means that the pair will have scope to star in more projects.

Speaking previously to The Irish Star about the show ending, Heughan said: “I think we’re ready to move on. It’s a long time…I think it’s good for change, and it’s good for people to mix things up.

“And it’s been amazing to see people, crew, especially, being stepped up and moving to different roles. So that’s been fantastic.”

Balfe previously told Radio Times about the show ending: “It’s really strange thinking that this time next year or whatever, it’ll be finished and that’ll be it, it’ll be a chapter done in my life. I’m going to definitely struggle with that because it’s been so great. It’ll be sad to say goodbye to it.

“I think, in some ways, I feel like we’ve said as much as we can say with these characters and we’ve sort of brought them to this point in their lives where it feels like it’s the right time to say goodbye to them. I think having season 8 will give us a real opportunity to sort of finish it properly. But at the same time, it’s going be so sad.”

As of now, Diana Gabaldon’s tenth Outlander novel has not been released but it makes sense that it will end on a different note to the TV series, seeing as the show writers didn’t know how the book would end either.

While fans will have the tenth novel to look forward to and TV show spin-off Blood of My Blood, the original series of Outlander is coming to an end as we know it. But with the original series having proven to be such a success, we can assume it certainly won’t be the end of Outlander’s future reach and can likely anticipate further spin-offs and series in the future – we’ll be keeping our fingers crossed!

Outlander season 8 is available to stream on MGM+ in the UK and on Starz in the US every Friday. You can buy Diana Gabaldon’s books on Amazon.

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