Outlander has its formal network launch tonight. Online previews already indicate it’s a hit show.

Starz, being a premium cable network, has to lure in customers to pay extra for their channel. With Outlander, they’ve done what they have with several of their other hit series such as DaVinci’s Demons, Black Sails, and Spartacus. They have released their first episode online for free in the hopes of addicting fans early to get them to pay for the season.

Their gamble seems to have paid off. As of Thursday night, the series has been viewed over 1 million times and counting. Executive producer Ron Moore of Battlestar Galactica fame spoke about why premium cable, and in particular Starz, was the right choice for the series when we interviewed him at San Diego Comic-Con, “With premium cable there are no commercial breaks, so you can just have a solid hour instead of 40 minutes. Content is free and open. There are no standards and practices to have to deal with. They are willing to trust the audience more. You don’t have to lead them by the hand and over-explain everything. They are going to get it. They are smart. It’s great. I like it creatively. It just gives me a chance to do the best version of the show over and over again instead of having to constantly fight to do that only dumbing things down.”

Each week the Hypable team is going to join up with That’s Normal in a post-show Google Hangout. This week’s chat was prerecorded, but future episodes will be live. Check out what we thought about the first episode and join us for the next Google Hangout after episode 2 airs next Saturday. The time is TBA.

We have a great giveaway the goes along with our first Google Hangout and you can enter below.

Author Diana Gabaldon is incredibly pleased with the outcome. The show has made the covers of both TV Guide and EW this month causing Gabaldon to state, “I think we have arrived.”

The entire cast was blown away by the fan support they received at their Comic-Con debut with over 1,000 fans packing a downtown San Diego venue that had been decked out with with men in kilts, bagpipers, and a replica of the infamous standing stones that are key to the series.

Tune in to Outlander tonight at 9:00 ET/PT on Starz.