Outlander fans are going to be in Droughtlander longer than they thought. The season 3 air date is now set for fall 2017.
Although many Outlander fans were hoping the series would return to Starz this spring, today Starz and Sony announced that the wait will be longer than many fans initially hoped.
According to Starz, “The third season will include 13 episodes based upon Voyager, the third of eight books in Diana Gabaldon’s international best-selling Outlander series. In March, production and filming on the current season moves from its home base in Scotland to Cape Town, South Africa, to shoot pivotal sea voyage scenes on the former sets of the STARZ original series Black Sails. Production on the season began in September 2016 and will wrap in June 2017.”
.@SamHeughan & @caitrionambalfe are off to South Africa to continue production on Season 3! #Outlander will return to @STARZ this September. pic.twitter.com/3WcwVTSWQN
— Outlander (@Outlander_STARZ) February 15, 2017
Fans who are attending San Diego’s Comic-Con this summer have been offered a morsel of good news. According to Starz, “Outlander will attend San Diego Comic Con again this summer, offering fans a chance to experience more of this beloved series in person.” Last year, Outlander was not at Comic-Con having aired season 2 prior to the convention beginning.
Related: Don’t miss our Outlander season 3 casting guide.
Essentially the delay comes down to maintaining the production value of the series. After last season’s 18th century Parisan extravaganza, the production value bar has been set pretty high. This is echoed by Steve Kent, Senior Executive Vice President, Programming, Sony Pictures Television who stated, “With the scope of the production and all of the intricate details that go into the Emmy nominated sets and costumes, we had to make sure everything is kept to the high standard of the previous seasons and Diana Gabaldon’s beautiful story. We’re so proud of the incredible work that Ron and the Outlander team have done.”
Fans at this point are just going to have to take solace in the words of Carmi Zlotnik, President of Programming for Starz who said, “While ‘Droughtlander’ will last just a little longer, we feel it is important to allow the production the time and number of episodes needed to tell the story of the Voyager book in its entirety. The scale of this book is immense, and we owe the fans the very best show. Returning in September will make that possible.”