The clan is gathering…after two months since casting Sam Heughan as the male lead of the series, Starz has finally found their lead actress in Caitriona Balfe (Now You See Me).

The Outlander series is narrated primarily by Claire Beauchamp Randall (Balfe), a 27-year old English ex-combat nurse of WWII, who unintentionally time travels to 1743. After living under the roof of the MacKenzie clan for a couple months Claire is forced to marry a young Highlander, Jamie Fraser (Heughan). Though she still plans to return to her own time, abandoning her new husband, Claire soon realizes that she might not want to leave.

Filming will begin this month in Scotland. A team of writers has been assembled led by Ronald D. Moore (Battlestar Galactica) who is very passionate about the project. “At its heart, Outlander is the story of two people — Claire and Jamie — their loves and losses, their adventures and tragedies, and now we finally have them both,” Moore said, after announcing the casting of Claire. He went on to explain the difficulties during the casting process and why it took so long to find Claire. “The role is so crucial to the success of our show…so it was vital that we find exactly the right actor to play her.”

It’s comforting to know that the production team took their time finding the perfect cast members for the show. These characters have been loved dearly by fans since the first book was published in 1991.

Outlander fans quickly fell in love with the young Scottish actor who will be playing Jamie. And so far fans seem to be very happy with Balfe. I’m sure there will be those who complain, as there always are; I myself noticed right away that Balfe’s eyes are not the color of whiskey, which is how Claire’s eyes are described on multiple occasions.

But I think it’s safe to say that Outlander is in very good hands with Starz when the author of the series, Diana Gabaldon, praises the actors chosen to play her beloved characters. After seeing the audition footage, Gabaldon said:

“Hard to believe lightning can strike twice, but it surely did. The moment Caitriona Balfe came on screen, I sat up straight and said, ‘There she is!’ She and Sam Heughan absolutely lit up the screen with fireworks.”

I can’t help but get excited when I read things like this. Starz is making a great start in what can only be a fantastic show. The production team seems to be giving it their all and paying close attention to detail and taking care to bring the soul of the story to life.

Balfe and Heughan are joined by Tobias Menzies (Frank Randall/Jonathan “Black Jack” Randall), Graham McTavish (Dougal MacKenzie), Gary Lewis (Colum MacKenzie), Duncan Lacroix (Murtagh Fitzgibbons Fraser), Annette Badland (Mrs. Fitzgibbons) and Stephen Walters (Angus Mhor).