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Claire and Jamie Fraser took their time getting back to Scotland, but when their journey picks back up in November, Outlander fans will be rewarded for the long wait. Ahead of the release of Outlander season 7 part 2, the cast and producers joined yours truly for a live Q&A panel at New York Comic Con, during which Caitriona Balfe (Claire Fraser), Sam Heughan (Jamie Fraser), Sophie Skelton (Brianna MacKenzie), Richard Rankin (Roger MacKenzie), John Bell (Young Ian), Outlander author Diana Gabaldon, and executive producer Maril Davis discussed what fans can expect from part 2—and what to anticipate in season 8. Ahead, let’s get into a quick overview of what the future holds for the Frasers.
When does Outlander season 7 part 2 come out?
Season 7 part 2 will air its first episode (out of eight) on Friday, November 22, at 8 P.M. EST on Starz, with a new episode dropping in the same slot each subsequent week through Jan. 10, 2025.
Those who’d prefer to stream the next chapter can watch on the Starz app, where episodes will drop at midnight EST each Friday.
Why was there such a significant gap between season 7 parts 1 and 2?
The last we saw of Claire, Jamie, and Co. was in August of 2023, well over a year before part 2 would debut. Fans weren’t exactly thrilled about the mid-season Droughtlander, though Davis told Hello! in April 2024 that the choice was “a Starz decision, and they obviously have their reasons for doing it.” She continued, “We just go in and we do what we’re told…We certainly built [season 7] assuming it would [take a break] after the eighth episode. I know it’s really hard for fans. I don’t know all of the reasons that these splits are done.”
The likeliest explanation for the gap is the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes that hit Hollywood in 2023, delaying production on Outlander season 8. Because season 8 therefore took longer to finish filming—the season only just wrapped this September—the Starz executives probably sought to prevent an even longer gap between the end of season 7 and the beginning of season 8. By instead putting a gap between season 7 parts 1 and 2, they could better divvy up the waiting time for always-hungry Outlander fans.
What will season 7 part 2 be about?
Expect “an emotional roller coaster,” full of “death, loss, and redemption,” Davis teased during the NYCC panel. She continued, “It’s such an amazing second half; it’s even better than the first. I can’t wait for people to see it.”
The story will pick up where part 1 ended, with Jamie, Claire, and Young Ian sailing back to Scotland. But happy homecomings never last long in Outlander, and the Frasers will be torn apart once again when Lord John Grey (David Berry)’s nephew is injured in the American Revolution. That would be troublesome enough to deal with, but when “bad news” about Jamie reaches Lord John and Claire, the Frasers will have to face a reality that threatens their love story forever. Meanwhile, Roger and Brianna will be similarly separated, as Roger and Buck (Diarmaid Murtagh) travel to the past in search of Roger and Brianna’s missing son, Jemmy.
When asked, during the NYCC panel, to summarize their part 2 character arc in a word or sentence, Heughan said Jamie’s was “revenge”; Balfe said Claire’s was “confused”; Skelton said Brianna’s was “mama bear”; Rankin said Roger’s was “unexpected”; and Bell said Young Ian’s was, mercifully, “adorable.”
Davis also hinted that part 2’s most “talked-about episode” will be episode 11. “Bring your whiskey and tissues,” she said. “It will be talked about in many ways.”
Watch the cast talk about part 2 in a clip from NYCC below.
Is there a trailer for Outlander season 7 part 2?
The full-length trailer dropped during the NYCC panel on October 17. Watch the video below.
Is this the final season of Outlander?
Outlander is at last approaching its ending, but there’s no need for any tearful goodbyes just yet: Season 8 will be the series’ final chapter. During NYCC, the cast and producers discussed the series finale, which Davis confirmed will be different from Gabaldon’s ending to the book series. (Gabaldon is currently at work on book 10, which she expects might be the last of her Outlander novels, and will be published after the TV series’ conclusion.)
Davis told the NYCC audience that Gabaldon was informed of the series’ ending ahead of filming. “We did talk to Diane about it,” she said. “We were very careful. We didn’t want to step on her toes. There is another book, so we’re ending it the way we are.”
Gabaldon added that she “was not upset by [the series’ ending]. It was possible for me to be objective about it because it was well done and will work nicely for the show.”
This story will be updated.
Lauren Puckett-Pope is a staff culture writer at ELLE, where she primarily covers film, television and books. She was previously an associate editor at ELLE.