Outlander: Blood of My Blood
2025 historical romance drama television series
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Outlander: Blood of My Blood is an historical romance drama television series that serves as a prequel to the television series Outlander (2014–2026), which is based on the book series of the same name by Diana Gabaldon.
| Outlander: Blood of My Blood | |
|---|---|
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| Genre | |
| Based on | |
| Developed by | Matthew B. Roberts |
| Showrunner | Matthew B. Roberts |
| Starring | |
| Opening theme | "For My Love That's Lost" by Julie Fowlis |
| Composer | Bear McCreary |
| Countries of origin |
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| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 10 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producer |
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| Production location | Scotland |
| Cinematography |
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| Editors |
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| Running time | 60–80 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | Starz |
| Release | August 8, 2025 – present |
| Related | |
| Outlander | |
The series follows the parents of both protagonists from the original series, Jamie Fraser and Claire Beauchamp. Jamie's parents in 18th century Scotland are played by Harriet Slater as Ellen MacKenzie and Jamie Roy as Brian Fraser. Claire's parents in World War I are played by Hermione Corfield as Julia Moriston and Jeremy Irvine as Henry Beauchamp.
Outlander: Blood of My Blood premiered on Starz on August 8, 2025. The first season consists of ten episodes. In June 2025, the series was renewed for a second season ahead of the series premiere, and is set to premiere on September 18, 2026.
Premise
Outlander: Blood of My Blood is a love story that tells the tales of how the parents of Jamie Fraser came together in 18th century Scotland and how the parents of Claire Beauchamp met during World War I in England.[1] A trailer released in July 2025 also revealed a time travel element involving Claire's parents that appears to intersect with the 18th century timeline.[2][3][4]
Cast
Main
- Harriet Slater as Ellen MacKenzie, Jamie Fraser's mother
- Jamie Roy as Brian Fraser, Jamie's father
- Hermione Corfield as Julia Moriston, Claire Fraser's mother
- Jeremy Irvine as Henry Beauchamp, Claire's father
- Tony Curran as Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat, Brian's father
- Séamus McLean Ross as Colum MacKenzie, Ellen's younger brother and the eldest son of Red Jacob MacKenzie
- Sam Retford as Dougal MacKenzie, Ellen and Colum's younger brother and the third child of Red Jacob MacKenzie
- Rory Alexander as Murtagh Fitzgibbons Fraser, Brian's best friend and second cousin
- Conor MacNeill as Ned Gowan, secretary at Castle Leoch
- Brian McCardie as Isaac Grant, father of Malcolm Grant
- Sara Vickers as Davina Porter, a housekeeper at Castle Leathers and Brian Fraser's mother
Special guest star
- Peter Mullan as Red Jacob MacKenzie, the late laird of Castle Leoch
Recurring
- Sally Messham as Mrs Fitzgibbons
- Jhon Lumsden as Malcolm Grant
- Terence Rae as Arch Bug
- Sadhbh Malin as Jocasta MacKenzie Cameron
- Ailsa Davidson as Janet MacKenzie
- Rebekah Lumsden as Letitia Chisholm MacKenzie
- Ryan Fletcher as James MacKinney
- Michael Cooke as Alec MacMahon
- Louis O'Rourke as Rupert MacKenzie
- Marlow Walters as Angus MacKenzie
- Chick Allan as Balloch
- Harry Eaton as Private William "Willie" Charlton
- Madeline Appiah as Ùna Hay
- Dom Fraser as Marcus MacRannoch
- Lauren McQueen as Seema
- Anita Vettesse as Mrs. Baird
- Karen Bartke as Mrs. Mitchell
- Jamie Sives as Rob Roy MacGregor
- Simon Merrells as Malcolm "Mac" Grant
Guest
- Annabelle Dowler as Lizbeth
- Matthew Barker as Captain Lambie
- Lauren Grace as Morven Grant
- Caolán Downs as Ewan
- Calum Barbour as Tearlach
- Jack Bishop as Lachlan Grant
- Elizabeth Millbank-Turner as Mairead
- Katharine O'Donnelly as Maisri
- Allison McKenzie as Mrs. Hughes
- Gabriel Quigley as Mrs. Stewart
- Karen Fishwick as Ailsa
- Kit Laveri as Mary
- Melissa Collier as Esther
- Molly Jane Graham as Jessica
- Ciara Thomson as Kirstin
- Jessica Donnelly as Patricia
- Claire Cassidy as Geraldine
- Ceit Smith as Kay
- Joanne Crawford as Lady Margaret Nairne
- Max Wrottesley as Captain Andrew Fleming
- Andrew John Tait as Davie Beaton
- Craige Els as John Erskine, Earl of Mar
- Stuart McQuarrie as Cluny MacPherson
- Bobby Rainsbury as Maura Grant
- George Kemp as Quentin Lambert "Uncle Lamb" Beauchamp
- Mae and Tuesday Roberts as Claire Beauchamp
- Holly Barbour as Hetty
Episodes
Season 1 (2025)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Providence" | Jamie Payne | Matthew B. Roberts | August 8, 2025 | |
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After the death of Red Jacob, a new Laird of Clan MacKenzie must be chosen, and both of his sons -- Colum and Dougal -- vie for the title. At the Gathering, Brian Fraser and Ellen MacKenzie meet and are struck by their strong connection.[5] | ||||||
| 2 | 2 | "S.W.A.K. (Sealed with a Kiss)" | Jamie Payne | Kiersten Van Horne | August 8, 2025 | |
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While Henry fights in World War I and Julia works in the censorship office in London, their love story unfolds through the letters they write to each other.[5] | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | "School of the Moon" | Jamie Payne | Teleplay by : Margot Ye Story by : Curtis Kheel and Margot Ye | August 15, 2025 | |
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Ellen hatches a new plan to protect herself and her family. Julia is forced to make an impossible choice.[5] | ||||||
| 4 | 4 | "A Soldier's Heart" | Emer Conroy | Macy Grace Smolsky | August 22, 2025 | |
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Henry approaches a difficult task using his unique methods. Ellen discovers troubling facts about her future in-laws.[5] | ||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Needfire" | Emer Conroy | Taylor Mallory | August 29, 2025 | |
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Ellen and Brian go to Beltane, a summer festival where sins burn in the needfire. Henry clings to hope while Julia's allies turn away as secrets emerge.[5] | ||||||
| 6 | 6 | "Birthright" | Matthew Moore | Danielle Berrow | September 5, 2025 | |
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Henry continues to look for Julia until a new discovery threatens to end his search.[5] | ||||||
| 7 | 7 | "Luceo Non Uro" | Matthew Moore | Margot Ye | September 12, 2025 | |
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Lord Lovat goes to extreme lengths to fulfill a prophecy. Dougal attends a clandestine meeting that could spell political disaster for the MacKenzies.[5] | ||||||
| 8 | 8 | "A Virtuous Woman" | Azhur Saleem | Kiersten Van Horne | September 19, 2025 | |
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At the request of the Grants, Ellen undergoes a test to prove her worthiness to marry into the clan.[5] | ||||||
| 9 | 9 | "Braemar" | Azhur Saleem | Diana Gabaldon | September 26, 2025 | |
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Highland clans gather at Braemar Castle for Earl of Mar's yearly hunt, where he delivers a provocative declaration.[5] | ||||||
| 10 | 10 | "Something Borrowed" | Azhur Saleem | Diana Gabaldon & Matthew B. Roberts | October 10, 2025 | |
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Ellen prepares for her wedding day, while Julia attempts her escape.[5] | ||||||
Season 2 (2026)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 1 | TBA | Azhur Saleem[6] | Danielle Berrow[7] | September 18, 2026[8] |
| 12 | 2 | TBA | TBA | Margot Ye[7] | TBA |
| 13 | 3 | TBA | Azhur Saleem[6] | Toni Graphia[7] | TBA |
| 14 | 4 | TBA | TBA | Sarah H. Haught[7] | TBA |
| 15 | 5 | TBA | TBA | Luke Schelhaas[7] | TBA |
| 16 | 6 | TBA | Azhur Saleem[6] | Taylor Mallory[7] | TBA |
| 17 | 7 | TBA | Azhur Saleem[6] | Luke Schelhaas & Sarah H. Haught[7] | TBA |
| 18 | 8 | TBA | Azhur Saleem[6] | Toni Graphia & Danielle Berrow[7] | TBA |
| 19 | 9 | TBA | TBA | Diana Gabaldon[7] | TBA |
| 20 | 10 | TBA | TBA | Matthew B. Roberts[7] | TBA |
Production
Development
A prequel series was reported in February 2022 to be in development, written and executive produced by Outlander showrunner / executive producer Matthew B. Roberts.[9] In May 2022, executive producer Maril Davis confirmed that the series would focus on the parents of Jamie Fraser.[10] In August 2022, it was confirmed that the prequel series will be titled Blood of My Blood.[11] In January 2023, Starz ordered a 10-episode first season.[12] Once production started in February 2024, it was confirmed that the series would also focus on Claire's parents.[13] Gabaldon has said the prequel series is based in part on material she had written for the first of three potential books about Jamie's parents,[14] who were the focus of Roberts's first conception of the new series.[15] He later came up with the time travel element involving Claire's parents that would connect the two storylines in the series.[16][17][18] Gabaldon had said she was not interested herself in the story of Claire's parents, but was receptive to the ideas pitched by the TV writers.[19] In June 2025, the series was renewed for a second season, ahead of the show's premiere.[20]
Casting
In February 2024, the first casting announcements revealed that Harriet Slater, Jamie Roy, Hermione Corfield, and Jeremy Irvine were cast as the future parents of Jamie and Claire, respectively.[21] Tony Curran was also cast as Lord Lovat, Jamie's grandfather.[22] Then Rory Alexander, Sam Retford, Séamus McLean Ross, and Conor MacNeill were cast as younger versions of characters from the original Outlander series.[23] Brian McCardie, Jhon Lumsden, Sara Vickers, and Peter Mullan were added to the cast at the beginning of April.[24] Sally Messham, Terence Rae, Ailsa Davidson, Sadhbh Malin, Annabelle Dowler, and Harry Eaton rounded out the cast at the end of the month.[25]
Filming
Season One
Filming began in January 2024 in Glasgow, Scotland,[26] but production had to be put on hold due to storms in the area, and filming resumed at the end of February.[27] Part of the filming was also done on location at Doune Castle, serving as Castle Leoch.[28] On July 19, 2024, Starz announced on social media that filming had wrapped.[29]
Season Two
By June 2025, production was underway on the second season in Scotland.[20] On December 18, 2025, Starz announced on its social media that filming for season two had wrapped. [30]
Release
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has an approval rating of 91% based on 22 critics' reviews. The website's critics consensus is, "Tapping into a rich vein of romance and swashbuckling adventure, Blood of My Blood is a swoon-worthy spinoff that exemplifies the original Outlander's best qualities."[33] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 70 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[34]
