Why is Outlander ending?

Starz's epic romance Outlander will soon return for its seventh season, the first half of which premieres in the UK on Lionsgate+ on Friday, 16 June.

The time-travel drama stars Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe as Jamie and Claire Fraser, star-crossed lovers who met when World War II nurse Claire was transported back in time to 18th century Scotland.

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It is based on Diana Gabaldon's novel series of the same name, but it was confirmed earlier this year that the show would be ending after its eighth season.

Here is everything we know about why that is the case.

Why is Outlander ending?

First things first, season 7 is not going to be the last for Outlander. but it will be the start of the franchise's endgame, and it will have 16 episodes in total with the first eight episodes released this year and the second half coming out in 2024.

Outlander was renewed for an eighth and final season in January, and when this was announced it was confirmed that this decision was made because it felt like the natural time to end the series rather than because of any lack of fan support for the franchise.

Kathryn Busby, president of original programming for Starz, said in a statement at the time: "For nearly a decade Outlander has won the hearts of audiences worldwide and we're pleased to bring Claire and Jamie's epic love story to a proper conclusion.

"But before we close this chapter there is plenty of their passionate story to tell over the course of 26 new episodes and even more to explore of this dynamic world and its origin story. We're thrilled to continue to partner with Matthew, Maril and Ronald and can't wait to see where their alluring storytelling takes us next."

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Fans of the franchise might be sad to see the TV series end, particularly when the book series is continuing and Gabaldon is currently working on the tenth novel. However it won't be the end of the franchise since Starz has green-lit a prequel series titled Outlander: Blood of My Blood.

The new show will tell the epic love story of Jamie's parents, Ellen MacKenzie and Brian Fraser. It has not yet been revealed when this will be coming out, since season 8 of Outlander is set to film later this year (though there may be a delay because of the writer's strike).

Balfe spoke to Radio Times about the show ending, and said: "It's really strange thinking that this time next year or whatever, it'll be finished and that'll be it, it'll be a chapter done in my life. I'm going to definitely struggle with that because it's been so great. It'll be sad to say goodbye to it.

"I think, in some ways, I feel like we've said as much as we can say with these characters and we've sort of brought them to this point in their lives where it feels like it's the right time to say goodbye to them. I think having season 8 will give us a real opportunity to sort of finish it properly. But at the same time, it's going be so sad."

Outlander season 7 part 1 premieres on Friday, 16 June. The show airs in the UK on Lionsgate+ and in the US on Starz.

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