The Droughtlander is nearly over! It’s been almost two years since the finale of Outlander season 5 aired, and what a wait is has been. We left things in Fraser’s Ridge in a pretty precarious place, with Claire suffering a brutal assault at the hands of Lionel Brown and his militia, Roger and Brianna failing to return to their own time, and the Revolutionary War brewing on the horizon. Needless to say there’s been a lot of anticipation for new episodes.
Thankfully, we have a release date and plenty of information about Outlander’s next season on Starz. No more speculating! No more vain hopes! We know exactly when season 6 is coming and have a decent idea of what to expect. Here’s everything we know, in one convenient place.
Outlander season 6 release date
First, the most important bit: when to expect Outlander season 6. Starz has announced that the show is premiering at 9:00 p.m. ET / 8:00 p.m. CT on Sunday, March 6. The first episode is a supersized 90 minutes long, so it’ll be an all out Outlander extravaganza that night.
Due to COVID-19 production delays, Outlander season 6 will only run for eight episodes. Starz has already revealed the episode titles for the entire season, which we’ve rounded up here. But don’t despair about how short the season is. Jamie Fraser actor Sam Heughan has called season 6 “small but mighty.”. And the show’s seventh season will be a much longer 16 episodes to make up the difference.
Outlander Season 6 — Courtesy of Robert Wilson/STARZ
Outlander season 6 cast
As for what characters we should expect in the upcoming season, it should go without saying that Caitriona Balfe (Claire Fraser), Sam Heughan (Jamie Fraser), Sophie Skelton (Brianna Fraser), Richard Rankin (Roger Wakefield), and John Bell (“Young” Ian Murray) will all be returning. What would the show be without our core family? Lauren Lyle (Marsali), César Domboy (Fergus), and Chris Larkin (Richard Brown) will also be coming back. And while it hasn’t been outright confirmed by Starz, it’s believed that Lord John Grey (David Berry) may return this season as well, due to the actor’s inclusion in last year’s World Outlander Day video.
Season 6 will also include several important new characters, including the Christie family, who we know from pre-release hype will be causing some problems at Fraser’s Ridge. Mark Lewis-Jones plays family patriarch Thomas Christie, Alexander Vlahos portrays his son Allan Christie, and Jessica Reynolds plays daughter Malva Christie.
Outlander season 6 synopsis
Starz has also released a synopsis for the upcoming season. With the Revolutionary War about to kick into high gear and the Christies poisoning the harmonious atmosphere of Fraser’s Ridge, it sounds like things are about to get very difficult.
The sixth season of “Outlander” sees a continuation of Claire and Jamie’s fight to protect those they love, as they navigate the trials and tribulations of life in colonial America. Establishing a home in the New World is by no means an easy task, particularly in the wild backcountry of North Carolina – and perhaps most significantly – during a period of dramatic political upheaval. The Frasers strive to maintain peace and flourish within a society which – as Claire knows all too well – is unwittingly marching towards Revolution. Against this backdrop, which heralds the birth of the new American nation, Claire and Jamie have built a home together at Fraser’s Ridge. They must now defend this home – established on land granted to them by the Crown – not only from external forces, but also from the increasing strife and conflict in the community within their care. For the Frasers and their immediate family, “home” is more than simply a site in which they live, it is the place where they are laying the foundations for the rest of their lives. If Season 4 asked “What is home?” and Season 5 asked, “What are you willing to do to protect your home?” then Season 6 explores what happens when there is disharmony and division among the inhabitants of the home you’ve created: when you become an outsider, or an ‘outlander,’ so to speak, marginalized and rejected in your own home.
Outlander season 6 trailer
Of course, no hype train for an upcoming show is complete without a trailer, and Outlander has a solid one. Starz dropped the latest official trailer for season 6 in mid-January, giving us plenty of time to get excited about what’s to come. It gives us some glimpses of the Christies changing the dynamic at Fraser’s Ridge, Brianna and Roger settling back into life at the homestead after their failed attempt to return to their own time in season 5, and plenty of shots of Jamie and Claire. Check it out:
It sounds like this season will have a heavy focus on Jamie’s torn loyalties between the British Crown (who gave him the land Fraser’s Ridge is built on) and the Revolutionaries, whom he knows are destined to win the war thanks to the knowledge his time-traveling family has of the future. Though let’s be real: Jamie has always had a habit of following his heart and supporting those whose cause he believes in when he’s able. Given the friendship he’s cultivated not just with some of those fighting for the Revolutionaries but also the Native Americans whose territory borders Fraser’s Ridge, was it ever in doubt that he’d eventually flip on the British?
We’ll just have to wait and see. But not too much longer.
Outlander season 6 premieres on Starz and the Starz app at 9:00 p.m. ET / 8:00 p.m. CT on March 6.
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