The premiere of Outlander prequel series, Outlander: Blood of My Blood, is getting closer and closer everyday, premiering Aug. 8, 2025 on Starz. Delving deeper into the history of the historical drama, and learning more about where Jamie and Claire come from, is so intriguing. Right now, we'll take any tidbits that come our way, and there's one that's actually important.
It will be interesting to see the origin love stories of Jamie's parents, Brian and Ellen Fraser, as well as Claire's mom and dad, Henry and Julia Beauchamp. When the idea of the prequel series first came about, it could have actually looked very different than what we're getting right now.
Claire's parents weren't initially in the plans
Showrunner Matthew B. Roberts and executive producer Maril Davis revealed in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly that the initial plan was to just focus on one couple. Here's what they had to say:
"When I first thought about doing the prequel, my initial thought was just Jamie's parents, Ellen and Brian, because there's the thread in the book. As I started to work it out, there wasn't a lot of story there. I thought, 'Well, we'll need to tell both stories to give this legs for a series that could be ongoing.'"- Matthew B. Roberts
"We've talked so long about how Outlander is the story of Jamie and Claire It does feel like you're missing a big piece of the puzzle if you're not telling her parents' story as well and showing both sides of the coin." - Maril Davis
That definitely does make sense. Though I don't blame the creatives with only thinking about bringing Jamie's parents' love story to life at the start. As Roberts said, we know much more about them in the books by author Diana Gabaldon, and the writer is actually currently working on a prequel novel about Brian and Ellen too.
Jamie also has more memories of them, especially his father as he died when he was much older and not a child. They're mentioned more and connected to the other characters like Dougal and Colum, who are Ellen's brothers, and even her sister Jocasta.
When it comes to Henry and Julia though, the author has stated that she's not interested in delving into those characters which is why she's hardly written about them. I don't know how canon the story of Claire's parents onscreen is going to be when it comes to Gabaldon's version of events. Though we can accept what happens in the show's version of things at least.
Personally, I am really happy that Outlander: Blood of My Blood is going to focus on both Jamie and Claire's parents. You can't say one is more important than the other, which goes back to what Davis said. I think it could have worked with just getting the Highlander side of things. Though having these two love stories and finding out soon how they intersect through space and time I think adds another interesting element and layer that will hopefully make the prequel a success. August can't come fast enough!
Outlander: Blood of My Blood premieres Aug. 8, 2025 on Starz.