When the British-American historical drama TV series “Outlander” debuted on Starz last year with its pilot episode, it broke multiplatform viewing records when five million people watched the show’s premiere episode.
With the impending premiere of Season 2 of “Outlander” about to happen on April 9, the pressure is now on the series itself to either equal if not surpass the astounding multiplatform viewing record of its pilot episode last year, notes Den of Geek.
In fact, right after episode 1 of the premiere season was aired last year, Starz was so elated with the viewing numbers for the time-travelling romance that it immediately ordered Season 2 of “Outlander.”
Chris Albrecht, CEO of Starz, officially gave the green light to the second season of “Outlander” in August last year. Season 2 shall have 13 episodes, three episodes less than its Season 1.
In a statement, Albrecht said that the overwhelming support that “Outlander” has received from fans, viewers, and critics made the decision for the network to go ahead with the second book a very easy one.
The Starz CEO explained that Diana Gabaldon has given them years of great drama. And with an incredible artist such as Ronald D. Moore at the helm and a spectacular cast, they look forward to continuing the spell-binding journey with Claire, Jamie, Frank, Brianna, Roger and everybody over the centuries.
Based on the second book titled “Dragonfly in Amber” by author Diana Gabaldon, “Outlander” the TV series was adapted from the author’s best-selling novel series of the same title.
Adapting to new surroundings
Season 2 shall see Jamie Fraser, played by Sam Heughan, and Claire, played by Caitriona Balfe, making changes as they adapt to their new surroundings in Paris, France.
The first season of “Outlander” saw the couple mostly in Scotland, but for Season 2, they will be mostly in Paris as they attempt to rewrite history by stopping the Jacobite rising by seeking out Bonnie Prince Charlie.
Even the pictures from the set as well as the previous reports seem consistent with the plotline on the book which is why viewers are already excited about the return to the small screen of “Outlander.”
“Outlander will premiere in the US on April 9 while it will make its debut on UK television via Amazon Prime on April 10.
Not inferior at all
But the fewer episodes in Season 2 do not mean that the TV series will be inferior to its premiere season. It so happened that the showrunners and the writers were able to fit the entire story of the second book in 13 episodes so rather than prolong it by making unnecessary deviations, they decided to just go by the book.
Jamie and Claire will make their way into the world of Parisian high society and politics in order to infiltrate the Jacobite rebellion and put an end to the looming Battle of Culloden.
The Jacobite will be under the leadership of Prince Charles Stuart, played by Andrew Gower, and Jamie and Claire will try to stop the battle that would massacre thousands and destroy the Scottish society, as what was written in the history books.
The pair would be able to draw support from Jared, played by Robert Cavanah, who is Jamie’s cousin. Jared is a Jacobite wine merchant residing in Paris. He will pave the way for the entry of Jamie and Claire to French society.
Once they are inside, Jamie and Claire will find out that despite the lavish parties and social gatherings in Paris, there is no political system to govern the people and society.
Incidentally, Yahoo TV showed five never-before-seen portraits of some important Parisian players in the upcoming Season 2 of “Outlander.”