New cast members for Season 7 (SPOILERS!)

Big news from STARZ about the cast members for OUTLANDER Season 7!

*** SPOILER WARNING! ***

If you haven't read all of the OUTLANDER books, there are SPOILERS below from AN ECHO IN THE BONE and WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART'S BLOOD! Read at your own risk.



I'm glad Steven Cree will be back as Ian the Elder. I'm sure the idea of playing out the storyline involving Ian in ECHO must have been irresistible to him as an actor. I'm betting that it will be as heartbreaking on TV as it was in the book.

I think re-casting Jenny Murray is the right decision. Laura Donnelly was terrific in the role, but she's busy with other things these days, including her role in THE NEVERS. I'm looking forward to seeing what Kristin Atherton can do.

I'm not familiar with Chris Fulton, who will be playing Rob Cameron, but I trust the casting people and I'm sure he'll be just right for this role. I can't wait to see him on screen!

The biggest surprise in this cast list is the return of Dougal (Graham McTavish), Geillis (Lotte Verbeek) and Brian Fraser (Andrew Whipp, who also played Brian in Season 1). For TV viewers who haven't read all the OUTLANDER books, this will be a mystery. All of these characters have been dead for many years by the timeframe of Season 7, in the mid-1770s. What's going on?

If you've read WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART'S BLOOD, of course, you know that there is a major subplot in that book involving Roger and Buck time-traveling to 1739 Scotland and encountering a young Dougal, Geillis, Brian, and Jenny. So they are evidently going to pull this subplot (or major parts of it) into Season 7. They've done this before, for example with Claire's abduction in Season 5. As long as they don't stray too far away from the storyline as presented in MOHB, I think it will be fine. It's dramatic and interesting and features several characters that longtime fans of the show and the books know well. I'm looking forward to seeing those events portrayed on TV.

The other advantage to bringing this particular storyline into Season 7 is that it will remind the TV viewers who Dougal and Brian are. That's important, if the proposed prequel series telling the story of Jamie's parents actually gets made at some point. (No, we haven't heard anything more about that since the announcement in early August. I'll post here if and when there's any further news.) The core TV audience, and the book-readers, will remember Dougal, of course, but I think a reminder certainly can't hurt. It's been a long time since Season 2, when we last saw Dougal, after all.

And speaking of Graham McTavish.... I'm glad they cast a different actor to play William Buccleigh MacKenzie, aka Buck. I know nothing about this actor, Diarmaid Murtagh, but a brief glance at his IMDB page reveals that one of his acting credits is (believe it or not) playing a character called Buck in a TV "short" called BAD BOY BUCK. If that's accurate (and it might not be! I have been misled by IMDB entries before), the conicidence makes me laugh. Wow, is that ever appropriate! <g>

IMPORTANT NOTE: We still have no word on when Season 7 might air on STARZ, and no word about a possible Season 8. They are still hard at work filming! Of course I'll post here if I hear any official announcements.