I have been quite obsessed with the wonderful TV series Outlander since it premiered on Starz last fall. Diana Gabaldon’s books about a nurse from the 1940s who finds herself swept through a stone into 18th century Scotland is one of my favorite series. With elements of historical significance, political intrigue and palpable mutual attraction between the two main characters, it’s not your traditional sweeping romance. Especially since the heroine left a husband in the 20th century and she spends a good part of the first season trying to find her way back to the future.
The books have an incredibly vast fan base and the show has benefited greatly from it, but it certainly helped itself garner greater interest with its casting and adaptation of some of the book’s beloved scenes. Caitriona Balfe as the heroine, Claire, and Sam Heughan, as the Scotland warrior, Jamie Fraser their own fan clubs, Caitrionation and Heughan’s Heughligans, whose adoration border on obsessive. In a span of days, after his casting was announced, Sam Heughan’s number of Twitter followers went from double digits to 6 digits. He likes to tease Caitriona that he has a greater following than she does, but her followers also number in the 6 digits now.
This year’s Outlander panel did not include some of the supporting cast like their debut panel last year, but it still packed Ballroom 20, with many attendees who had been waiting through prior panels since 10 a.m., yours truly included. In addition to the two actors, the dais held the people responsible for bringing Outlander to life, Executive Producers Maril Davis and Ronald D. Moore who is also a credited writer of a few of the episodes, and the author herself, Diana Gabaldon. Moderated by one of the biggest Outlander fans, Kristin Dos Santos of E! News, the panel was a lively exchange helped by a bottle of whiskey, a game of Straight Face and a little cosplay. My video caught some of the caught some of their best attempts at keeping a straight face while reading tongue twisters, Outlander quotes and lines from 50 Shades of Gray. My apologies if it seemed my camera was just focused on Sam at times. Okay, sorry, not sorry.
A trailer of Season 2 was shared with the attendees and as much as I loved the gorgeous Scotland scenery from Season 1, I’m looking forward to seeing Jamie and Claire in new settings as their journey takes them to France, and the introduction of new characters and storylines the move their love story forward. Diana Gabaldon also gets her shot at writing an episode It will be very interesting to see how an author translates her own writing to fit a television adaptation.
For the full video of the panel, watch Outlander | San Diego Comic-Con 2015 Panel | STARZ
