Outlander TV Series Canceled After Just One Season
Outlander, a new Starz network TV series based on the New York Times bestselling Outlander novels by Diana Gabaldon, is set to cancel after only its first season. The show aired for the first time on August 9th, 2014 but, due to budgeting issues, was forced to to take a six month long mid-season break. This, among other issues, spelled the untimely end for this ill- fated program. Gabaldonâs Outlander is a dramatic historical love story about WWII combat nurse, Claire Randall. Previously separated by the war, Claire and her husband Frank decide to reconnect on a second honeymoon in the Scottish Highlands. While there, Claire stumbles upon a mysterious circle of standing stonesâ¦ And suddenly finds herself in the middle of the eighteenth century where she falls madly in love with Jamie Fraser, a young clansman. For over two decades, this book has been a favorite with readers of science fiction, adventure, historical fiction, and romance. Over this twenty year time period, Gabaldon rejected numerous offers to bring her famous books to the big screen. An offer from Starz to produce a television series was eventually accepted by the author, and production began shortly thereafter. Only two months into the six month long mid season break, a lengthy list of problems related to the show and its production began to surface. One major issue was that the actors bore little to no resemblance to the cherished characters portrayed in the novels. The MacKenzie brothers were much too old, Claire had the wrong eye color and Jamie, the bookâs hero, didnât have hair that was red enough to please fans. Although the series was originally offered a second season, the network came to the realization that the show was much too costly to produce. Season two, which would have been based on the second book in the series, would have forced the show to film in Scotland, France and the United States. The third season would have taken them even farther afield. âThere are nine novels in this series,â said one production assistant. âAt the rate weâre going, the entire series will take over a decade to produce. TV watchers just donât have that kind of attention span. Plus, with all the special effects, period wardrobes, makeup and travel, the cost of production is simply unsupportable.â Although many fans will be disappointed to see this short- lived series come to an end, there are plenty of fans who are almost relieved that itâs over. This change makes room for more exciting programs in the Starz lineup, and gives director Ronald D. Moore the time to work on other, more important projects. It is hoped that author Diana Gabaldon will be offered another chance to bring Outlander to the silver screen.