Watch Outlander NYCC Panel With Behind-The-Scenes Footage, Jamie Fraser's Sister Cast

There are some exciting updates for Ronald D. Moore's Outlander series this week, including some casting news, as well as the full panel video for Starz's exclusive Outlander fan event, which took place during New York Comic Con this month. The video ahead not only features author Diana Gabaldon and series creator Ronald D. Moore as they discuss the development of the cable series, but also shows a behind-the-scenes featurette...

It looks like it's too soon in the series' development to see any finished footage from the drama, however the first few minutes of the above video do show us series stars Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan, who play Claire Randall and Jamie Fraser respectively for the drama. The featurette is followed by a panel featuring Moore and Gabaldon, as they answer fan questions about the series, tackling a myriad of topics, including how Gabaldon felt about the casting, what prompted Moore to develop the series, and why he's so determined not to mess it up. In a nutshell, because his wife won't be happy. That's reason enough to get it right, and I'm sure the many fans of the novels will appreciate it too.

If you haven't read the book, here's the description for the series:

The “Outlander” series spans the genres of romance, science fiction, history, and adventure in one epic tale. It follows the story of Claire Randall, a married combat nurse from 1945 who is mysteriously swept back in time to 1743, where she is immediately thrown into an unknown world where her life is threatened. When she is forced to marry Jamie Fraser, a chivalrous and romantic young Scottish warrior, a passionate affair is ignited that tears Claire’s heart between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

Laura Donnelly

Starz announced today that Laura Donnelly of The Fall has joined the cast of the series. She'll play the role of Jenny Fraser, Jamie's sister and in some ways, his surrogate mother.

She shares Jamie’s stubborn and quick-tempered character, which causes the siblings to butt heads from time to time. Jenny is also smart, experienced and skilled, running Lallybroch (the Fraser ancestral home) when Jamie is away. Jenny is married to Jamie’s best friend, Ian Murray. When the series begins they have one child and a second child on the way.

In addition to playing Sarah Kay in the excellent U.K. murder mystery series The Fall, Donnelly had a role in ABC's Missing and recurred as Freya in Merlin.

Outlander is expected to debut on Starz in Spring of 2014.

Kelly West
Assistant Managing Editor

Kelly joined CinemaBlend as a freelance TV news writer in 2006 and went on to serve as the site’s TV Editor before moving over to other roles on the site. At present, she’s an Assistant Managing Editor who spends much of her time brainstorming and editing feature content on the site. She an expert in all things Harry Potter, books from a variety of genres (sci-fi, mystery, horror, YA, drama, romance -- anything with a great story and interesting characters.), watching Big Brother, frequently rewatching The Office, listening to Taylor Swift, and playing The Sims.