Outlander: Blood Of My Blood: The Cast And Other Things We Know About The Prequel Spinoff

We all know that the hit drama, Outlander, is still very capable of bringing fans dramatic reveals and some of TV’s sexiest romantic moments, but the show is a bit long in the tooth. In January 2023, the historical romance (which is currently on hiatus between Parts 1 and 2 of its super-sized Season 7) was announced to be ending with a 10-episode eighth season on Starz, leaving dedicated viewers without the book finale that’s still being written by author Diana Gabaldon.

But! Good news awaited in that sad announcement, because we are going to be able to go back even further in time with the prequel series, Outlander: Blood of My Blood. Though there are plenty of things about the upcoming drama that we don’t know just yet, we do have quite a bit of info regarding the first official expansion of the on-screen world. So, let’s get to it!

What Is The Outlander: Blood Of My Blood Premiere Date?

Claire and Jamie emotional in bed in Outlander Season 7

(Image credit: Starz)

This is your classic good news, bad news situation, as the bad news is that as of late February 2024 no premiere date for Outlander: Blood of My Blood has been announced. The good news? Starz announced early in the same month that the spinoff has begun filming! Right now, we don’t know exactly when Outlander Season 7 Part 2 will debut in 2024, so my guess is that that will be revealed before we get any update on the release for OBOMB. We might even be forced to wait until after the second set of Outlander episodes airs, so it could be quite a while before we have any news on this.

Jamie And Claire’s Parents, Along With Another Family Member, Have Been Cast

sam heughan and caitriona balfe on outlander season 1

(Image credit: Starz)

Seeing as how the upcoming show only recently started principal photography, you can bet that several cast members have been assigned roles, as reported by Deadline in February 2024. The main cast, which will consist of Jamie’s parents and Claire’s parents, and Jamie’s powerful grandfather, have all been cast. Here’s who’s playing which character:

Harriet Slater (Ellen MacKenzie)

harriet slater in belgravia: the next chapter

(Image credit: MGM+)

Harriet Slater is taking on the role of James Alexander Malcolm MacKenzie Fraser’s mother (whom Claire and Jamie’s daughter, Bree, is said to look a lot like), Ellen MacKenzie. The actress has been seen on Pennyworth and Belgravia: The Next Chapter, and was in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

Jamie Roy (Brian Fraser)

jamie roy in squeaky clean mysteries: hazardous duty

(Image credit: UPtv)

Jamie Roy will bring Jamie’s young father, Brian Fraser to life. During Season 1 of Outlander, we saw a few flashbacks of Jamie’s father (as portrayed by Andrew Whipp) right before his sudden death, though we’ve never seen Ellen on screen before. Roy has starred in the Lifetime movies Burning Little Lies and Your Boyfriend Is Mine, and the UPtv movie, Squeaky Clean Mysteries: Hazardous Duty.

Hermione Corfield (Julia Moriston)

hermione corfield in xxx: the return of xander cage

(Image credit: Paramount Pictures)

Hermione Corfield is going to bring Claire’s mother, Julia Moriston, to the screen for the first time. The actress has been in series such as We Hunt Together, and films like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and xXx: Return of Xander Cage.

Jeremy Irvine (Henry Beauchamp)

jeremy irvine in a build interview

(Image credit: Build)

Last, but certainly not least, we have Claire’s dad, as actor Jeremy Irvine will portray Henry Beauchamp. Irvine starred in the series, Treadstone, and has appeared in movies such as The Last Full Measure, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, and War Horse.

Tony Curran (Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat)

tony curran in deadwood: the movie

(Image credit: HBO)

Mid-February 2024 saw the news that another character we’d seen briefly on Outlander would appear in his younger years, as Tony Curran will play Jamie’s powerful, scheming and self-interested paternal grandfather, Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat. Curran has been seen recently in the series, Your Honor, along with The Flash, Secret Invasion and Ray Donovan. He’s in movies like Deadwood: The Movie and Underworld: Evolution.

These are the only cast members who’ve been revealed so far, but it’s likely that more news about the characters and who’ll be playing them will come out as the year goes on.

The Outlander Prequel Will Focus On Jamie And Claire’s Parents

brian fraser on outlander season 1

(Image credit: Starz)

When the show was originally announced, we found out that the upcoming prequel will set its sights on the love story between Jamie Fraser’s parents, Ellen MacKenzie and Brian Fraser. However, when the February 2024 casting news was revealed, we found out that the story is also going to follow Claire’s parents, Julia Moriston and Henry Beauchamp, in England during World War I. As executive producer and showrunner Matthew B. Roberts told Starz when news of the spinoff first came to light:

Outlander: Blood of My Blood is, at its heart, a love story. It will explore what lengths a person will go to find love in a time when love is considered a luxury, and when marriages are made strategically, often for political or financial gain. The title is a nod to Jamie Fraser’s marriage vow to Claire and there will be several names and faces that Outlander fans will know and recognize.

Roberts’ words also mean that viewers will almost certainly be treated to a much younger version of characters like Dougal MacKenzie and Brian's friend/sorta rival for Ellen’s affections, Murtagh Fitzgibbons Fraser. And I’m definitely here for more Murtagh!

The Series Will Have 10 Episodes In Season 1

sam heughan and caitriona balfe in outlander season 7 teaser

(Image credit: Starz)

When the prequel was announced, the network also let Outlander fans know that this expansive, historical story will be given a good amount of time in the first season to set things up for us, as there will be 10 episodes for everyone to enjoy. Fans of the parent show (as well as any who adore the novels) are sure to know some details about the characters who will be involved here, but the episode count will allow for plenty of time to establish the dual timelines and characters for any newcomers.

Several seasons of the long-running series that we already know and love have had 13 episodes, so it’s not impossible that, should this new show prove equally popular, a possible second season might shoot for a longer run time. As far as the runtime of each episode, my guess is that it will follow Outlander’s path and have each installment at around an hour in length, with the potential for longer episodes that begin the story and close out the season.

Outlander’s Matthew B. Roberts Will Act As Showrunner And Executive Produce

claire and jamie have pregnant sex in outlander

(Image credit: Starz)

As was noted above, Starz also revealed that Matthew B. Roberts will act as showrunner, while also executive producing Outlander: Blood of My Blood. He just so happens to hold the same gigs on the original series, and helped create the new show with his fellow Outlander executive producers Ronald D. Moore and Maril Davis (both will also executive produce here). Roberts is also set to write the upcoming drama.

Author Diana Gabaldon Is Writing A Book About Jamie’s Parents And Will Serve As A Consulting Producer On The Show

Diana Gabaldon with Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe

(Image credit: Todd Williamson/Getty Images for Starz)

It was late in 2022 when Diana Gabaldon, the writer behind the many Outlander novels and several spinoff books and short stories, announced on her website that while working on the tenth and final installment in Claire and Jamie’s adventures, she had also begun work on the story of Brian and Ellen’s courtship and eventual marriage, even sharing an excerpt from her initial writings. Because the author is already well versed in the 18th century time period of her stories (along with, obviously, knowing everything there is to know about her characters), she has officially been announced as a consulting producer on the hotly anticipated prequel. 

We don’t know yet if her novel will also focus on Claire’s parents in WWI, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the show added that tale because Gabaldon decided to make their love story part of her book, as well.

There’s no word just yet on when the last eight episodes for Season 7 of the original hit will debut, and we obviously have more to learn about Outlander: Blood of My Blood. Until such a time, you can continue to stream any and all shows like Outlander. Now, if they could only give us a spinoff series about the ever popular Lord John Grey, I think the fandom would absolutely be even happier. 

Adrienne Jones
Senior Content Creator

Covering The Witcher, Outlander, Virgin River, Sweet Magnolias and a slew of other streaming shows, Adrienne Jones is a Senior Content Producer at CinemaBlend, and started in the fall of 2015. In addition to writing and editing stories on a variety of different topics, she also spends her work days trying to find new ways to write about the many romantic entanglements that fictional characters find themselves in on TV shows. She graduated from Mizzou with a degree in Photojournalism.