Sophie Skelton and Richard Rankin (‘Outlander’): The ‘second half of Season 7 is very exciting, very unexpected’
“It’s Outlander at its best, to be honest. I think some of the stuff that we get to see in the second half of Season 7 is very exciting, very unexpected,” declares “Outlander” star Richard Rankin. He’s joined by co-star Sophie Skelton to promote the highly anticipated return of the fantasy romance saga next month. For our recent webchat he adds, “The fans out there might have an idea of what’s going to happen, but I think we’re going to throw a hell of a lot more on top of that. It’s a very unexpected journey for all of our heroes. I really think people are going to love it.” Watch our video interview above.
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“It’s exciting to watch these characters go off on these journeys to two very different paths through the second half of Season 7,” Rankin adds, prompting Skelton to muse that the second half of the show’s seventh season is going to be mind-blowing. “Not sugarcoat it, just it is,” she smiles knowingly. “It really does take them, especially for Roger and Brianna, on very, very tumultuous individual journeys and as a team. They definitely are separated through time and space. But I think this season, one thing that they are more together on is their mission and their strength as a team. And so it’s a very cool journey that we’re about to take you on!”
The show’s 16-episode seventh season is based on “An Echo in the Bone” and “Written in My Own Blood,” the seventh and eighth installments in acclaimed author Diana Gabaldon’s series of fantasy novels. The season is split in two parts, with the first part (colloquially referred to as Season 7A) concluding way back in August 2023 and the remaining eight episodes (i.e. Season 7B) premiering Friday, Nov. 22 at midnight ET on demand and on the Starz app and streaming platforms. It will debut linearly on Starz that evening at 8/7c. New episodes will then premiere weekly at the same times.
Season 7B sees Claire (Caitriona Balfe), Jamie (Sam Heughan) and young Ian (John Bell) departing the colonies for their homeland, marking a return to Scotland for the first time since Season 3. The couple will find their marriage “tested like never before” as “painful secrets” are exposed, Starz teased. Meanwhile, Roger (Richard Rankin) and Brianna (Sophie Skelton) battle new enemies across time. The upcoming second half of the season also boasts the return of fan favorites Jenny (with Kristin Atherton replacing Laura Donnelly in the role), Geillis Duncan (Lotte Verbeek), Brian Fraser (Andrew Whipp), Dougal MacKenzie (Graham McTavish), Ian Murray (Steven Cree), Joan MacKimmie (Layla Burns) and Laoghaire Fraser (Nell Hudson). In addition to the show’s returning cast, several new actors have joined the show, like Loria Obianyo as Mercy Woodcock, Rod Hallett as Benedict Arnold and Chris Fulton as Rob Cameron.
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