Sam Heughan Prepares Outlander Spinoff Stars for Intense Romance
Sage Matthews here, bleary eyed and convinced this latest spinoff news is yet another sign we peaked decades ago. Of course this happened as if my 2 AM doomscroll routine needed new fuel. The new series Outlander: Blood of My Blood lands on Starz on August 8 at 8 p.m. ET, and naturally the original show’s lead, Sam Heughan, slid into the newbies’ inbox with a pep talk straight out of medieval Highland wisdom.
The original Outlander premiered back in 2014, based on Diana Gabaldon’s bestselling novels, and it will wrap with Season 8 sometime in 2026. In that saga, Claire Fraser, a nurse from 1945, stumbles through time to 1743, where she marries Scottish warrior Jamie Fraser, played by Heughan. Now showrunners are digging deeper into the Fraser family tree by spotlighting Jamie’s parents Brian Fraser and Ellen MacKenzie, as well as Claire’s folks, Julia and Henry Beauchamp. Jamie Roy portrays Brian, while Harriet Slater takes on Ellen. Over at the Parents of Claire side, Hermione Corfield and Jeremy Irvine fill in Julia and Henry. Heughan himself is conspicuously absent from on screen since his character is still in the genetic waiting room.
Jamie Roy admits that early on Heughan told him simply to enjoy the ride. “There is going to be tough days. But ultimately, take a step back and look at what you are doing and how lucky we are,” Roy revealed to The Post. He also shared how, at the premiere party, Heughan was literally texting him to check on his nerves, asking “Are you coping okay?” Which sounds supportive until you realize that no one has ever truly been okay during an Outlander sex scene.
Harriet Slater confessed she did not try to mimic Heughan’s trademark swagger or delivery when playing his on screen mother. Instead, she and Roy binge watched the original show during the first season of Blood of My Blood just to absorb the spirit, leaving the mannerisms and accents to fate. Roy jokes that any similarities viewers see are casting’s triumph, not his deliberate method acting—an admission that may thrill or terrify the overthinking fan base.
Of course there are more steamy scenes, because nothing says historical drama like choreographed intimacy on a closed set and an army of outfit changes. Slater admits she was daunted by the scale of these sequences but praises the intimacy coordinators who ensure safety and rehearsal before the cameras roll. It is all planned down to the last glance, movement, and burly handshake. Roy even quips that these scenes keep his fitness in check, forcing him to swap shots of whisky for kale smoothies.
This whirlwind production ritual comes wrapped in highlander kilts, candlelit cottages, and plenty of grim reminders that in 1743 life was brutal, messy, and apparently heavily erotic. If you thought the original was intense, buckle up for the prequel’s darker family secrets and hornier love arcs. I suppose in a world where everything seems to spiral, a bit more time travel romance is the only constant.
Anyway, can’t wait to see how this spirals further out of control.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and New York Post
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
