The Trailer for the Final Season of 'Outlander' Promises an Emotional End

The end of an era is upon us. Outlander, the time-traveling historical romance series that spans centuries and multiple family connections, will premiere its final season in March, concluding a franchise that helped reimagine historical drama on TV, gave us one of TV's most iconic love stories, and launched the careers of stars Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan.

But what will that conclusion be? Technically, no one knows. Though Outlander is based on the popular series of novels by author Diana Gabaldon, the show is calling it quits following its eighth season, before the tenth and final book is released. And while Season 7 basically covered the main beats from the seventh book, An Echo in the Bone, it's impossible that the show's final ten episodes will manage to cram in everything from the final three novels — one of which hasn't been written yet.

The author herself admits that the show's final season "really won’t resemble the end of the book series."

"Now, in normal circumstances – one book per season – they can fit roughly 10% of the book's content into the show," Gabaldaon wrote on her Facebook page. How much of the (VERY roughly speaking) 1,200,000 words of those three books do you think they can get into ten hours of television? Obviously, they’re going to have to cherry-pick some prime scenes/threads to film, and try to fit them into a framework that makes sense for one season, and that they can bring to a reasonably satisfactory conclusion.”

Here's the final season synopsis.

As Season 8 begins, Jamie and Claire soon find the war has followed them home to Fraser’s Ridge, now a thriving settlement that has grown and flourished in their absence. With new arrivals and changes made during their years away, the Frasers are confronted with the question of what they are willing to sacrifice for the place they call home and, more importantly, what they would sacrifice to stay together. While the Frasers keep a united front against outside intruders, family secrets finally coming to light threaten to tear them apart from the inside. Although they’ve left the war for America’s freedom behind, their fight for Fraser’s Ridge has only just begun.

Alongside Heughan and Balfe, the series' final season also features Sophie Skelton as Brianna MacKenzie, Richard Rankin as Roger MacKenzie, John Bell as Young Ian Murray, David Berry as Lord John Grey, Charles Vandervaart as William Ransom, and Izzy Meikle-Small as Rachel Murray.

Matthew B. Roberts, Ronald D. Moore, Maril Davis, Toni Graphia, Luke Schelhaas, Andy Harries, Jim Kohlberg, Balfe, and Heughan serve as executive producers on “Outlander,” which is produced by Sony Pictures Television.

Outlander Season 8 will premiere on Friday, March 6, and air/stream new episodes weekly on Starz's linear network, the Starz app, and all Starz streaming and on-demand platforms.