'Outlander: Blood of My Blood' to Premiere on Starz in August

While many Outlander fans are likely already in the feelings about the flagship show's impending conclusion — the final season has already been shot, though it's likely to be split in half and unlikely to begin airing before the end of the year — it's a comfort to know that the series' fictional universe will go on after the final credits roll. And sooner than many of us likely expected. Starz has announced that the highly anticipated prequel series Outlander: Blood of My Blood will premiere this summer, which will focus on two separated but deeply connected love stories: Those of Claire and Jamie's parents. 

Told across two timelines that span the sweeping Highlands of 18th century Scotland to the battlefields of World War I, the series will follow two parallel love stories: Jamie's parents, Ellen MacKenzie and Brian Fraser, and Claire's mother and father, Julia Moriston and Henry Beauchamp. 

We know a bit about Ellen's life thanks to Claire's time as a guest among the Mackenzies back in Outlander's first season, but little in the way of specifics about her relationship with Jamie's father. The Mackenzies didn't approve of the match, given Brian's illegitimate status, and tried to force Ellen into an arranged marriage against their dead father's wishes. The fallout resulted in a rift between Ellen and her brother Colum that never healed. 

Intriguingly, we know almost nothing about Julia and Henry or their relationship, only that they died in a car accident when Claire was five years old. The possibilities, as they say, are fairly endless. While there's been no hint yet that time travel will play any sort of role in this series — it's certainly possible the two romances will be connected via thematic mirroring alone—but it's still fun to speculate, given that Claire's abiltity to travel via the stones had to come from one of her parents.

Here's the series' description. 

From the battlefields of World War I to the rugged Highlands of 18th century Scotland, two fated love stories must defy the forces that seek to tear them apart, intersecting in surprising and unforeseen ways.

The series' main quartet features Harriet Slater (Belgravia: The Next Chapter) as Ellen, Jamie Roy (Condor's Nest) as Brian, Hermione Corfield (We Hunt Together) as Julia, and Jeremy Irvine (Dalgliesh) as Henry. The extended cast includes characters who played key roles back in Outlander Season 1 when the show focused more on clan politics. Rory Alexander (Pistol) is Murtagh Fitzgibbons Fraser, Sally Messham (Blitz) is Mrs. Fitz, Seamus McLean Ross (Payback) is Colum MacKenzie, Sam Retford (Coronation Street) is Dougal MacKenzie, Sadhbh Malin (Conversations with Friends) is Jocasta Cameron, Conor MacNeill (The Tourist) is legal advisor Ned Gowan, and Tony Curran (Mary & George) is Brian's father, Simon Fraser, Lord Lovet.

Matthew B. Roberts serves as showrunner and executive produces alongside Ronald D. Moore, Maril Davis, and Jim Kohlberg. Blood of My Blood is produced by Tall Ship Productions, No Fooling Productions Inc., Story Mining & Supply Company, and Sony Pictures Television.

Outlander: Blood of My Blood will premiere Friday, August 8. New episodes will air weekly on Fridays at 8:00 pm ET/PT on STARZ in the U.S. and at 9:00 pm ET/PT in Canada.