Caitríona Balfe may be stepping into the genteel world of Jane Austen as Mrs. Dashwood in the upcoming adaptation of Sense and Sensibility, but it was another period drama that made her a household name. For twelve years, Balfe portrayed the determined Claire Randall in the historical-fantasy hit Outlander.
Calling the series a phenomenon is hardly an exaggeration. When the eighth and final season premiered in May, nearly three million viewers tuned in during its first week after release, marking a four-year high for the show.
Over the years, Outlander has developed a fiercely devoted global fanbase. Even Princess Eugenie is reportedly a fan, while the show’s most loyal followers have embraced the name “Sassenachs”, a Gaelic term meaning “outsider” that is also used as a term of endearment in the series.
For those who have somehow avoided the Outlander phenomenon, the story begins with Claire, a newly married British combat nurse who mysteriously travels through time from the 20th century to 18th-century Scotland while on her honeymoon.
Suddenly separated from the life she knows, Claire finds herself caught up in clan rivalries, political unrest and the complicated social hierarchy of the time. Her journey eventually draws her into the Jacobite uprising and some of the most turbulent periods in Scottish history.
A major part of the show’s success comes from the undeniable chemistry between Claire and Jamie Fraser, played by Sam Heughan. Jamie is a rugged Highland warrior who eventually becomes Claire’s husband, but their relationship is far removed from a simple period-drama romance.
Throughout the series, viewers have watched Claire and Jamie endure separation, war, loss and enormous upheaval. At a time when many television romances are resolved within a handful of episodes, Outlander gave audiences the opportunity to become invested in a relationship that developed over more than a decade.
It is little surprise, then, that the series won the fan-voted Critics’ Choice Award for Most Bingeworthy Show twice.
But romance is only one part of Outlander’s appeal. Claire and Jamie’s story unfolds against the backdrop of real historical events, from the Jacobite rising to the American Revolution. Claire’s knowledge of the future adds another layer of tension, because she often knows what is supposed to happen while the people around her do not.
Balfe, who received four consecutive Golden Globe nominations for her performance as Claire, believes the show’s success was partly the result of being in the right place at the right time.
“You never know with things how they’re going to go,” she tells Dora Davies-Evitt in the October cover interview. “I think we were very lucky. There was an amazing alchemy from the very beginning with all of us, and obviously Diana’s books already had such a huge following, which I didn’t even realise when I started.”
Although Outlander has now come to an end, the series continues to attract fans to the locations where it was filmed. Scotland has effectively become a pilgrimage destination for Sassenachs, with visitors able to explore places including Doune Castle, Midhope Castle and the historic grounds of Culloden.
Midhope Castle forms part of the Hopetoun Estate, the ancestral seat of the Marquesses of Linlithgow. For fans looking for an even more luxurious experience, Drumlanrig Castle in Dumfriesshire, the seat of the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry, also offers guests the opportunity to stay in cottages across the estate.
Ultimately, Outlander has endured because it combines two powerful elements: a sweeping love story and a constantly changing historical backdrop. Claire and Jamie’s relationship gives the series its emotional heart, while the historical events surrounding them keep their story unpredictable.
More than a decade after Claire first tumbled through the stones and found herself in another century, perhaps the better question is no longer why so many people watched Outlander.
It is how so many others managed not to.
