Outlander Season 7: Trailer, Release Date, Cast, and Everything You Need to Know

War is nigh! Outlander returns for its anticipated Season 7 June 16 on Starz, with revolution on the horizon. And with so much to tackle, it will need a supersized 16-episode season to get through it all. Season 7 will be split into two eight-episode parts, with the second half coming in 2024. Additionally, Starz recently announced that Season 8 will be the show's final season.

But when we last saw Claire (Caitriona Balfe) and Jamie (Sam Heughan), they had a more pressing matter on their hands. The murder of Malva Christie, the young woman who falsely claimed to be carrying Jamie's baby, had sent shockwaves through Fraser's Ridge –– and provided Richard Brown and his Committee of Safety with enough ammunition to arrest Claire for the crime.

In route to Wilmington for her trial, Claire and Jamie are forcibly separated by Brown, who intends to ship Jamie back to Scotland –– a plan thwarted by Young Ian (John Bell) and the Cherokee. With his freedom, Jamie headed off to save his wife from the noose.

Season 6 of the series followed Outlander author Diana Gabaldon's book "A Breath of Snow and Ashes," but COVID delays in production forced the original 12-episode season to be scaled down to eight episodes and only half the book's events. Season 7's 16 episodes will make up the difference. The action will pick up where it left off with Jamie and Claire against the world and public opinion once more. But the threat of a murder charge might pale in comparison to the all-consuming revolution on the horizon.

What else is in the cards for Outlander Season 7? Here's everything we know about the upcoming two-part season.

Outlander Season 7 release date

Outlander is on the move with its new season. The series will return on Friday, June 16 at 8 p.m. on Starz and all of Starz's streaming platforms. This is the first time in Outlander's run that it will air on Fridays, having been a Sunday mainstay since its third season. But if you can't wait until 8 p.m., the episodes will begin streaming early on the Starz app and Starz streaming add-ons at midnight PT on Fridays.

Outlander Season 7 trailers

Outlander Season 7 trailer

The full preview of the new season begins and ends with the same phrase –– "You'll come back to me, you always do."

At first, Claire speaks it as if she is bidding her husband farewell. But by the end, as he's lying unconscious on a ravaged battlefield, her words take on a new, hopeful plea. The trailer is all about the American Revolution, with Jamie and Young Ian seen charging into battle with muskets, swords, and an early version of the American flag all drawn and at the ready. Even Claire is seen brandishing a sword in a moment of peril.

But a crisis of conscience could be brewing for Jamie, who faces a tough question from a familiar face: "You will not fight for the crown, even if for no other reason than to stand beside your son," says Lord John (David Berry), after Jamie's now-grown son, William Ransom (new cast member Charles Vandervaart), is revealed to be a Redcoat. Later, Jamie tells Claire he made a promise not to face his son "across the barrel of a gun." It means the new season could lead to a reckoning for someone's revolutionary alliance; whether it will be Jamie or his son remains to be seen.

Oh, and let's not forget the little matter of the newspaper story that says the Frasers will die in a fire, the flames of which are seen in the trailer!

Outlander Season 7 teaser

The first teaser for Season 7 dropped as an early Christmas gift in 2022, and while it didn't reveal too much about the new season, it did include some very curious narration from Jamie. "There was light all around you, but it wasn't a candle light or a fire light. I thought that must be what electric light is like."

His dream of Claire basking in the glow of electricity, cast with romantic flashes of their lives on the brink of war, was certainly a tease for fans curious if Jamie could also be capable of traveling through the stones and time.

What books will Outlander Season 7 cover?

With Season 6's story cut short by COVID delays, there is still unfinished business to attend to in Season 7. While each season has largely covered one book in Gabaldon's series, Season 7 will continue on with the story of the sixth book, "A Breath of Snow and Ashes." But with an extra-long episode order and two parts, the second half of the season will start dipping into the seventh book, "An Echo in the Bone," as well as the eighth book, "Written in My Own Heart's Blood."

"Season 7 is actually a melding of Books 6, 7 and 8," executive producer Maril Davis told TV Guide. "It is unbelievably supersized, and we did have to change some stuff. We had these four episodes that really close out last season and Book 6. But when you are opening a new season, the energy is different and our trajectory is different. So we kind of had to alter them. Then we worked our way into the next two books."

Outlander Season 7 opening credits

The series' beloved opening credits get a boost from a Grammy Award-winning voice in Season 7, with Irish singer Sinéad O'Connor performing the signature theme song, "The Skye Boat Song." The first look at the new interpretation was released on Valentine's Day, complete with new visuals that lean heavily on the American Revolution.    

Outlander Season 7 cast

The new season picks back up with Claire and Jamie, as well as Brianna (Sophie Skelton) and Roger (Richard Rankin) as they grow their family and he continues his path to becoming a minister. But Season 7 will also see the mysterious return of hugely important characters not seen in years, including a few who are no longer among the living.

Among the returns are Graham McTavish as Dougal MacKenzie, who died in Season 2; Lotte Verbeek as Geillis Duncan, who died in Season 3; Nell Hudson as Laoghaire Fraser, who was sort of kind of married to Jamie and last seen in Season 4; and Steven Cree as Ian Murray, Young Ian's father and Jamie's brother in law.

The familiar faces will be joined by a slew of new ones including the aforementioned Charles Vandervaart as Jamie's son, William Ransom; Gloria Obianyo as Mercy Woodcock, a free Black woman navigating the hardships of life in Colonial America; Rod Hallett as Benedict Arnold, the notorious Revolutionary War soldier turned traitor; Chris Fulton as Rob Cameron, a new acquaintance of Roger and Brianna; and Diarmaid Murtagh as Buck MacKenzie, the illegitimate son of Dougal MacKenzie and Geillis Duncan.

In a surprising recasting, Kristin Atherton will take over the role of Jenny Murray, Jamie's sister and Young Ian's mother. Jenny was previously played by Laura Donnelly.

Previously, the show announced two other characters from the books will also make their debut this season –– Denzell and Rachel Hunter, a Quaker brother and sister played by Joey Phillips and Izzy Meikle-Small, respectively. Rachel, in particular, is seen getting cozy with Young Ian in the full-length trailer.

Outlander Season 7 episodes

While Season 7's twists and turns remain a mystery, we can glean a little intel from the episode titles of the first eight episodes coming out this summer.

Between the possible Disney reference in Episode 2 and the far-flung destination that could await viewers in Episode 5, there's a lot to chew on with these titles.

Episode 1 – "A Life Well Lost," June 16
Episode 2 – "The Happiest Place on Earth," June 23 
Episode 3 – "Death Be Not Proud," June 30
Episode 4 – "A Most Uncomfortable Woman," July 7
Episode 5 – "Singapore," July 14
Episode 6 – "Where the Waters Meet," July 21
Episode 7 – "A Practical Guide for Time Travelers," July 28
Episode 8 – "Turning Points," August 4

Where to watch Outlander

Outlander Seasons 1-6 are on the Starz app, and Seasons 1-5 can be streamed on Netflix. The series can also be streamed on Amazon Prime Video or Hulu with a Starz add-on subscription. 

Outlander Seasons 1-6 are available now Watch on Starz