Outlander season 5: Release date and everything we know

The Droughtlander is over! Outlander season 5 is finally almost here to continue the epic, romantic, war-torn, centuries-spanning tale of Claire and Jamie Fraser.

The time between seasons 4 and 5 of the Starz series has been excruciatingly long for fans. But the wait is over and they can watch the next chapter of the show, which is based on the novels by Diana Gabaldon. 

Outlander season 5 is going to dial up the drama, with the Frasers facing a bloody colonial clash that is a precursor to the American Revolution. 

Here’s everything we know about Outlander season 5 including its release date, cast, plot, and more.

Outlander season 5 release date: When is it coming out?  

Outlander season 5 premieres Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020 on Starz in the US. Each of the 12 episodes will air weekly on Sundays.

UK viewers can watch the season 5 premiere episode Monday, Feb. 17 on Amazon Prime Video.

Is there a Outlander season 5 trailer? 

Yes, you can watch the Outlander season 5 trailer now and see glimpses of soldiers at war, Jamie and Claire kissing and the couple discussing difficult decisions they must make:

A teaser trailer from New York Comic-Con is also available online:

And check out the new opening credits for Outlander season 5: 

Outlander season 5 cast: Who’s in it? 

Outlander season 5 brings back the two leads of the show, Caitriona Balfe as Claire Fraser and Sam Heughan as Jamie Fraser.

Also returning are cast members Sophie Skelton as Brianna Randall, Claire and Jamie’s daughter; Richard Rankin as Roger Wakefield, Brianna’s partner; Duncan Lacroix as Murtagh; Maria Doyle Kennedy as Aunt Jocasta; Ed Speleers as Stephen Bonnet; David Berry as Lord John Grey; Tim Downie as North Carolina Governor William Tryon; Cesar Domboy as Fergus; Lauren Lyle as Marsali; John Bell as Ian; Caitlyn O’Ryan as Lizzie; Billy Boyd as Gerald; Natalie Simpson as Phaedre; and Chris Donald as Phillip Wylie.

And it’s possible that Tobias Menzies will be back as Frank Randall, Claire’s husband in modern times. Outlander show co-creator Ronald D. Moore told Elle, “There’s a chance you might see Frank again.” 

Outlander season 5 is also adding a few new cast members. The show announced the casting of Paul Gorman as Josiah and Kezzie Beardsley (twins) and Bronwyn James as Fanny Beardsley. 

And there’s a furry new addition to the cast:

Outlander season 5 plot: What to expect 

Outlander season 5 follows up on the ending of season 4, which found Jamie caught between a rock and a hard place when Governor Tryon ordered him to form a militia in order to fight the rebellious Regulators. And Jamie’s first order? To find and kill Murtagh, his close friend and godfather!

Season 5 is based on Diana Gabaldon’s novel The Fiery Cross, so we can glean some plot details from it. The War of the Regulation, an actual historical battle, looms over the characters. Claire and Brianna know that the strife, between colonists and British officials, is planting the seeds of the American Revolution. 

As Sam Heughan told Parade, Jamie “made this deal with the Redcoats, the British Army, so he's actually on the opposite side of the side where his allegiance really is and his loyalty lies, but he knows he needs to do it … for his family and for his tenants. He has to secure this land and make it a safe place for them, so he goes in league with the British. For Jamie, that's a pretty hard thing to do."

While Jamie struggles with keeping his family safe, Claire continues to expand her medical practice. Jamie builds her a house to use as a surgery.

“Claire makes her own medicine,” Caitriona Balfe told Entertainment Weekly. “It’s been really interesting having her find ways of being able to perform certain surgeries that would have been so commonplace in the 1960s.”

As for the show’s other main couple, Bree and Roger, they have finally reunited, there are still bumps in the road ahead. They get married in a lovely wedding (teased by set photos ... see below), but Roger is struggling with his inability to provide for his family while Bree is still haunted by the rape she experienced at the hands of Stephen Bonnet.

“Being intimate and physically close to Roger is going to be a lot more difficult than it was [before the assault],” Sophie Skelton told EW.

As Showrunner Matthew B. Roberts told Parade, “Just because that last beat in [season 4]  looked like everything was going to be happy, this is the Fraser clan. I don’t know that happily ever after is a phrase that Diana Gabaldon knows.”

Outlander season 5 set photos: What we’ve seen so far  

There are numerous Outlander season 5 photos, both productions stills and behind-the-scenes images from the set.

Here is Starz's first official photo of Jamie and Claire from season 5:

EW shared a first look at Claire’s new house and surgery:

Vogue has exclusive images from Brianna’s wedding:

Heughan posted this Instagram pic of several cast and crew members:

And in this video, Heughan and Balfe declare “it’s a wrap” on filming season 5: 

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