ENTERTAINMENT

Everything you need to know about Outlander Season 6

The Frasers return to our screens after an excruciating long break.
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Grab the popcorn and turn the lights down low. Lower, to the lowest possible setting! We need mood lighting and complete silence, because our favourite stars Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe are back with a brand new season of Outlander.

WATCH: First Look Trailer for Outlander Season 6

When does Outlander Season 6 premiere in Australia?

The highly-anticipated sixth season of Outlander will premiere in Australia on March 7, 2022, on Foxtel. If you’re not already signed up, you’re going to want to click here.

The series will also be dropping on BINGE, with episodes housed there for 28 days from release. If you’re not already signed up, click here for a 7-day free trial.

It’s been nearly two years since we last checked in with Claire and Jamie Fraser (Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan) when the show picks back up. Let’s see what they’ve got in store…

sam heughan and caitriona balfe
Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe return as Jamie and Claire in Season 6. (Credit: Foxtel)

What happens in Outlander Season 6?

As always, the show is based on the bestselling book series by Diana Gabaldon. This time, the season follows the novel A Breath of Snow and Ashes and picks back up where we left off at the end of Season 5.

When last we saw them, Claire had just escaped a devastating and violent encounter with Lionel Brown (Ned Dennehy) and returned to Fraser’s Ridge. While Jamie and Claire work to overcome her traumatic experience, they’ll also be facing challenges on the homefront. 

“I think Jamie and Claire have spent a lot of time building this community [at Fraser’s Ridge] and I think this is the season where we really see that disintegrate,” Sam said of the new season while attending New York Comic Con last month.

“Yeah, Jamie went to save Claire, but I think, obviously, she hasn’t gotten over that trauma, and I think Jamie is very aware of it. He’s keeping an eye on her, and I think these cracks are really starting to show — not only for Jamie and Claire but for the rest of the inhabitants of Fraser’s Ridge. The war is coming.”

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Tensions are running high when Outlander returns for Season 6.

Having established their life in North Carolina in Season 4 and 5, the family are now striving to flourish within a society which, as Claire knows, is marching towards the American Revolutionary War.

Defending their home – which was established on land granted to them by the Crown, big yikes for the time period they’re entering – Jamie and Claire will face challenges unlike ever before. Not only is the pressure mounting from external forces, but also from the increasing conflict in the community within their care.

While it’s sounding pretty devastating for the characters we love – hey, what’s new? – we’re also sure to see the occasional heartwarming moment along the way. Not to mention, those classic steamy sex scenes.

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The Frasers established their home in Season 5. (Credit: Foxtel)

How did they film Outlander Season 6 sex scenes during the COVID-19 pandemic?

There’s no other show on earth where fans would be this worried about the impact of a pandemic on the ability to shoot steamy love scenes. But, this is Outlander we’re talking about!

Executive Producer Maril Davis said on the Outcasts podcast that they had deliberately waited to film until January 2021, in order to shoot the scenes properly. If they’d tried to shoot in 2020 as planned, they may not have been able to pull off the steamy scenes the show is known for.

“We don’t have the kind of show, unfortunately, that can be COVID friendly. That’s something that a lot of studios are talking about, and some shows have the luxury to do that, we do not. It’s the least COVID-friendly show ever. It means that maybe there’s no kissing, there’s no interaction; there’s not a lot of actors and extras.”

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The sex scenes continue in Season 6. (Credit: Starz)

Outlander Season 6 premieres March 7,  2022, at 7pm on FOXTEL. 

Stream it on Foxtel Now, live and on demand with a mth-to-mth no lock-in contract. Subscribe here.

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