‘Outlander’ Season 5 News: Sam Heughan, Caitriona Balfe Promoted As Producers; Fans Want More Screen Time for Claire and Jamie

“Outlander” season 5 will be more exciting as its lead stars were promoted as show producers. Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe will have bigger roles now as they were confirmed to be getting the producer credit for the series’ fifth installment.

CarterMatt reported that in her interview the past weekend, Caitriona Balfe mentioned what she and Sam Heughan are getting from “Outlander” season 5. She then revealed about the producer credit in the upcoming season of the time-traveling period drama.

It was also noted that Sam Heughan previously hinted about his and Caitriona Balfe’s promotion in “Outlander” season 5 when he said that their roles have been expanded in the series. The two actors also discussed in the past that they are interested in directing so it is likely that they will achieve this goal in the fifth season too.

With their additional roles in “Outlander” season 5, Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe are expected to contribute more and would have a say when it comes to how the story will develop. They have bigger responsibilities now but the co-stars seem to appreciate their promotion very much because aside from fulfilling their dreams, it also means that Starz trusts them a lot.

Now, with the new episodes, fans relayed what they want from “Outlander” season 5. They said that they would like to see more of Claire and Jamie again. It appears that this request resulted from the fact that season 4 focused on the new cast’s characters.

In the previous season, the story was centered on Jamie and Claire’s daughter, Brianna (Sophie Skelton) and her fiance Roger (Richard Rankin). It cannot be denied that the new villain Stephen Bonnet (Ed Speelers) was a scene-stealer as well in “Outlander” season 4 thus Jamie and Claire’s characters were sort of overwhelmed by the newcomers.

Apparently, fans miss Jamie and Claire’s screen time as the production team develops new interesting characters. But they should not worry because co-executive producer Maril Davis assured everyone that the leads will be back on the spotlight.

"I do anticipate a return, hopefully, to that next season a little more. Every season has its different storylines and where we're going. It can't always re-create the first season, which was very special, but it just has to be within the story and feel like it’s organic,” he said during the Television Critics Association winter press tour.

Davis closed his statements by saying that the production team of “Outlander” season 5 knows that Claire and Jamie are the heart and soul of the Diana Gabaldon’s novels where the drama was based on, so the center of the plot will always go back to the two lead characters.