Sam Heughan, Catriona Balfe 2019: Series Couple Promoted as Executive Producers for ‘Outlander’ Season 5

Sam Heughan and Catriona Balfe have been promoted as executive producers of their own time-traveling drama “Outlander.” And while this is great news for the duo, some are fearing that their screen time might take a hit, Meaww reported.

This is especially true since “Outlander” Season 4 diminished the role of Jamie (Sam Heughan) and Claire (Catriona Balfe) throughout the installment. However, co-executive producer Maril Davis assured fans that the stars’ new role behind the scenes will not impact their respective on-screen functions. It’s quite the opposite, in fact.

Davis explained that part of the reason why Sam Heughan and Catriona Balfe was underutilized – or not utilized at all – in some episodes of the fourth installment is the storyline. With Brianna (Sophie Skelton) and Roger (Richard Rankin) having a more prominent role in the story moving forward, screen time reduction of both the stars is bound to happen.

But that will change in “Outlander” Season 5 as Davis said that it’s essential to use Sam Heughan and Catriona Balfe’s characters as the main catalyst since they want to remain faithful to the books. For their part, the duo has been working hard behind the scenes even before they got to be executive producers.

Series star John Bell said that whenever he needs help in interpreting and delivering a certain dialogue, Sam Heughan and Catriona Balfe is his go-to mentor. And with the pair now having a more prominent role in the show’s trajectory, their responsibility will become even bigger in the future.

But given that Sam Heughan and Catriona Balfe are two individuals that are quite proficient at handling responsibility, this transition will do little to slow down their momentum. This is especially true for the actress as she’s quite the persistent person in real life, The Irish Times reported.