When are Outlander season four episodes released on Amazon?

How many episodes in Outlander season four?

Season four will be 13 episodes long.

• How was North Carolina filmed in Scotland for Outlander season 4?
• Who is Aunt Jocasta in Outlander season 4?
• Have we seen the last of Outlander's Brianna and Roger?

What happened at the end of Outlander season three?

Outlander's third season came to a soaking wet finale, as Claire (Caitriona Balfe) and Jamie (Sam Heughan) found themselves floating in open water after the merciless tide battered the Artemis on its return journey from Jamaica to Scotland. They lost the boat and Claire very nearly lost her life before her highlander husband dove beneath the waves to save her.

The pair were washed up on a mysterious shore, which they soon learned was actually Georgia, one of the original thirteen colonies of the United States.

But what does this mean for our laird and his lady? Will they EVER get back to Scotland – or will they make a life here?

What will happen in Outlander season four?

Outlander's fourth season will mostly be based on Diana Gabaldon's fourth novel in the series, The Drums of Autumn. The book sees Claire and Jamie facing new challenges as they attempt to build a new life for themselves in the American colonies.

Caitriona Balfe tells RadioTimes.com that this new setting is particularly interesting for Claire, who has already lived in the USA, but in the 20th century. "When she left America it was at the height of the civil rights movement and so it's a very interesting thing to have her come at the inception of the United States of America, as we know it today," she says.

The country Claire and Jamie find themselves in is a very different place, where slavery still exists and the first settlers are interacting with the Native American tribes.

"It's very interesting to watch her wrap her mind around how to be a pioneer but also knowing what she knows and having the respect she does for the Native American culture," Balfe adds. "It definitely isn't without its problems and issues and having her figure out how to be a respectful pioneer I suppose. So yeah it's an interesting thing to play."

She says season four, like each season before it, will offer viewers something different. "It's interesting to watch how all of these characters embrace the new land and all of the trials and tribulations that come along with that as well as the excitement, and that kind of new beginning is really exciting to get on board with."

Who's in the cast of Outlander season four?

Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe and the gang (or rather those of them who were still alive at the end of season three) have returned, but we have some fresh faces joining the cast to play new characters too.

Irish actress Maria Doyle Kennedy (who you might remember as Catherine of Aragon in The Tudors or, more recently, Mrs S from Orphan Black) plays Jamie’s Aunt Jocasta, whose plantation Claire and Jamie arrive at in Drums of Autumn.

Downton Abbey's Ed Speelers (who also played Eragon in, well, Eragon) stars as Stephen Bonnet, a villainous Irish-born pirate whose actions will have quite important consequences for many of the main characters.

In other season four news, returning characters include:

• John Bell plays Young Ian
• César Domboy plays Fergus
• Lauren Lyle plays Marsali
• Richard Rankin plays Roger Wakefield
• Sophie Skelton plays Brianna Randall Fraser

Newcomers for season four include:

• Colin McFarlane plays Ulysses
• Natalie Simpson plays Phaedre
• Tim Downie plays Governor Tryon
• Rainer Sellien plays Baron Penzler
• Lee Boardman plays Lieutenant Wolff
• Jereme Holder plays Rufus
• Kyle Rees plays John Quincy Myers

And to really up the cute levels on set, they've also cast two very sweet little puppies to play Rollo, Young Ian's wolf hybrid, who also becomes a much-loved member of the Fraser clan.

Will Brianna and Roger return in series four?

Season three offered us a proper introduction to Claire and Jamie's daughter, Brianna, and the Reverend Wakefield's adopted son, Roger MacKenzie. The pair were only on our screens for a short time but managed to steal hearts with their will-they-won't-they romance.

If season four stays true to The Drums of Autumn then fans are in for a real treat, because Brianna and Roger have a much bigger role to play in the story.

"They actually come into the story in a much bigger way in season four,” executive producer Ron Moore told RadioTimes.com earlier this year, and that's something actors Sophie Skelton and Richard Rankin told us they're VERY excited about.

“The scope really widens in Drums of Autumn. It’s a brilliant book and it just becomes much bigger; not just for us but as a whole, the story as a whole just becomes epic,” said Rankin, who added that he had no idea how the writers would manage to fit the whole novel into one season.

“There’s a really great story for Roger and Brianna, and we may or may not go back in time in the books…” Skelton teased.

Will Outlander return for a fifth season?

Seasons three and four of the show were commissioned at the same time and Starz have followed that same pattern by confirming that yes, Outlander WILL return for seasons five and six!

• Sam Heughan: Outlander could "go to seven seasons and beyond"

Outlander season three is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video in the UK

This article was originally published in December 2017