Starz Orders Ron Moore’s Outlander Adaptation to Series

In the wake of renewing and airing a slew of historical dramas, Starz has ordered the television adaptation of author Diana Gabaldon‘s Outlander books to series.  We heard last year that Battlestar Galactica show runner Ron Moore would be at the helm of the Outlander adaptation, while he has also been involved in a new television show for Syfy channel, Helix.

The Outlander series takes place in in multiple times in history, and incorporates science fiction, historical drama, romance, and action as it follows a World War II combat Nurse through time.  From the press release on Collider,

It follows the story of Claire Randall, a married combat nurse from 1945 who is mysteriously swept back in time to 1743, where she is immediately thrown into an unknown world where her life is threatened. When she is forced to marry Jamie Fraser, a chivalrous and romantic young Scottish warrior, a passionate affair is ignited that tears Claire’s heart between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

Gabaldon’s New York Times Best Selling book series has 7 installments so far following the journey of this female protagonist, so the series is definitely set for material, following the mold of Game of Thrones and True Blood in leaping from the page to the small screen.  Considering the success of historical, romantic, and violent television shows with a health dose of fantasy in recent years, Starz deciding to pick up Outlander makes sense.  This follows their renewal of DaVinci’s Demons as well as the network’s decision, along with BBC One, to air the Pre-Tudor historical drama The White Queen later this summer.  Clearly the Game of Thrones formula has caught Starz’s attention, and it’s certainly reassuring that the newest of television’s historical drama has a man behind it who has had experience with science fiction and intrigue in the past.  Of the opportunity to expand the story to a series, Moore said,

I’m very excited to have the opportunity to bring these books to life.  Diana’s created a rich and textured world filled with intriguing characters, and I believe that Starz is the perfect home for her story.  I think we’ll make something that the millions of fans of these books will enjoy and recognize as Outlander.

The first season, currently set at 16 episodes, and will begin filming in Scotland this fall, while the 8th installment in Gabaldon’s book series is scheduled for release at about the same time.

(via Collider)

Previously in Ron Moore

• First Teaser For Ron Moore’s Helix
• Battlestar Galactica Season 2 Episodes 8, 9, 10 Recap
• Ron Moore to Adapt Outlander TV Series

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