Season 6 Filming Wraps, Overcoming Unprecedented Challenges

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Cover photo: A glimpse of what filming looked like this season – cold, wet, and masked. Starz Season 6 teaser – the Frasers meet the Christies

Woo hoo! The amazing leadership, cast, staff, and crew of our beloved Outlander have finished filming Season 6, amid unprecedented challenges. Literally, on the first day of filming, Scotland went back under lockdown, due to Covid-19. In December, 2020, Sam told Parade magazine:

“It doesn’t matter if it is an intimate scene or a regular scene, we are going to be in contact with each other, so we will be in our own bubble,” he said. “It won’t just be the actors, it will be our core team, hair and makeup. You literally cannot do the job without having everyone around you. I know we have a strict set of rules and it will take some getting used to, but we will be safe. We are being tested, we have face coverings, so we are going to be in a really safe place.”

Creating a season of Outlander is already challenging enough – ABOSAA is 1157 pages long, and they have to squeeze all that into 12 episodes?? Er, make that 8 episodes!! Much of Outlander is filmed outside, and the Scottish weather has been named by many, including Ron D. Moore, as the most challenging element in filming a season. That was before 2020, baby! I’m sure the reality of getting this season completed was overwhelming to contemplate, much less execute, with all of the Covid-19 protocols that had to be followed, but they’ve done it! Congratulations and a big thank you to everyone in front of, and especially behind, the cameras who got this season done for us! 

Matt Roberts tweeted late last night: “Thank you seems so inadequate this season. I am humbled and honored to just to be included in this group of talented and dedicated crew, staff and cast that sacrificed and persevered to bring Outlander S6 to life. I stand in awe of you.”

Maril tweeted earlier yesterday: “That’s a wrap on S6 of @Outlander_STARZ! THANK YOU to our hard working crew, cast, writers & anyone else I missed. It’s always a team effort on this show & I couldn’t be more proud of our amazing group this season. Looking forward to showing everyone the fruits of our labor.”

Diana responded to Maril last night: “It’s looking great! SO proud of you all!”

June 1st was World Outlander Day, and Starz announced the official wrap of Season 6 filming, (and that Season 6 will be 8 episodes, and Season 7 – 16 episodes). Normally, there would be a wrap party to celebrate the end of the season, but I’m guessing this year the party is online. 

It seems Fersali was first to leave the building, back in April sometime,

Photo: Outlander Season 5 Key Art and Marketing Shoot – Sep 17-21 2019

as Lauren is playing the lead in a new book series adaptation of Karen Pirie, which started filming on April 26th. 

Next to wrap was Caitriona, who announced her Season 6 wrap on June 1st… “And that’s a wrap on Season 6…… Congratulations to all our cast and crew who worked so hard during tough conditions… rain, wind, snow…global pandemic!!! But I think we’ve managed to create something great. Coming to you early 2022 …. and as always thanks to all the fans for sticking with us during this extended droughtlander….. ”

Photo: Starz, Caitriona Balfe Instagram

 
No word from either John Bell or David Berry since they appeared in the World Outlander Day video, dropped on May 31st. Of course, that was filmed in advance, so no idea when they actually wrapped up their parts for Season 6.

             

 
I believe Lizzie (Caitlin O’Ryan) and the Beardsley twins (Paul Gorman) may have been next to go, as Caitlin posted on June 2nd: “Pleasure as always Glasgow x,” as she presumably headed out of town.

Photo: Caitlin O’Ryan instagram

Caitlin posted a wrap tweet today – “Outlander S6 is wrapped- a weird experience during a pandemic but one that we felt so grateful for. The ability to work & be surrounded by amazing colleagues, new and old (all masked up of course) THANK YOU to EVERYONE for the hard work, support & positive vibes. Hope you love it.”

Paul was seen in street clothes and did a little photo shoot on June 2nd…

 

Photo: Paul Gorman instagram, credit: @dylanblore

 
Old Arch Bug (Hugh Ross) was last seen on World Outlander Day…

Photo: Hugh Ross instagram

 
Alexander Vlahos (who plays Allan Christie) seems to already be working on something else, as of June 2nd – 

Photo: Alexander Vlahos, instagram

but he posted a wrap tweet yesterday thanking Matt, Maril and Starz… “That’s a wrap on #OutlanderS6 Thank you to @TheMattBRoberts & @TallShipProds, @STARZ & the hard working crew who worked tirelessly to get this season finished. I can’t wait for you all to meet The Christie’s” 

Photo: Alexander Vlahos, Twitter. Might these Christies be playing music in Season 6? If so, this is a much looser version of Tom Christie!

And who is Greg McHugh? 

–

Photo: Source: PBJ Mgmt 

To my knowledge, Greg McHugh has not been announced as a cast member for Season 6, but he keeps piping up during cast exchanges on Twitter. I’m wondering if he could be playing Major McDonald? What do you think? 

Photo: Starz teaser for Season 6

The other two Christies announced their departures on June 4 as well…

Jessica Reynolds, who plays Malva Christie, sent a tweet & an insta saying goodbye to her character – “And we’re wrapped !!! I’ll miss you my Malva, your wee troubled soul.” 

 
Mark Lewis Jones, aka Tom Christie, posted a stunning in character photo in his wrap tweet, (taken by Richard Rankin), in which he thanked DG, Matt and Maril… Ohhh, he is gonna be a good Tom Christie, I can feel it.

Diana said as much in a tweet to Mark in the wee hours this morning: “Many thanks to _you_! You did a fabulous job this season–can’t wait for everyone to see!”

 
Chris Larkin (aka Richard Brown, the Snake) also seems to have bugged out after World Outlander Day, as he cut off his 18th century locks on June 2nd and donated them to charity!

Before:

After:

Photos: Chris Larkin, Instagram

On June 3rd, director Christiana Ebohon-Green posted “And that’s a wrap on my block of Outlander. Thanks for having me.” I am excited to see her work, as she previously worked on Call The Midwife, which I loved.

One might think from this that Christiana directed the last two episodes of Season 6: Episodes 607 and 608; however, a tweet from Independent Talent back in March said she was doing Eps 604 and 605. (We also see that Jamie Payne is back for 607 and 608 – yay!! Jamie directed some favorites from last season, including Eps 503 (Free Will), 504 (The Company We Keep), 511 (Journeycake), and the brilliant season finale, Ep 512 (Never My Love). Kate Cheeseman is also a new director to Outlander this season – according to this tweet, she directed the first two episodes. Not sure who did 603 and 606.  

Yesterday (June 4th), seems to have been the last day of filming for the remaining cast and crew (the post production team will be doing editing, special effects, music, ADR (additional dialogue recording) etc. for a good while yet, and I’m sure there’s still plenty of clean up and disassembly that has to happen). Sam seems to have been one of the last ones on set/location; he and others posted congratulations and thank you’s on SM yesterday…

“That’s a wrap!! @outlander_starz season 6 done and to finish it, a beautiful ride through the Highlands of Scotland.
Thanks to @zion_security_ltd for the loan of the sweet @harleydavidson_uk wheels. 😘🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿”

Photo: Sam Heughan, Instagram

I’m not sure if he was still filming yesterday, but Richard Rankin said goodbye with one of his beautiful black and white photos – I believe this is the church we’ll likely see him preaching in, of a Sunday, in Season 6.

Photo: Richard Rankin, Instagram

Sophie bade us farewell from the Big House, with a very sweet note – could be a Richard photo too? 

Photo: Sophie Skelton, Instagram

“Well, there we go… it’s a wrap!!! Pushing through the added complications of a pandemic and alll the elements Scottish weather could throw at us (!!) our cast and crew deserve an humongous round of applause. Thank you to each and every one of them, and to each and every one of you fans for sticking with us through this extra-long hiatus. We appreciate your passion, support, and continued patience more than you possibly know. I think we’ve made a pretty great season for you here! so we hope it makes up for the wait. And, as a little cherry on top, we’re making season 7 an extra long one. With 16 eps, to say thanks for being the best. Until then, here’s to Season 6! Start the countdown and… enjoy!!”

Maria Doyle Kennedy tweeted yesterday, saying that Season 6 is “Short but delicious…..worth your wait lovely Outlander folks” Wonderful endorsement! 

 

 
Paul Donnelly, aka the guy who taught Sam how to Tik Tok 😁 and who plays Ronnie Sinclair on the show, sent out a wrap message on June 4th… “That’s a wrap on outlander season 6! I loved it as always. I get to work with the best cast and crew in the world. We always have a laugh and there is always snacks. (I can’t sing).”

Photo: Paul Donnelly, instagram

 

Photo: Paul Donnelly, Instagram

Assistant Director Graham Wallace also said his goodbyes yesterday, with thanks to “the great crew and the lovely cast.”

 
And, of course, Sam needed a ride home after the last day, and good old faithful Davie Stewart was there to give it to him…

Photo: Davie Hollywood, Twitter

That’s a wrap for this post! I am looking so forward to this season! Thank you again to all the wonderful people who make this show happen, from Diana to every last valued team member. “Short, but delicious…” bring it on!!!

 

Coming up:

If you missed my chat with Caitlin from The Dipp on Tuesday evening,  no worries, I will post the video as soon as it’s out. We had a rousing discussion with other fans!  Here’s our first convo in case you missed that one:  Courtney & Caitlin Talk Season 6, 7 & LJG Spin Off. 

And, I’m still working on this fun Where are they now?  post. I’ve been catching up with lots of Outlander cast and crew from Seasons 1-5, and I’ll be updating you soon. 

 

For all my Season 6 Filming, Season 7, and Bees news, go to the Featured Favorites Section. 

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Source: Parade Mag
Source: Outlander TV News
Source: The Dipp

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9 comments on “Season 6 Filming Wraps, Overcoming Unprecedented Challenges”

  1. Looks like the wrap party may be happening tonight (Sat 5th June)! Lauren posted a picture of her and Sophie with a newly barbered Richard, they were all looking smart with wine etc. Greg McHugh is a good friend of Steven Cree (they’re in A Discovery of Witches together) and other cast members. I don’t think he’s in Season 6, his visit to Scotland earlier this year was to film a series for the BBC. Apparently they finished Ep 8 in April according to a clapperboard posted by a crew member on Instagram. The Glencoe shooting this week was for Episode 4, so it must have battle scenes and stunts, fights etc, which are always left to the end in case of injuries etc.

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    • You’re a wealth of info, Thank you! I saw the Lauren story just now – around 4:00pm local for them? It looks like Caitlin O’Ryan was with Jessica Reynolds – maybe last night? I wonder if they’re getting together in a group or in small groups?

      Doesn’t that McDonald resemble Greg McHugh though? Could be – maybe not.

      Good info about the battle scenes done last in case of injuries – I didn’t know that. Do you remember where you learned it? And a clapper board from April – I will look for it! xo

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      • Sam mentioned it in an interview, when they filmed the drowning/water scenes at the end of S3 and he bumped Cait’s nose on the wooden raft (she had a scar), there was a comment made about why they keep these kind of scenes until the end. The clapperboard picture from April was posted by a crew member on Instagram. It also had Jamie Payne’s name on it, directing Ep 4 at least! I agree re Greg, he could be the major. and he could have done his BBC series as well as a stint in Outlander while he was up in Scotland.

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  2. Courtney, Thanks for this Album of Season 6 farewell Tweets. Kudos to each of the talented cast members, and multiple production and support crews who worked together to get the job done creatively and, most importantly, safely. Raising a glass in anticipation of Season 6 “Short but delicious..” and always Outlander.

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  4. JHRC Courtney! Thanks for all of the retweets and info you’ve included here! I can’t wait to listen to your interviews with previous cast members!

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  5. Season 6 must have been challenging to do due to the pandemic. I have a lot of respect for the actors, and crew creating this Season in spite of the hurdles, and yet keeping in the mind the safety of others. When Season 6 does appear on the store shelves it will be extra special because of that.

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