What Year Does ‘Outlander’ Season 6 Take Place?

With ‘Outlander’s’ time-traveling ways, some fans find it tough to keep up with exactly when the show is taking place. Let’s break down exactly what year it is in season 6.

by Perry Carpenter

Published on February 16, 2022

3 min read

ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS

Season 6 of Outlander is based on Diana Gabaldon’s sixth book in her popular series — A Breathe of Snow and Ashes.
The sixth book takes place in the years leading up to the American Revelution.
But the season 6 of the series could take place closer to 1775 — regardless war is coming!

Outlander stars Sam Heughan (Jami Fraser) and Caitriona Balfe (Claire Fraser) in an image from season 6 — Sam Heughan and Cairiona Balfe | Patrick Wilson/Starz

Outlander fans have waited nearly two years for new episodes, and that long wait is almost over. The current Droughtlander — which began in May 2020 after the season 5 finale aired — is coming to end in March. So fans will finally get to see the next chapter in Jamie and Claire Fraser’s story. But what year does it take place?

‘Outlander’ season 6 is based on Diana Gabaldon’s sixth book

Outlander season 6 will be loosely based on the sixth book in Diana Gabaldon’s series — A Breath of Snow and Ashes. Season 5 already featured a few of book six’s plot points. Like Stephen Bonnet’s (Ed Speleers) death and the brutal attack on Claire (Caitriona Balfe). But most of season 6 is expected to come from that same installment.

The story will continue to focus on Jamie (Sam Heughan) and Claire and their life in Colonial America at Fraser’s Ridge. They’ve built a life on land that was granted to them by the British crown. And they’re facing conflict in their community as political unrest unfolds around them.

What year does the upcoming season take place?

In Gabaldon’s sixth book, the story takes place in the years leading up to the American Revolutionary War. It begins in 1772, just three years before “the shot heard round the world.” The specific year for the setting of season 6 might be closer to 1775. But either way, war is coming.

“The long fuse of rebellion has already been lit. Men lie dead in the streets of Boston, and in the backwoods of North Carolina, isolated cabins burn in the forest,” the Random House book description reads. “With chaos brewing, the governor calls upon Jamie Fraser to unite the backcountry and safeguard the colony for King and Crown.”

Since Jamie knows the outcome of the war, he’s aware that those who are loyal to the king are not on the right side of history. Will he support the crown and end up dead or in exile? Or, will he fight for independence with the colonists and risk his home at Fraser’s Ridge?

‘Outlander’ season 6 is about ‘home’

The official Starz network description of Outlander season 6 focuses on the theme of “home.” The network says that Jamie and Claire will continue to fight to protect those they love. While continuing to build and establish their home in “the wild back country of North Carolina” during a period of “dramatic political upheaval.”

“They must now defend this home — established on land granted to them by the Crown — not only from external forces, but also from the increasing strife and conflict in the community within their care. For the Frasers and their immediate family, ‘home’ is more than simply a site in which they live, it is the place where they are laying the foundations for the rest of their lives.”

The upcoming season will ask a new question

The Starz description continued, explaining that season 4 asked the question “What is home?” and season 5 asked “What are you willing to do to protect your home?” Now, they say season 6 will explore “what happens when there is disharmony and division among the inhabitants of the home you’ve created.”

What do you do “when you become an outsider, or an ‘outlander,’ so to speak, marginalized and rejected in your own home?” the Outlander season 6 description posits.

‘Outlander’ season 6 is ‘exciting’ says EP Maril Davis

Outlander season 6 will be a short one, featuring just eight episodes. But, executive producer Maril Davis promised that there will be something for everyone. Per Parade, she explained during a PaleyFest interview that book six is almost as good as the original Outlander novel, which will always be her favorite.

“Jamie and Claire, their love deepens; Roger and Brianna, they have their own journey, and something fun and new happens with them. Caitlin O’Ryan, who plays Lizzie, has a great story, and she is such a phenomenal actress. There are just so many exciting things,” Davis said.

Outlander season 6 premieres Sunday, March 6 on Starz.