STARZTalk about an emotional rollercoaster of a day for Outlander fans.
First, the incredible news that Outlander had scored three major Golden Globe Award nominations: For the Best Drama, Best Actress (Caitriona Balfe) and Best Supporting Actor (Tobias Menzies). A stunning and incredible feat, given all the competition in very crowded television landscape, as the Starz hit beat out the likes of House of Cards and Homeland.
But…Where was Sam Heughan?
Outlander's leading man, whose profound and fearless work in the first season (no spoilers here but let's just say, he WENT THROUGH IT), seemed to make Heughan a shoo-in for awards recognition. But he was left out of the Best Drama Actor race, prompting intense fan outrage to the tune of: "Whhhyyyy???"
Of course, Outlander's stunning triple nomination is remarkable nontheless. And a huge day for the show and the cast and crew, who are doing some of the finest work every on television. And the fans—who are eagerly awaiting season two.
I just chatted with executive producer Ronald D. Moore about it all…
Big day for you.
Eh, I don't know. Why? Did something happen?
Oh, just a few Golden Globe nominations. No big deal.
Yes. [Laughs] And let me tell you, I was very surprised. It was surprising. I sort of lost track of it and didn't even really realize it was today. And my phone started buzzing and I kept turning it off. And it was my agent and he just kept calling and I was like ‘Jesus, what's going on'. And he said ‘You've got a Golden Globe nomination!' And I yelled at Teri to come in and she came running in, and she said, "Is somebody dead?" And I said, ‘No, no it's good news.'
The show, Catriona and Tobias are all nominated. Have you talked to any of the cast?
I've exchanged emails with Cat haven't been able to talk with Tobias yet but we're just all thrilled. It's great that the show is shooting today, they're out on location in the dark, winter cold and it's certainly a big morale boost to everyone to see their work recognized.
A great day and yet the fans are devastated that by the Sam snub. Have you talked to him? Any thoughts on how that could have possibly happened? ‘Cause I'm at a loss.
It's a tough field. There's a lot of content out there, there's huge amount of material for people to wade through. It's tough. He absolutely deserves to be included in those ranks. And we always treat our cast as ‘the big three' on the show and so yeah, it's disappointing he wasn't included. He absolutely deserves it.
You're in the thick of shooting season two. How's it going?
Really well. Show looks gorgeous and amazing. I think it's going to be a really interesting season for everybody. A very different story and we're really excited.
Any update on the casting of Brianna? That started a couple months ago. How has it been going? Has it been more challenging than you thought?
Hopefully we'll be announcing soon. We're getting close. But it's a tough part to cast and it's just taking a while.
Are you looking for a known name or that doesn't really matter? Because I would think at this point, well-known actors are wanting to come on the show.
We haven't been really looking for a name per se. I think we're open to it but it hasn't really been our focus.
Any little teases you can give for season two? What are Jamie and Claire up to? How's that her little bump progressing? What can you tell us?
[laughs] It all looks really great, the sides turned out really well and the effects are coming in now and I think we really deliver the idea of Paris in the way that we really hope. The costumes are fantastic and I think it's going to be a visual feast.
When do we get an official start date for season two?
I hope we'll be hearing about it soon. I'm not sure where they are.
And how about season three? Will we get any new of a pickup soon?
Hopefully soon. We're certainly talking about it and we're talking about it with the stars and Sony but nothing is official. I don't know what the timetable is officially. But I'm pretty optimistic.
You did such an incredible job on Battlestar Galactica for so many years with no real recognition. It was always a perennial snub. Does that make this Outlander moment all the more sweet?
Yeah, I mean we felt that certainly on Battlestar, but we always just told ourselves it was going to last. It didn't really matter if you got it in the moment and the big thing was the long term. And we felt that we were making a classic and it would prove to be that and it kind of has over time. I always sort of felt that particularly the cast on Battlestar should have been recognized long, long ago and that was a pain in the ass and too bad. But it's great to get the nomination today for Outlander and it's really amazing for this show and to have everyone's hard work acknowledged and paid off. There's a huge crew and they deserve to have their work included in the conversation of the best shows on television.
Anything you want to say to fans who supported show since the beginning?
Just thank you very much. We've been entrusted with a book that was beloved and we've been very happy that you guys embraced it so deeply.
How do you think they're celebrating today in Scotland?
Oh, I'm sure the whiskey is flowing freely.