When Does ‘Outlander’ Return? Starz Sets 2020 Season 5 Release Date

“Outlander” loves a long hiatus. The Starz series is once again taking over a year to return to the small screen, but fans can at least start counting down the days until it comes back. A Season 5 release date was announced on Thursday.

“Outlander” Season 5 premieres Sunday, Feb. 16 on Starz. Stars Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe, who play Jamie and Claire, pointed out that it’s just in time for Valentine’s Day.

“You know what’s great about Valentine’s Day?” Balfe asked in an Instagram Live video.

“Presents? Chocolate? Dates?” Heughan responded.

“And that it’s two days away from the premiere,” Balfe noted.

That’s a long way off, but it’s not the series’ longest hiatus ever. The break between Seasons 2 and 3 was even bigger at 14 months. In contrast, the gap between Seasons 4 and 5 will be just over a year.

Luckily, fans might get a look at “Outlander” Season 5 before winter. The cast is set to return to New York Comic Con in October. Heughan and Balfe will be joined by Duncan LaCroix (Murtagh), Maria Doyle Kennedy (Jocasta) and David Berry (Lord John Grey) as well as author Diana Gabaldon and executive producers Ronald D. Moore and Maril Davis in the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 5.

Starz also released a synopsis for what to expect in the new episodes. “Season 5 of “Outlander” finds the Frasers fighting for their family and the home they have forged on Fraser’s Ridge,” the summary reveals. “Jamie must find a way to defend all that he has created in America, and to protect those who look to him for leadership and protection – while hiding his personal relationship with Murtagh Fitzgibbons, the man whom Governor William Tryon has ordered him to hunt down and kill.”

Meanwhile, Claire will focus on their expanded family. “With her family together at last, Claire Fraser must use her modern medical knowledge and foresight to prevent them from being ripped apart once again,” the synopsis warns. “However, while focusing on protecting others, she risks losing sight of what it means to protect herself.”

Their daughter, Bree (Sophie Skelton), will be trying to focus on her own family, but she’s still processing the trauma of her rape. Her husband, meanwhile, is still struggling to find common ground with her father.

“Meanwhile, Brianna Fraser and Roger MacKenzie have been reunited, but the spectre of Stephen Bonnet still haunts them. Roger strives to find his place – as well as Jamie’s respect – in this new and dangerous time. The Frasers must come together, navigating the many perils that they foresee – and those they can’t,” the logline says.

There was one final interesting tidbit in the press release. It notes that the 12-episode season is “based on material from Diana Gabaldon’s international best-selling Outlander series.” It does not say it is adapting directly adapting “The Fiery Cross” alone. This could simply be an oversight, or it could hint that Season 5 will take on material from “A Breath of Snow and Ashes” too.