Maril Davis and Caitriona Balfe Talk ‘Outlander’ Season 7 and the Chemistry Between Jamie and Claire | ATX TV Festival

Executive Producer Maril Davis says Outlander Season 7 is a “tour de force” for Caitriona Balfe, and that Claire “really goes on a journey.”

At the ATX Television Festival earlier this month in Austin, Texas, Davis and Balfe appeared for a special panel to coincide with “World Outlander Day.”

The women talked about the upcoming season of Outlander and Balfe’s plans to direct in Season 8. They also spoke about how the friendship between Balf and Sam Heughan has led to a natural chemistry between the two actors.

On the friendship between Maril Davis and Caitriona Balfe:

The panel began with moderator Reshma Gopaldas asking about the friendship the women have developed over the years. Davis noted that Balfe was initially cast on her birthday. She also said Balfe has “the best laugh in the industry.”

“From the very beginning, Maril was my go-to sounding board. I was so green, and I was so inexperienced. And she was such an ally and such a support in the very beginning,” Balfe said of Davis. “Over the years, Marils’ been very encouraging about me progressing.”

On Caitriona Balfe’s new role as Executive Producer:

The progression includes Balfe’s new role as Executive Producer. For Balfe, that means she’s involved “earlier and earlier in the scripts and storylines.” She also feels more empowered to speak up when she notices problems.

“I find it really interesting seeing how the cake is made, and how everybody has their part and everybody has [some] influence. It’s about figuring out if I ever can be helpful. And just listening and figuring out how things are done.”

Balfe will direct in Season 8:

Balfe also confirmed that she will be directing an episode next season. She admitted that she is both “very excited” and “very terrified.”  

“In prep, I’ve been doing a little bit of second unit stuff already, so I’ve done some stuff in the past few months, and that has been so fun,” Balfe said. “Everybody has been so supportive.”

When asked about the writers strike and its impact on production, Davis said that the show is doing okay for now, as it’s already finishing up Season 7. However, depending on how long the strike goes on, that could cause Season 8 to be pushed back.

On the friendship between Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan:

David and Balfe also spoke to the chemistry between Jamie and Claire.

“Everyone knows we cast Sam first, and we had a very hard time finding our Claire,” Davis said. She added that they knew if they didn’t get that match right, they may as well not even make the show. That’s how important the chemistry was.”

“That friendship and that chemistry has always been so evident,” Davis said of Balfe and Heughan. “They just work so well together, and you see it on the screen. You see it in real life.”

Balfe added that she and Heughan made a conscious decision early on to make sure they always got along and would be there for one another.

“We were getting our hair ruined for about the fifth time down in London before we started filming,” Balfe said. “He and I went for a walk in Hyde Park. We were just talking and we were like, ‘Look, [we] don’t know what this is going to be, but we’re going to be the only two who know what it’s going to be like in this. So we have to have each others’ backs.'”

From that point, they always did, according to Balfe. Balfe continued on to say that each of their lives has changed a lot over the years, but it still doesn’t affect that part of their relationship. 

“We may not see each other as much as we used to. But that core and that friendship and that base that we have has never changed.”

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Check out all of our coverage of the ATX Television Festival right here.

Outlander Season 7 premieres June 16th on STARZ.  

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