Outlander concluded last weekend after eight seasons and 12 long years, bringing the time-travelling love story of Claire (Caitriona Balfe) and Jamie (Sam Heughan) to an end. It’s been quite the journey for fans, who watched this epic tale unfold over several battles, decades and traumatic injuries.
Now, those same fans can keep the action going with the show’s official spinoff, Outlander: Blood of My Blood. The historical romance is a prequel that unravels the story of Jamie’s parents, Brian Fraser and Ellen MacKenzie, and Claire’s parents, Henry Beauchamp and Julia Moriston.
It’s a decent watch if you want to witness love unfold across 18th-century Scotland or throughout the First World War. However, if you’re looking for similar Outlander threads with completely new characters and stories, here are five other series worth checking out.
Poldark, PBS Masterpiece via Prime Video
Eleanor Tomlinson and Aidan Turner in Poldark.Supplied
This 2015 series revolves around Ross Poldark (Aidan Turner) returning home from the American Revolutionary War and rebuilding his life. Based on the Winston Graham novels, the show is about new beginnings and coming back from tragedy, with a love triangle, business feuds and unexpected turns. It’s a strong character drama, particularly in the first couple of seasons, and is set against the backdrop of a rapidly changing British society. Eleanor Tomlinson and Jack Farthing also star across the five seasons.
Pachinko, Apple TV+
Youn Yuh-jung in Pachinko.The Associated Press
One of the most underrated series around, Pachinko is a beautiful and sweeping story of a Korean family living in Japan, told over multiple generations. Based on Min Jin Lee’s novel, it too is a love story. But dig deeper and there are themes of resiliency, identity and erasure, not to mention generational trauma. Kim Min-ha anchors the show as a teen Sunja, while Youn Yuh-jung is brilliant as the older version of the character. It’s moving, beautiful and captures the anti-Korean sentiments in Japan following Japan’s occupation of the Korean Peninsula in the early 1900s.
A Discovery of Witches, AMC+
Teresa Palmer and Matthew Goode in A Discovery of Witches.Supplied
If escapist, romantic fantasy is your main reason for watching Outlander, then this adaptation of Deborah Harkness’s novels may be your next binge. It’s a supernatural take on enemies-to-lovers, with a witch (Teresa Palmer) and a vampire (Matthew Goode) at the centre. The show sets the tone with stellar cinematography, costumes and historical references to explain the magic throughout, but it also embraces classic pulpiness and tropes of the genre, such as brooding vampires. While the tone can be confusing at times, it’s still a fun fantasy to settle into for three short seasons.
The Cook of Castamar, Netflix
Roberto Enríquez and Aria Bedmar in The Cook of Castamar.Supplied
If you’re worried about investing time in another series, only for it to go downhill after a couple of seasons, this 18th-century period piece is an immersive, one-off watch. Over 12 episodes, the show heads to Madrid where a woman with agoraphobia throws her talents into her cooking following the death of her father. When she catches the eye of a grieving duke, however, forbidden romance follows alongside stories of jealousy, revenge and class barriers. Michelle Jenner and Roberto Enríquez star.
Black Sails, Crave
Toby Stephens in Black Sails.Supplied
Sure, Outlander had lots of romance, but it was also rife with adventure and battles. Enter Black Sails, which kicks those adrenaline-fuelled storylines up a few notches. There’s plenty of steamy action, sure. But those scenes take a backseat to survival, politicking and pirate action. It’s a less traditional romance that serves as a prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. Join Captain Flint (Toby Stephens) and a young John Silver (Luke Arnold) as they hunt for Spanish treasure and defend their waters from the British and Spanish empires. Catch all four seasons now on Crave.