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Neither Anne Epstein, 75, nor her husband has a drop of Scottish blood, but the pair have been to the country three times since 2015. Sue Nestasia, 58, has been twice, and Arlene Boeree, 67, four times. The reason behind all those trips? Outlander.
Starz’s historical fantasy drama, based on Diana Gabaldon’s best-selling series, is headed into its fourth season on November 4, meaning “Droughtlander”—what fans call the time between seasons—is finally over.
At Comic Con in New York in early October, thousands like Epstein, Nestasia and Boeree gathered to preview the Season 4 premiere and meet the stars. “I went down the Outlander rabbit hole in 1992,” says Epstein, who traveled from Southern California to attend Comic Con. “A friend loaned me the book. I read it through and said to her, ‘Nancy, I’m not going to return it to you right away, because I need to read it again.’”
A brief recap: Gabaldon’s story begins when Claire Randall (played by Caitriona Balfe)—a married British nurse living in 1940s London—finds a passageway to 18th-century Scotland. There she falls in love with a Highland warrior, Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan), fighting for independence from the British. Over three seasons, Claire has used her modern-day know-how to aid Jamie’s band of greasy-haired, kilt-wearing clansmen in their fight against a villainous British officer—who happens to be a lookalike ancestor of Claire’s 20th-century husband. Claire travels back and forth in time, allowing...