Outlander

What’s it about?

Clair Beauchamp Randall, a nurse in World War II, is mysteriously sent back in time to 1743 Scotland, where she meets a dashing Highland warrior and gets drawn into an epic rebellion.

The facts 

• Created by Ronald D. Moore
• Starring Caitríona Balfe, Sam Heughan, Sophie Skelton, Richard Rankin, and John Bell
• English language 
• 57min per episode

Why did it get this rating? 

Seasons 1-7 of Outlander have been classified by Te Mana Whakaatu, Classification Office. You can find out more about classification process and ratings here.

Season one is rated R18, while seasons 2-7 are rated R16. In this content breakdown we have highlighted the strongest content over the entire series. To find out what the content warnings are for each season, search “Outlander” in our Find a Rating tool.

Sex scenes and nudity

Outlander contains frequent explicit sex scenes with female and male nudity as well as graphic sexual discourse.

A woman is shown secretly masturbating next to her husband while thinking about another man.

Rape

A woman bashes a man in the head, before he throws her on the bed to rape her. The man touches himself but is unable to become erect, causing the woman to laugh at him and the man to hit her repeatedly.

Scenes where a man is repeatedly raped and tortured are extremely graphic and disturbing

In episode seven of season 2, there is a flashback scene showing a man raping a young boy. Though it is not directly shown, it is implied through thrusting, screaming, and struggling.

Violence and cruelty

This show contains numerous fight scenes where people are beaten and killed, and gory wounds are shown. 

Some of the strongest moments of violence include:

• A female nurse is covered in blood while trying to help a patient who has blood spurting from their leg artery.
• One man is killed by a boar. We see his intestines exposed and bloody wounds.
• We see a man’s dislocated shoulder before it is pulled back into place.
• A little boy has a nail hammered through the skin of his ear as punishment. He screams in pain and blood pours out of the wound.
• There is a scene where a man’s arm is amputated with a saw while he is still conscious and he screams in pain.
• We are briefly shown a character stitching up several chunks of flesh and cuts on a man’s bloody hand.
• One man is decapitated with an axe, which takes several blows.

Content that may disturb

A group of travellers come across the bodies of two men who were physically abused and crucified on crosses.

One woman finds a dead baby in a tree who was said to have been “given to the fairies.”

Offensive language

This show contains the use of offensive language, with words like “f*ck,” “c*nt,” and “bastard.”

Helplines:

The sexual violence could be upsetting for some viewers, especially for those who have gone through similar experiences. If you are struggling with what you have seen on-screen please reach out for help. If you or someone you know needs to talk:

• 1737
• Safe to talk
• Lifeline
• Youthline

Further information 

• Why are ratings and content warnings important for me and my whānau?
• Brain development – how it works, why it matters