'Outlander' season 3 news update: Caitriona Balfe says production gearing up for Jamie and Claire scenes

Folks over at Starz are making sure that there is no such thing as the infamous "Droughtlander" this year with some regular updates from "Outlander's" ongoing production for its third installment. While some things are still kept under wraps, such as when the series will be back on air, lead star Caitriona Balfe offers some nuggets of information enough to tickle fans' fancy while they are waiting for official announcements.

Sitting down with Entertainment Weekly, the actress who plays time-traveler Claire talks about how season 3's struggle for her character is different from the ones that she had in season 2. Fans of the series and those who have read the novels by Diana Gabaldon know that it has been quite an emotional struggle for Claire — from losing her first baby with Faith to being forced to leave Jamie (Sam Heughan) and live a life without her. The silver lining, however, is that, by the end of the sophomore year of the period drama, the aged Claire finds out that her one true love is still alive hence prompting her to travel back via the stones.

"I think this season is different. Especially in the first part of the season, we're going through 20 years of Claire's life and seeing little vignettes of who she's become as a woman, and that was a very different type of challenge. How do you tell the story of a relationship and of a life and of a woman over her 20 years in the space of a few scenes? So that had its own unique challenges. It's definitely different to last season," Balfe explained referring to the new arc that "Outlander" will be treading.

At the time of the interview, the actress shares that they are just crossing the halfway mark of shooting with her filming scenes with Brianna (Sophie Skelton) during their days in Boston. But after that, some heavy scenes that will reunite her with Jamie will be starting to roll out although she did not reveal when viewers can expect an on-screen reunion for the star-crossed lovers.

Series executive producer Maril Davis has previously shared that they want to make sure that the much-awaited scene will be as impactful as possible, meaning that the slow build-up could be more appropriate than a nonchalant meet-up. This means that a huge chunk of the storytelling, possibly in the first couple of episodes, Jamie's and Claire's lives will be presented over the years that they are without each other. 

"Outlander" season 3 is expected to premiere sometime next year on Starz.