Outlander first sizzled our screens in 2014, with Vulture soon declaring that the period drama had “the best sex on television”. Its tale of second world war nurse Claire (Caitriona Balfe) time-travelling to 18th-century Scotland and falling in love with clansman Jamie (Sam Heughan) certainly earned the accolade. The wedding night episode features Claire reaching such an explosive orgasm that it requires smelling salts for viewers to get through. There’s a knee-trembling “castle cunnilingus” scene and, at one point, the extraordinary moment when Claire saves Jamie’s life by masturbating him. It has proved so popular that in 2026 its eighth (and final) season will air.
In the last year we’ve had shows such as Carême, about a Napoleonic-era celebrity chef who likes foreplay with a dollop of whipped cream, and orgy-filled Mary & George, about the lover of James I of England/James VI of Scotland. Outlander has even spawned a prequel, Blood of My Blood, about the entwining stories of Claire’s and Jamie’s parents, two couples who also enjoy time travel and sex. Sure enough, there’s a romp against a table less than half an hour in, a dizzying amount of hand brushes and a sex scene that clocks up nearly 10 long minutes. How did period dramas get so raunchy?
