The Outpost is an American fantasy-adventure drama television series, acquired by The CW, which premiered on July 10, 2018. It was produced by Syfy's international channels for international broadcast. The series was renewed for a third season in October 2019 which premiered on October 8, 2020. Ahead of the third-season premiere, the series was picked up for an additional 13 episodes which ultimately became the fourth season. In September 2021, the series was canceled after four seasons and concluded on October 7, 2021.
"The Outpost follows Talon, the lone survivor of a race called Blackbloods. Years after her entire village was destroyed by a gang of brutal mercenaries, Talon travels to a lawless fortress on the edge of the civilized world, as she tracks the killers of her family. On her journey to this outpost, Talon discovers she possesses an extraordinary and mysterious supernatural power that she must learn to control in order to save herself and defend the world against a fanatical religious dictator."
In the first season, Talon's back-story is presented along with her journey to Galwood Outpost where she exacts justice on The Bones mercenary company responsible for killing her unarmed kinsmen. She forms friendships and alliances at The Outpost, discovers and begins to control her abilities, finds The Book of Names, and confronts the ambassador for the Prime Order, Everit Dred, who ordered the massacre.
Talon's enemies increase to include members of her own Blackblood race, complicating who to trust. She learns there are at least two clans; the militant Black Fists who want to kill all humans, and her own pacifist ancestors who made peace. She discovers her power derives from the Asterkinj her mother gave her before dying, and there are as many as six other kinjes, each granting their host a different power. The Holy Three that rule the Prime Order each have a kinj of their own. The Outpost comes under direct attack by armies of the Prime Order, forcing Talon to decide whether or not to "summon slayers of men" thus fulfilling The Blackblood Prophecy.
With scores of blackbloods, including brutal blackfists, enslaving her human friends and associates, Talon must learn to walk a fine line between factions to prevent sectarian violence. With new threats from the United and remnants of the Prime Order, come new challenges, responsibilities and opportunities. She earns respect from the various factions who chant her name, asking for her leadership. When 60,000 United followers descend upon the Outpost, Talon aids Queen Rosmund in an heroic effort to defeat the self-proclaimed god Yavalla. Inhabitants bend the knee to Talon, whom everyone expects will be their new queen.
Talon grieves the loss of her friend Gwynn, while rebuffing Garret's attempts to crown her queen. Too late a new queen ascends, Falista, who becomes increasingly tyrannical and paranoid, poisoned by the Kultorkinj after Jaaris' demise. Talon meets young Luna, whom she takes under her wing and mentors, being reminded of her own youth. The Gods of old wake to threaten the Realm, and Falista plays straight into their hands, dragging Talon's friends into grave danger. She deals with guilt for having brought Yavalla from the Plane of Ash, and for not having brought the remaining blackbloods through before they were massacred by the blackfists. Talon investigates and opposes the so-called gods, who capture and torture her, to draw her friends to their deaths. Talon meets the progenitor of the Blackblood race, learning more about her ancestors, the Guardians of the Asterkinj. Armed with new knowledge, she and her allies defeat the gods. She marries Garret and is finally crowned Queen of the Realm.
Syfy International greenlit the series for a 10-episode first season on January 16, 2018. On March 7, 2018, The CW picked up the series for broadcast in the United States. It was filmed in Utah between January and May 2018.
In October 2018, The CW renewed The Outpost for a second season, which premiered on July 11, 2019. Production on the second season began in January 2019, with production on the series moving to Serbia. The CW renewed the series for a third season in October 2019 which premiered on October 8, 2020. In March 2020, Stormoen announced that production of The Outpost had been shut down during the filming of the sixth and seventh episodes of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On June 8, 2020, it was reported production was set to resume filming for the third season in Serbia on June 12, 2020.
On October 7, 2020, ahead of the third-season premiere, The CW picked up an additional 13 episodes of the series. In May 2021, it was reported that The Outpost would return to airing on The CW on July 15, 2021. On September 15, 2021, The CW canceled the series after four seasons, and it concluded on October 7, 2021.
The first season was released on DVD from Electric Entertainment on August 6, 2019. The second season was released on DVD from Electric Entertainment on September 15, 2020.
The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reports a score of 50% for the series, with an average rating of 4.67/10, based on 10 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "A featherweight fantasy with a few enticing features, The Outpost potential pleasures can't quite overcome its cheap-looking production design." On Metacritic, the series holds a score of 39 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".
In his review of the premiere, Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter considered the series looked "cheap" for a broadcast network series, adding that, "Way too much of the pilot for The Outpost is people talking around the things the budget can't show." CBR's Josh Bell similarly criticized the series' production values, but also its use of fantasy "clichés and contrivances" in the pilot episode. Several critics compared The Outpost unfavorably to other fantasy series, including Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, and '.