Outlander’s Sam Heughan joins Viola Davis in Paramount+ thriller Ascent
Outlander star Sam Heughan is joining a much-anticipated new Paramount+ show from a beloved EGOT winner — and you’ll want to find out who’s behind it.
Viola Davis is back in the thriller game, and this time she's bringing along Sam Heughan—yes, that Sam Heughan from Outlander. If anyone thought he'd be off sunning himself after eight seasons on that series, think again—he's got another major TV gig lined up over at Paramount+ in Ascent, which already sounds like the dramatic binge-watch alarm bells should be ringing.
The Team and Premise
Ascent is shaping up as the latest high-gloss series from John Logan, who is not exactly a stranger to prestige telly—he wrote Penny Dreadful, Gladiator, and even gave us Skyfall. If your showrunner can casually mention he wrote James Bond, you're doing something right. This new one's all high-stakes damage control in the world of corporate power-moves, with Davis at the helm as a ruthless fixer called Catriona, apparently forced to weaponise her considerable skills when her estranged daughter gets caught up in trouble. Heughan, meanwhile, will play Conal, one of those 'lethally charming' operators who never met a mission he couldn't ace.
Paramount+ are lining up Ascent to shoot in Los Angeles in 2027, so nobody get too excited for a trailer just yet.
Those keeping score: this is the next major job for Heughan post-Outlander's eighth and final series, where he'd bagged BAFTA Scotland and Critics' Choice nominations. He's also due in Embassy for MGM+ — a political thriller, and given the cast includes J. K. Simmons and Anna Kendrick, it sounds equally legit.
Who's Pulling the Strings?
Davis is not just starring but producing via JuVee Productions with Julius Tennon, and Michael Aguilar is involved as executive producer too (he's worked on Kidding and Penny Dreadful: City of Angels). The show is being made by Paramount Television Studios.
As for when you might actually watch it — production doesn't start until 2027, and even then, late 2027 or sometime in 2028 is when it's tipped to premiere. Yes, that's ages off, but with this cast and creative team, not one to sleep on if you're into your twisty, cutthroat drama.