Highlander: The Series is a TV-series in the Highlander franchise which aired for six seasons in 1992-1998.
The main protagonist of the TV-series is not Connor MacLeod of the original 1986 Highlander movie, but one of his clansmen – the likewise immortal Duncan MacLeod (played by Adrian Paul). The actor Christopher Lambert, who plays Connor MacLeod in the movies, appears in the pilot episode to introduce Duncan MacLeod to the viewers.
Highlander: The Series was co-produced by Rysher Distribution in the United States, Gaumont Television in France, Reteitalia in Italy, RTL Plus in Germany, and Amuse Video in Japan. It became an international success and was nominated for a number of prestigious prizes.
The events in the series chiefly take place in Vancouver, Canada and Paris, France. Throughout the series, flashbacks are used to show the viewers the backstories of the characters, and those are set in a variety of locations around the world.
Short facts about Highlander: The Series
- Original release: 3 October 1992 – 16 May 1998
- Genre: Action, adventure, drama, science fantasy
- Country: USA, France
- Language: English
- Production localities: Vancouver (Canada), and Paris (France)
- Number of seasons: 6
- Number of episodes: 119
- Length: 48 minutes per episode
- Picture format: 4×3, Color
- Audio format: Dolby
- Created by: Davis-Panzer Productions
- Producer: Ken Gord
- Distributor: Rysher Entertainment (original), CBS Television Distribution (current)
- Original networks: Syndicated in the USA, TF1 and later M6 in France, Italia 1 and later Canale 5 in Italy, RTL in Germany
Concept
When the series start, the immortal Duncan MacLeod lives a peaceful life with his girlfriend Tessa Noël in a portcity in the state of Washington, USA, where the couple runs an antique shop.
The character Richie Ryan is introduced early on and becomes an important moral ally to Duncan. He is as a thief who breaks into the antique shop and accidentally becomes witness to a fight between Duncan, the immortal Slan Quince and Duncan´s clansman Connor MacLeod.
It is revealed that Duncan is almost 400 years old, and has been hiding from the other immortals for some time now, as he does not wish to be involved in their hunting and beheading of each other.
The series largely revolved around Duncan´s interactions with other immortals, but also with mortal friends and foes.
Recurring immortal friends from Duncan´s past are introduced during the first season, while the concept of the Watchers is not introduced until season two.
Series overview
- Season 1 consisted of 22 episodes, which aired in 1992-1993.
- Season 2 consisted of 22 episodes, which aired in 1993-1994.
- Season 3 consisted of 22 episodes, which aired in 1994-1995.
- Season 4 consisted of 22 episodes, which aired in 1995-1996.
- Season 5 consisted of 18 episodes, which aired in 1996-1997.
- Season 6 consisted of 13 episodes, which aired in 1997-1998.
Home media
- In 1993, a feature-length combination of the episodes “The Gathering” and “Revenge is Sweet” was released on VHS.
- Beginning in 1995, full seasons of Highlander: The Series were released as VHS sets. The VHS sets had the European version of the series, with each episode being roughly 4 minutes longer than in the U.S.
- All six seasons were released on DVD Region 1 by Anchor Bay Entertainment in 2002-2005.
- Anchor Bay also released a 15-episode best-of DVD collection.
- Several times, Anchor Bay edited two-part episodes together and released them as a single DVD to make it feel like a feature-length film.
- In 2018, Visual Entertainment re-released Highlander: The Complete Series on DVD Region 1. This is a 22-disc collection with all 119 episodes + 6 hours of bonus content. The collection also includes material from the spin-off series Highlander: The Raven.