The Outpost Budget

What Is the Budget of The Outpost (2018)?

The Outpost (2018), the CW fantasy adventure television series produced by Arrowstorm Entertainment in association with Electric Entertainment, was made on an estimated per-episode budget of approximately $1,200,000 to $1,800,000, or roughly $60,000,000 to $90,000,000 across the show's full 49-episode, four-season run from July 2018 to October 2021. The figures sit at the lower end of CW genre drama economics, anchored by The Outpost's unusual Ukraine production base and the resulting low per-day below-the-line spend compared with a US- or Canada-shot CW series.

Arrowstorm Entertainment, a Utah-based independent producer founded by brothers Jason and Kynan Griffin, structured the production around Ukrainian co-financing and a Kyiv-based crew operation, with shooting at Mafilm Studios and on practical Ukrainian locations standing in for the show's medieval fantasy world. The show was the first CW genre drama to be produced primarily outside North America, and its production economics were materially different from the CW's Vancouver-anchored DC superhero slate (Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl) that dominated the network's 2018 to 2021 schedule.

Key Budget Allocation Categories

The Outpost's per-episode spend broke down across the cost centres typical of a CW fantasy genre drama, adjusted for its Ukrainian production base:

• Above-the-Line Cast: Jessica Green (Talon, the lead Blackblood survivor), Jake Stormoen (Captain Garret Spears), Imogen Waterhouse (Princess Gwynn Calkussar), Anand Desai-Barochia (Janzo), Andrew Howard (Tobin), and Robyn Malcolm (Witt) anchored the ensemble. Cast costs were anchored by Australian and New Zealand pickup rates rather than full US or Canadian rates, reducing per-episode above-the-line spend.
• Ukraine Location and Studio Production: The series shot at Mafilm Studios near Kyiv and on practical Ukrainian forest and castle locations, with the Carpathian Mountains and Khotyn Fortress standing in for the fictional Outpost and surrounding wilderness. Local-crew rates and Ukrainian production tax credits reduced per-episode below-the-line spend by an estimated 30% to 40% compared with a Vancouver or Toronto base.
• Fantasy Production Design and Costumes: The medieval fantasy premise required period-accurate costuming, leather armour, weapons, and constructed wooden-fortress sets. Production designer Steven Lawrence and costume designer Sasha Eteminan built the visual world across all four seasons, with the production benefitting from low-cost local Ukrainian textile and craft labour for repetitive costume and prop work.
• Visual Effects: The Blackblood mythology, the Lu-Qiri demons, and the show's magical-power visual effects required regular CG sequences in every episode. VFX was handled by a combination of Arrowstorm's in-house Utah team and Ukrainian VFX house Postmodern. The per-episode VFX budget was meaningfully tighter than the CW DC superhero slate but adequate for the show's genre demands.
• Stunt and Fight Choreography: The lead's sword-and-magic fight sequences required dedicated stunt doubles, weapons coordinators, and choreographed fight blocks in every episode. Stunt coordinator David Wald led the Ukrainian-based action unit across all four seasons, with Jessica Green undertaking extensive on-screen sword work.
• Original Music: Composer Marc Junker scored all four seasons, blending fantasy-orchestral cues with electronic textures. The music budget covered original composition, orchestral pickup recording in Kyiv, and licensing of needle drops used in trailers and key sequences.
• Cinematography and Camera Package: Cinematographer Eduard Grau (seasons one and two) and David Greenwald (seasons three and four) shot the show in a stylised fantasy palette with extensive use of practical-source lighting in castle interiors and forest exteriors. The camera and lighting package was proportional to a CW genre drama but executed at the local-rate cost advantage of the Ukrainian base.
• CW Network and International Delivery: The show's 13-episode (seasons one and two) to 13-episode (seasons three and four) order cycle required CW-tier promotional spend, online delivery on The CW App, and Electric Entertainment international distribution sales across multiple territories including Syfy and Pluto TV.

How Does The Outpost's Budget Compare to Similar Series?

At an estimated $1,200,000 to $1,800,000 per episode, The Outpost sat at the lower end of CW genre drama and well below contemporaneous prestige fantasy television. The comparison set illustrates how its production economics stacked up:

• Arrow (2012): Estimated per-episode budget approximately $3,000,000 to $4,000,000. The CW's flagship DC superhero series, Vancouver-shot, cost roughly twice The Outpost per episode, reflecting the standard CW Vancouver-base tariff and DC Studios cost expectations.
• The 100 (2014): Estimated per-episode budget approximately $2,000,000 to $2,500,000. The CW's post-apocalyptic Vancouver-shot series, frequently compared to The Outpost in genre and tone, cost roughly 50% more per episode despite a comparable scale and similar VFX demands.
• The Witcher (2019): Estimated per-episode budget approximately $10,000,000 (season one). Netflix's Hungary and Slovenia-shot Henry Cavill fantasy series cost roughly six to eight times The Outpost per episode, illustrating the gap between CW genre drama and Netflix prestige fantasy.
• Game of Thrones (2011, late seasons): Estimated per-episode budget approximately $15,000,000 (seasons seven and eight). HBO's flagship fantasy, with its substantial Belfast and global location budgets, operated in an entirely different cost band from The Outpost.
• Wynonna Earp (2016): Estimated per-episode budget approximately $1,500,000 to $2,000,000. Syfy and Calgary-shot Beau Smith comic adaptation matched The Outpost's lower-tier genre drama tariff closely, with a comparable practical-location production model and similar small VFX budgets.
• Reign (2013): Estimated per-episode budget approximately $2,500,000 to $3,000,000. The CW's Mary Queen of Scots-set period drama, Toronto-shot, cost roughly 50% more per episode than The Outpost, with comparable medieval costume and production design demands but a US/Canada production base.

The Outpost Season Performance and Syndication

The Outpost premiered on The CW on 10 July 2018 to approximately 800,000 overnight US viewers, in line with the network's summer genre-drama benchmark. The economic framework across the run breaks down as follows:

• Per-Episode Budget: approximately $1,200,000 to $1,800,000 across the four-season run
• Total Series Investment: approximately $60,000,000 to $90,000,000 across 49 broadcast episodes (10 in season one; 13 each in seasons two, three, and four)
• Network: The CW in the United States; Syfy internationally; Pluto TV and Tubi as free-streaming pickup; broadcast in over 50 territories via Electric Entertainment distribution
• Audience/Ratings: season-one finale drew approximately 600,000 overnight US viewers; later seasons settled in the 400,000 to 500,000 range as CW summer scheduling fragmented
• International Distribution: Electric Entertainment sold international rights to over 50 territories; the show performs steadily on Pluto TV and Tubi free-ad-supported streaming in the US; international Syfy carriage anchored European and Latin American distribution
• Library/Syndication Value: continues to perform on Tubi, Pluto TV, and The CW App; Electric Entertainment retains long-tail catalogue rights

Season four premiered on 8 July 2021 and concluded on 7 October 2021 after 13 episodes. The CW announced the cancellation in September 2021 ahead of the season-four finale, citing both the broader CW post-Nexstar restructuring and the show's sub-500,000 overnight ratings. The series concluded its narrative within the season-four arc rather than ending on an unresolved cliffhanger. The show's production base in Ukraine wound down in late 2021, ahead of the February 2022 Russian invasion that ended most international television production in the country.

The Outpost Production History

Jason Griffin and Kynan Griffin of Arrowstorm Entertainment, a Utah-based independent producer that had cut its teeth on direct-to-video and faith-market fantasy features, developed The Outpost in 2017 as a CW summer-genre series. The Griffins pitched the show as a low-cost Game of Thrones / Xena: Warrior Princess hybrid built around a single charismatic female lead and a small repertory ensemble. The CW greenlit a 10-episode first season in late 2017 on the strength of the proposed Ukrainian production model and the low projected per-episode budget.

Jessica Green, an Australian actress known primarily for Roar (2014) and The Wilds (2020), was cast as Talon in early 2018 after a casting search that auditioned both established and emerging talent. Jake Stormoen, who had worked with Arrowstorm on its earlier feature productions including Mythica (2014), joined as Captain Garret Spears. Imogen Waterhouse (sister of model Suki Waterhouse) joined as Princess Gwynn Calkussar, with Anand Desai-Barochia as the show's breakout-comedy supporting lead Janzo.

Principal photography for season one ran from January to May 2018 at Mafilm Studios near Kyiv and on Ukrainian forest and castle locations including Khotyn Fortress and the Carpathian Mountains. The Ukrainian production base offered substantially reduced below-the-line costs, with local crew rates and Ukrainian production tax credits absorbing approximately 30% to 40% of standard CW Vancouver-base economics. Season two filmed across mid-to-late 2018, season three across 2019 to 2020 (with COVID-19 production interruptions), and season four across mid-to-late 2021.

The series wrapped its run on 7 October 2021 with a season-four finale that concluded the central Talon-Garret-Gwynn narrative. The CW announced the cancellation in September 2021, citing the show's sub-500,000 overnight ratings and broader CW restructuring under new corporate owner Nexstar. The Ukrainian production base wound down in late 2021, with Arrowstorm pivoting to other Utah-based and Eastern-European projects ahead of the February 2022 Russian invasion that ended most foreign-financed television production in Ukraine.

Awards and Recognition

The Outpost received limited mainstream industry recognition during its run. The show was nominated for the 2019 and 2020 Saturn Awards in the Best Streaming Fantasy Series and Best Action / Adventure Television Series categories, reflecting its genre-press visibility on Syfy and Pluto TV. Jessica Green was nominated for the 2020 Astra TV Award for Best Actress in a Streaming Genre Series.

The show's craft contributions, particularly the production design at Mafilm Studios and the practical-location work in the Carpathian Mountains, were highlighted in trade-press coverage in Variety and The Hollywood Reporter as examples of cost-efficient international genre production. The Outpost has not appeared on major retrospective "best of" lists for fantasy television but retains a small dedicated fanbase across Pluto TV and Tubi free-ad-supported streaming.

Critical Reception

The Outpost received mixed reviews on its 2018 CW premiere and across its four-season run. The show holds an aggregate score of 60 out of 100 on Metacritic based on a small sample of contemporary reviews, and a 60% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 20 critic reviews. Variety's Maureen Ryan called the show "an enthusiastic, low-budget swing at Game of Thrones-tier fantasy that mostly succeeds within its means."

Audience reception was warmer than critical reception, with the show developing a dedicated cult following across its run. On IMDb, The Outpost holds an aggregate user score of 6.6 out of 10 across more than 18,000 user reviews. Jessica Green's lead performance as Talon received specific praise, with The Hollywood Reporter's Tim Goodman calling her "a real find, capable of carrying a fantasy lead with the kind of physicality and command Lucy Lawless and Eliza Dushku brought to comparable roles in earlier eras."

Retrospective coverage has been more positive. The 2022 Den of Geek retrospective on CW genre drama placed The Outpost in the second tier of CW fantasy alongside Reign and The 100, and several free-streaming-era reappraisals have praised the show's cost-efficient world-building and tight four-season narrative arc. The show's continued steady performance on Tubi and Pluto TV in 2024 to 2025 has positioned it as a quietly successful library asset for Electric Entertainment.