Now that the final episodes of Virgin River season 5 have premiered, diehard fans of the hit Netflix series are clamoring to find out what’s next for Mel, Jack and the rest of the gang. Not much is known yet about season six of the show, but one thing we do know for sure is that a sixth season is happening…eventually.
That early renewal—Netflix confirmed season six in May 2023, well before season five’s September premiere date—wasn’t exactly a surprise. Though the streaming giant doesn’t release exact viewership numbers, it has previously revealed that Virgin River is a consistently high performer. That assertion was confirmed by Nielsen last summer, when the show’s fourth season not only knocked Stranger Things out of Netflix’s top spot in its debut week, but also set a new personal record, garnering 2.64 billion minutes of viewing time for the week.
It’s safe to say that Virgin River won’t be going anywhere any time soon. Read on to prepare for those future episodes with everything we know so far about season six.
When will season six of ‘Virgin River’ premiere?
Unfortunately for fans of the show, a sixth season is still a ways away. While previous seasons of Virgin River have been well into the filming process by the time their preceding episodes hit Netflix, production on season six has yet to begin due to the writers’ and actors’ union strikes. Now that both strikes have come to an end, showrunner Patrick Sean Smith has confirmed that the show's team is finishing up the scripts and eyeing this spring for the start of production. Both Smith and Alexandra Breckenridge, who stars in the series as Mel Monroe, shared their excitement to return to set.
“We’re going to start as soon as the Vancouver weather allows. So hopefully in the spring is what I’ve been hearing,” Breckenridge told Deadline. “I keep trying to tell them they should just pick up Season 7 so we can just knock Seasons 6 and 7 and call it a day.”
Virgin River's seasons typically air anywhere from eight to 14 months apart; with the delayed start, probably the earliest we can expect to see the sixth season hit Netflix would be the very end of 2024—if not well into 2025.
What will the sixth season be about?
Spoilers for season 5, part 2 ahead.
The dramatic conclusion of season 5 set up several threads for the show to follow, including Lizzie's (confirmed!) pregnancy, Charmaine finally giving birth, Brady's sketchy girlfriend Lark, Preacher’s fate after the apparent discovery of Wes’ body, and Mel getting to know her father, Everett Reid (as well as that foreboding news he has to share). Though there aren't many hints as to what comes next, there's plenty of content in the source material—that is, Robyn Carr’s Virgin River 24-book series—for the show’s makers to mine. They’re also not afraid to carve out new paths for Carr’s characters, as Jinny Howe, Netflix’s head of drama, told Deadline about the future of Virgin River last year.
“It will be exciting to see which characters continue to break out and audiences crave more of; we’re paying very close attention, understanding that this is a really rich universe of characters and that people can’t seem to get enough, myself included,” she said. “So I think as long as that continues to be the case—which we’re very hopeful for—you can rest assured that there will be more Virgin River.”
How many episodes will 'Virgin River' season six get?
Though Netflix has yet to confirm an official episode count, Smith told Deadline that the show's writers are "probably looking at a 10-episode season moving forward." Seasons one through three all featured 10 installments, while the fourth and fifth seasons expanded to 12 episodes each—with the final two episodes of season five slated for a separate, holiday-themed release in late November.
Who will return for season six of ‘Virgin River’?
As far as we know, all of our Virgin River faves will be back for future seasons of the show—and at the very least, we can be sure Mel and Hope will return, judging by Breckenridge and O’Toole’s excited Instagram posts about season six. Rounding out the show’s main cast are Martin Henderson, Colin Lawrence, Lauren Hammersley, Tim Matheson and Benjamin Hollingsworth, and time will tell whether the reported new additions to season five—including Susan Hogan, Elise Gatien, Kandyse McClure and Paolo Maiolo—will stick around for even more screen time.
Meanwhile, behind the scenes, Virgin River will likely continue to be helmed by showrunner Patrick Sean Smith, who took over for Sue Tenney starting with season five.
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