EP on Sex Scenes, Intimacy Coordinator, Cliffhangers

WARNING: This post contains spoilers from Season 6 of “Virgin River,” now streaming on Netflix.

It’s officially wedding season in Virgin River. While the 10 new episodes, which began streaming Dec. 19, focused on the planning of Mel (Alexandra Breckenridge) and Jack’s (Martin Henderson) wedding, it also stayed true to the world of “Virgin River.” It means love triangles-turned-squares, shocking proposals, and a surprise baby.

Below, showrunner Patrick Sean Smith breaks down all the twists and cliffhangers and teases what’s to come in Season 7.

Before we get into the many cliffhangers, overall this season was a bit steamier than previous seasons. Was there a conversation beforehand? about that?

I think there was. It felt organic in all the love that leads up to a wedding. This is my second season on the show and I was still learning every aspect of it. There are so many plates that you turn from character relationships, romance, crime, medical, now fire, to multi-generational (themes). So a lot happened and we leaned a little more into some of our couples’ sexual relationships. I am proud of all of them. The one that is probably the most surprising was the sewing circle, who had a discussion about their sex lives, which I am so incredibly proud of. It just felt right. It felt organic. It felt true to the characters.

Absolutely. There were many love scenes this season, including one on the pool table between Brady and Brie. Do you use an intimacy coordinator?

We always offer. In that case, Ben and Zibby turned it down, but a lot of thought and consideration went into it. we work with RAIN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) and I had a meeting with them in person to educate myself because we knew we wanted it to be physical, somewhat sensual and in some ways aggressive. That was the part that made me nervous about how far it went. I was reminded that sexual assault and sexual violence are never so much about aggression as about power dominance. I think we were really respectful. I think Zibby and Ben both doing their research into it really brought a level of awareness into it that they kind of coordinated it themselves.

While we’re talking about Brady and Brie, let’s dive into the love space. While Brady and Mike (Marco Grazzini) made their feelings clear, is Brie with Mike because he’s a good person or because she thinks he’s her person?

I think it’s probably more the first. I think she’s trying to make something work, which on all levels should work. I think what’s confusing to her is why isn’t it? Also, given her experience and being a survivor of sexual abuse by a partner, I think it brought some doubt deep down for her to trust herself to make the right choices. I think she makes the obvious choice in Mike, and tries to force it, and that’s where the struggle is.

Lark (Elise Gatien) clearly showed her true colors at the end, but for a moment it seemed like she actually fell for Brady. Was it all a ruse?

We’ll wrap it all up in Season 7, but in my eyes, she fell for him. I think she heard loud and clear that she was always going to be second to Brie, which is a bit of a contradiction. And Brady wasn’t the best at lying to her when she confronted him about it. He withheld that truth so I wanted to make sure she felt justified because there’s one thing about cheating on someone in cold blood, and there’s someone cheating on someone just out of emotional revenge that felt a little more interesting.

I read that Zibby said there was originally two alt endings for Brie. We saw Mike propose, her reveal that she slept with Brady, and him saying, “I know.” What was the other ending?

So when we shot it, we started toying with the idea of ​​having him say, “I know.” It felt interesting to me and I felt like I hadn’t seen that before. I was worried it might feel like a hat on a hat. When we shot it, we watched it with the writers. They didn’t realize we had added that line on the day. So when we got to that scene and he said that line, everybody screamed. I thought, “I think we’re going with that line.”

I definitely gasped! OK, we see Mel’s cliffhanger waking up after her wedding and possibly having a baby. Can you talk at all about how Mel feels about that as we go into Season 7?

Yeah, what I thought was interesting was waking up the next morning after getting something you’ve wanted for so long and then having this other thing laid at your feet. Do you embrace it immediately? The circumstances are complicated as Marley (Rachel Drance) is her patient. She is not sure where she is operating from. So there’s a lot to unpack with that.

Will there be a time jump in season 7?

We pretty much pick up right where we left off – it’s about an hour later.

Got it! One of the other big cliffhangers is what happened to Charmaine (Lauren Hammersley). She wasn’t around much this season, which I assume is due to time commitments and her larger role on “Sullivan’s Crossing.” Will she be back next season?

That’s the plan. Part of a creative shift was trying to pull back on the crime stories that had been in the series before, which started to overshadow (other things) and I think for some viewers started to lean more dark. So in Season 6, it was our opportunity to make the crime element more personal, with Charmaine and Calvin’s relationship. So that was kind of an effect of that. But I love Lauren so much. She is so incredibly talented. I know people have disagreed about Charmaine, but I feel like she’s been a great villain. It was our intention to redeem her a little bit in Season 5 to understand why she did some of the things she did. I feel like we still have a character that, even though she’s not in every episode, still resonates with the audience.

Cameron (Mark Ghanimé) returned briefly and was really there for Muriel (Teryl Rothery), but then went back to San Diego. Will we see him next season?

Unfortunately, Cameron will not be back as a series regular next season. I love Mark and I loved Cameron. I think he will always be a part of our “Virgin River” world and family. So if the story presents itself I would love to see him back.

I know you introduced the prequel cast earlier this season, but do you have a vision for how long the flagship “Virgin River” could go? Seven seasons is quite an achievement.

As long as the fans keep showing up and there’s still an appetite for it. I think it’s a show that’s about the human experience, and it’s multi-generational. It would be a dream to keep getting to live with these characters and grow old with these characters. The show feels like the kind of show that can do that.

This interview has been edited and condensed.