What we know so far about the cast, release, more

On By Littum

Season 6 spoilers ahead.

Aww, Mel and Jack finally got their happily ever after or did they?

Season 6 of Netflix’s soapy romantic drama “Virgin River” dropped on Thursday, and in addition to serving up viewers with plenty of emotion, the season ended in true serial fashion with several cliffhangers.

The new season kicked off a few months after Season 5’s Christmas-themed episodes, as Virgin River gathers to celebrate the season’s long-awaited event: Mel (Alexandra Breckenridge) and Jack’s (Martin Henderson) wedding. Netflix promised that the season, “set against the backdrop of Mel and Jack’s romantic spring wedding season,” would be full of “fresh twists, escalating love triangles (and a) lovely wedding drama.”

Annette O’Toole, who plays Virgin River Mayor Hope McRae on the series, told USA TODAY that the season is “the happiest season, and the shortest (one).”

“It was nice to have a core event. This wedding is the culmination of the whole town’s hopes and dreams. We have a lot of problems along the way, but it’s mostly a nice, positive, happy season,” O’ Toole said.

Summary of season 6

Much of “Virgin River’s” most recent season centered around Mel and Jack’s long-awaited wedding and the lead-up to it. At the same time, the season also delved deeper into Mel’s relationship with her long-lost father and her parents’ past.

However, Mel and Jack’s wedding wasn’t the only thing that happened during the season. Doc’s medical license has been suspended and his clinic is under review by the California State Medical Board after a malpractice case was filed against him. Brie found herself in a love triangle with Mike and Brady after Mike popped the question and Brady told her that he wouldn’t be able to love anyone the way he loved her.

The season, meanwhile, ended on a major cliffhanger as Jack goes to check up on his ex-girlfriend and local hairdresser Charmaine after she doesn’t make it to the wedding. Charmaine was threatened by her baby daddy Calvin and sought a restraining order against him. At the end of the finale, Jack enters her home to find it ransacked and her and the babies possibly missing.

Based on Robyn Carr’s novels of the same name, “Virgin River” premiered on Netflix in 2019. It was developed by Sue Tenney, who served as showrunner until Smith took over in Season 5.

With so much unanswered, here’s what we know so far about “Virgin River” season 7, including the release date, cast and trailer.

Will there be a ‘Virgin River’ season 7?

Yes. Netflix announced on December 5th “Virgin River” has been renewed for season 7.

“There’s a lot more going on here with these characters,” showrunner Patrick Sean Smith told Tudum.

Smith added that viewers are “only just starting to see Mel and Jack function as a married couple, which is exciting,” and Season 7 will “explore the honeymoon phase for them as they build their lives on the farm, which may come with its own obstacles .”

What will happen in ‘Virgin River’ season 7?

“Virgin River” picks up where Season 6 left off, “like two hours later,” Smith told Deadlineadding that there would be no “time jump this time.”

Smith promises that Charmaine’s babies will be safe and that Season 7 will be “more about characters responding to the circumstances resulting from the cliffhanger that is brought back into our story.”

Despite the build-up of more couples in series, Smith says there are hardly any more weddings.

“We’re a little out of season 6, but it felt like, at weddings, sometimes the idea finds its way into couples, so exploring that felt like even more of a way to bring our supporting cast into the actual event of them. to evaluate or reevaluate their own individual or couple relationship to marriage,” Smith told Deadline.

While viewers shouldn’t expect any weddings, Smith says he “can guarantee at least one baby in Season 7, potentially two.” In the season finale, Marley asked Mel to adopt her unborn baby after a local couple who promised to adopt the child backed out.

O’Toole, meanwhile, told USA TODAY that she’s excited to see where Smith takes the season, especially with her character and Doc’s given the clinic’s future is now uncertain.

“I haven’t talked to Sean about any of the storylines for next season,” O’Toole told USA TODAY. “I know as much as you guys, really.”

However, she added that she “applauds” the creators for weaving current events into the story.

“I think that’s really smart of them,” O’Toole said. All this healthcare and big conglomerates coming in and taking over private medical practices, it happens. So that’s something I know Sean would like to pursue. The real life story lines and put it in the world of Virgin River. I welcome that. I’m all for it. I hope they really explore it (but) I don’t know how deep they’ll go into it.”

Smith told Deadline that he is “curious to see a little bit of the current state of medical health care and our realities as it seeps into” the world of “Virgin River.”

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When will ‘Virgin River’ season 7 come out?

While announcing Season 7, Netflix did not specify when it would be released.

The first season of “Virgin River” was released in December 2019, with the second season landing a little less than a year later in November 2020. Seasons 3 and 4 both had summer releases in July 2021 and 2022, respectively. Season 5 came in two parts, where it the first part was released in late summer in September 2023, and the second part, with two Christmas-themed episodes, was released in November 2023. While the likelihood of Season 7 arriving in summer or winter is equal, Deadline reported the show’s early renewal “would allow for a shorter gap between seasons, potentially keeping the romantic drama stuck in the Christmas season following December releases.”

Will ‘Virgin River’ season 7 be the last?

Netflix has not given any indication as to whether season 7 will be the last. Smith told Deadline that he has no “plans to end the series anytime soon.”

“As long as people keep coming back for it, we’re proud and happy to keep telling these stories,” Smith said.

Cast in ‘Virgin River’ season 7

Netflix has yet to announce details for Season 7 of “Virgin River,” but it is likely that many of Season 6’s cast members will reprise their characters in Season 7, including:

  • Alexandra Breckenridge as Mel Monroe
  • Martin Henderson as Jack Sheridan
  • Tim Matheson as Dr. Vernon Mullins
  • Annette O’Toole as Hope McCrea
  • Colin Lawrence as John “Preacher” Middleton
  • John Allen Nelson as Everett Reid
  • Benjamin Hollingsworth as Dan Brady
  • Zibby Allen as Brie Sheridan
  • Marco Grazzini as Mike Valenzuela
  • Lauren Hammersley as Charmaine Roberts
  • Teryl Rothery as Muriel St. Claire
  • Kandyse McClure as Kaia
  • Kai Bradbury as Denny Cutler
  • Sarah Dugdale as Lizzie
  • Jenny Cooper as Joey Barnes
  • Elise Gatien as Lark

Mark Ghanimé, who played Dr. Cameron Hayek for three seasons, will not return for season 7, the actor revealed on Instagram.

Smith told Deadline“Cameron will always be a part of our world and I would love to see his character come back again,” but “unfortunately he will not be a series regular in Season 7.”

‘Virgin River’ spinoff

Not only has “Virgin River” been renewed for another season, but the series is also getting a prequel spinoff, according to Variety. The spinoff will focus on the romance between Mel’s parents Sarah Jensen (Jessica Rothe) and Everett Reed (Callum Kerr) and the origins of Virgin River in the 1970s, Smith told the outlet.

Smith told Deadline that the spinoff is still in development and that he “personally sees it as a bit of a ‘Queen Charlotte’ to ‘Bridgerton.'”

Is ‘Virgin River’ real?

Just like Lawrence (Preach) says: “It’s as real as you want it to be.”

But alas, the small town of “Virgin River” with its lush green mountains, babbling brooks and serene paths doesn’t exist outside of the Netflix world, much to my disappointment. While the fictional city is said to be located in Northern California, somewhere between Sacramento and the Oregon border, the series is filmed all the way in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and its surrounding mountainous regions, according to Netflix.

O’Toole told USA TODAY that the cast and crew have “worked really hard to make it seem like a real place.”

“I think we’ve made it real,” O’Toole said. “I think it inspires community and goodness in people.”

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Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.