Virgin River’s latest season delivered its usual gripping drama. The community had to pull together to fend off wildfires, while Mel made a huge discovery that would change her family life forever. New challenges await the characters in the sixth season, but also happy moments – the most important of which will be Jack and Mel’s nuptials!
The last episodes of season 5 aired around Christmas 2023, and many fans thought they’d have to wait a long time for the show to return. Fortunately, production has moved along faster than expected, and season 6 will premiere later this year. Netflix’s adaptation of Robyn Carr’s novels has continued to be popular on the platform, and as such, the soap opera has been renewed for another instalment.
Here’s everything you need to know about Virgin River’s upcoming season. You can also find out if Netflix’s rom-com hit Nobody Wants This will get a season 2.
When will Virgin River season 6 be released?
The series’ sixth season will premiere on Netflix on Thursday, 19 December 2024.
It will consist of ten episodes, and they will drop on the service all at once.
What will the plot of Virgin River season 6 be?
Spoilers for Virgin River season 5 follow.
Mel and Jack faced some of their biggest challenges yet in season 5. The biggest story of the season was the wildfire, which nearly threatened to destroy the picturesque town. Fortunately, everyone pulled together – with Jack getting his heroic moment by borrowing a plane and putting out the fire from the air.
However, Mel experienced a miscarriage during the event. Going through this pain once again after having a stillbirth earlier in her life was traumatic for her and Jack, and the pair will be looking for a way to move forward and heal.
According to Tudum‘s interview with Breckenridge, Mel and Jack may be looking into ways to grow their family other than by following the traditional pregnancy route. “Obviously, it’s hit Mel a lot harder in some ways than it has hit Jack, but I think that they find their way through it together as a couple.”
Jack is still keen to build his own family unit, especially now that he’s learned that Charmaine lied to him about being the dad of her twins. In the festive finale, we learned that Calvin from the drugs empire (who we thought had died in an explosion) is the real father. Talk about a bonkers twist!
Tudum also confirmed that a lot of the season will focus on traditional wedding events like dress and suit shopping, the bachelor and bachelorette parties, and a little bit of drama thrown in for good measure – it is Virgin River, after all.
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Will Charmaine become more involved with Melissa Montgomery’s criminal empire? It could be an interesting direction for her already morally grey character to take.
The other key takeaway from season 5 was that Mel found her long-lost father, Everett Reid, who had something important to tell her. We don’t yet know what that will be.
The official synopsis confirms that his origin story will be explored further in season 6.
Against the backdrop of Mel and Jack’s romantic spring wedding celebrations, Season 6 promises fresh twists and turns, escalating love triangles, delightful wedding drama, as well as uncovered secrets from Mel’s father’s past which will transport us to the magic and mystique of Virgin River in the ’70s.
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Netflix also confirmed that we’ll see more of Mel’s mother, Sarah, a “a witty, free spirit from the big city with an ardent passion for activism, who is trying to avoid the conventional and traditional life of a young woman in the ’70s”.
Everett is a musician, and meets Mel’s mother as she’s hitchhiking.
Last season, Lizzie revealed to Denny that she was pregnant, so this will likely be one of the key plots in the upcoming season. The trailer shows her quite far along, looking rather worried.
That of course means that Doc and Hope will become grandparents – Hope’s actress Annette O’Toole spoke about this with Tudum:
“I think Hope, at the beginning, was not happy. I think she felt like, ‘Wait a minute, you’re 19. You’re finding your way, and this is going to be very difficult. It’s going to change your life in ways you have no idea.’
But I think in the four months that have passed since Hope has found out, I think she’s come to realize that anything is possible. And just because she didn’t do it and it wasn’t right for her, doesn’t mean it’s not right for Lizzie.”
Jack’s best pal Preacher also got a new love interest last season in the form of firefighter Kaia. However, their relationship may come under strain as she discovered the body of Wes, Paige’s ex and abuser, whom she ended up killing. Preacher hid the body, and that action continued to haunt him throughout the show.
Other plots include Cameron and Muriel’s new relationship, Brie leaving Brady for Mike, and Ava taking over Lily’s farm.
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Virgin River season 6 cast – who is returning?
We expect the following cast members to reprise their roles in the sixth instalment of Virgin River:
- Alexandra Breckenridge – Mel
- Martin Henderson – Jack
- Tim Matheson – Dr. Vernon
- Annette O’Toole – Hope
- Benjamin Hollingsworth – Brady
- Colin Lawrence – Preacher
- Marco Grazzini – Mike
- Zibby Allen – Brie
- Sarah Dugdale – Lizzie
- Kai Bradbury – Denny
- Mark Ghanimé – Dr. Cameron
- Teryl Rothery – Muriel
- John Allen Nelson – Everett
- Kandyse McClure – Kaia
- David Cubitt – Calvin
- Lauren Hammersley – Charmaine
- Libby Osler – Ava
- Nicola Cavendish – Connie
Is there a trailer for Virgin River season 6?
Here’s the first full trailer for the next season, which shows Jack and Mel getting ready for their wedding:
And you can see the first shorter teaser here:
Will there be a season 7 of Virgin River?
Yes! Netflix kept fans in the dark for a long time but finally green-lit the series’s seventh season. The happy news was announced on social media by the show’s cast: