The second half of Netflix’s Virgin River season five dropped on November 30, and as always, it ended with a cliffhanger. Beware of potential spoilers below.
Happily for fans, the show will be having a sixth season led by showrunner Patrick Sean Smith, who took over for season five. They’ve announced a 10-episode season, going back to the show’s original format—season four and five were 12 episodes each, including holiday episodes in the small California town.
In an interview with Deadline coinciding with the latest release, Smith would not confirm how many more seasons of the show to expect, but he did give us some more details for what to expect coming up. Here’s everything we know so far about Virgin River season six.
What is the plot to Virgin River season six?
There’s no official details known about the upcoming season, but Smith told Deadline to expect a time jump from the end of the second part of season 5’s holiday special. Titled “Father Christmas,” the episode reveals Mel’s biological father, Everett Reid, who seems to want nothing to do with the news to start with.
The time jump will allow for more new plotlines, for Lizzie to finally have her baby, and for other happier news regarding Doc’s health.
“I think with Season 6, we’re getting to see Doc and Hope in a place that we haven’t really gotten to see them before, which is healthy,” said Smith. “I think from the first season when Hope had heart issues and then her traumatic brain injury and his macular degeneration, it felt like an opportunity to see something different in a season where they’re both thriving and healthy. So he’ll get a good prognosis out of it, but other challenges will arise.”
But a lot of the new story will focus on if Everett will be part of Mel’s life, with Smith saying, “Getting to see Mel with a living parent has been fun to explore.”
Who is in Virgin River season six?
Alexandra Breckenridge and Martin Henderson should be back as Mel and Jack, per Smith’s plans. Most likely to join them are Tim Matheson as Dr. Vernon “Doc” Mullins, Annette O’Toole as Hope McCrea, Colin Lawrence as John “Preacher” Middleton, Benjamin Hollingsworth as Dan Brady, Sarah Dugdale as Lizzie, Jenny Cooper as Joey Barnes, Zibby Allen as Brie Sheridan, Marco Grazzini as Mike Valenzuela, Lauren Hammersley as Charmaine Roberts, Mark Ghanimé as Dr. Cameron Hayek, Kai Bradbury as Denny Cutler, and Kandyse McClure as Kaia Bryant. And whoever gets cast as Lizzie’s baby.
Has Virgin River season six started filming?
Smith said the script is not yet complete, but they expect production to begin the first half of 2024. The process was somewhat delayed by the Writers’ Guild Strike of 2023.
Is there a trailer or production stills for Virgin River season six?
No, but this post will be updated as soon as they come along.
Aimée Lutkin is the weekend editor at ELLE.com. Her writing has appeared in Jezebel, Glamour, Marie Claire and more. Her first book, The Lonely Hunter, will be released by Dial Press in February 2022.