Virgin River’s latest season brought plenty of drama for Mel and the Town. The community had to pull together to fend off wildfires, while Mel made a huge discovery that would change her family life forever.
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. The last episodes 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 quicker than expected.
Here’s everything you need to know about Virgin River’s upcoming season.
When could Virgin River season 6 be released on Netflix?
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos revealed in the Q2 earnings call that Virgin River would return by the end of 2024, and not in 2025 as initially expected.
Star Alexandra Breckenridge later corroborated this on her Instagram stories (via the Express), saying “I’m curious. I know it was announced that season six will be airing this year in 2024, where, previously this year, we didn’t think it would air until 2025.
“I totally know what date it is. I can’t tell you though.”
The last two episodes dropped on 30 November. So, if the show were to follow a yearly cycle, the end of November 2024 would make sense. However, this is just an estimation.
What will the plot of Virgin River season 6 be about?
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 own heroic moment by borrowing a plane and putting out the fire with water from the air.
However, Mel very sadly 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 other ways to grow their family other than 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 about Charmaine lying 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!
Will Charmaine become more involved with Melissa Montgomery’s criminal empire? It could be an interesting direction for her already morally grey character.
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.
Lizzie also revealed to Denny that she was pregnant, so this will likely be one of the key plots in the upcoming season.
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 with firefighter Kaia. However, their relationship may come under strain as she discovered the body of Wes, Paige’s ex and abuser that she ended up killing. Preacher hid the body, and the action has 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.
