Exclusive. Virgin River: How the fans of the series influenced season 6 of the Netflix series
Virgin River is now one of Netflix’s flagship series, which brings together a large community of fans. The latter may not know it, but the writers take their reactions and opinions on the plots very seriously, so much so that some changes have been made for the upcoming season 6.
After an emotional season 5, marked in particular by Mel’s miscarriage, the fire that put all the inhabitants in danger, and two Christmas episodes that left fans wanting more, Virgin River will be back on Netflix for a season 6. The historic strike by the writers and actors delayed the production of these next episodes, but fans will still be entitled to the continuation of the adventures of Mel, Jack and their friends. In an exclusive interview with Télé-Loisirs, Patrick Sean Smith, the showrunner of Virgin River, made some revelations about what awaits the characters, starting with the star couple, who will explore all the options to become parents, but also Mel’s relationship with her biological father. And he also revealed to us how important the opinion and reactions of fans about the series were to write the plots. Virgin River fans influenced “some changes to make season 6 even better”
“The plot is going to stay the way we imagined it, in a general sense. But one of the benefits of this strike was being able to put season 5 of Virgin River online and see the reactions of the fans, Patrick Sean Smith confided. Since I arrived on the show, I have not stopped learning, from the writers, from the actors, from learning as an editor or producer. The last people I can learn from are the fans, to understand what their relationship is to the show. It has been very instructive and it has influenced some changes for season 6, nothing drastic, but small things that will make season 6 even better.”
We will have to wait until season 6 of Virgin River to find out if the team has decided to take into account the request of the fans, who hope to see Brie and Brady get back together. “The show has a huge fan base and I always try to respect that, even though it’s hard to please everyone. My intention is to create something that most of the fans will love. I don’t want to disappoint the fans because they are the reason why the show is successful.”
Virgin River: the actors can also influence the show’s plots
The fans are not the only ones to influence the plots of Virgin River. It has already happened that the actors have changed certain aspects of the story. This was notably the case for Alexandra Breckenridge, about the paternity of Mel’s baby. Originally, the writers had planned for the father to be Mark, her late husband, and not Jack, her partner. But the actress made her point. “Coming into Virgin River for season 5, I told the actors that they knew the show and their characters better than I did, so it was always a collaboration with them,” Patrick Sean Smith told us. “They want to make the best show possible, so if they have a problem with a storyline, we talk about it as early as possible.”
