Virgin River is Now Netflix’s Longest Running Drama Ever (And Here’s Why That Matters)
Virgin River is the new blueprint for how Netflix should be approaching TV.
Netflix isn’t known for letting its original shows run for more than a few seasons, but there are a few affordable hits that manage to buck the trend. Virgin River is one such series. The romantic drama is set to debut its sixth season in December but there is currently no end for Netflix’s his series. In fact, a recent announcement just confirmed that Virgin River is now tied for the longest run in Netflix history.
Nearly two months before Virgin River’s Season 6 premiere, Netflix announced that the series had been renewed for a seventh season. That makes Virgin River just the third scripted Netflix original series to hit the Season 7 mark, following Orange Is the New Black and Grace and Frankie. Of the three shows, Virgin River is the only one that’s still airing new episodes, so it has plenty of opportunity to reach Season 8.
When you think about some of the biggest hits on Netflix, Virgin River may not come to mind. But the series has outlasted almost everything else the streamer has released over the years. The Crown and House of Cards both ran for six seasons, while Stranger Things is coming to an end after its upcoming fifth season.
This sustained success for Virgin River is massive because it could transform how Netflix approaches its original shows going forward. Virgin River is able to operate more like a traditional TV show, which is the kind programming Netflix desperately needs.
There are a couple of different ways in which Virgin River operates more traditionally. First and foremost is in its budget and production schedule. This is a series that doesn’t have any massive stars, extravagant set pieces, or visual effects ballooning the budget. It largely takes place in one town, allowing the production to keep its same sets season after season. All of that factors into a production schedule that allows Virgin River to return with new seasons at an annual pace.
Virgin River premiered in 2019 and already has six seasons in the can. On the other end of the spectrum you have a show like Stranger Things that has only delivered four seasons since premiering in 2016. Bridgerton has released three seasons, half as many as Virgin River, despite premiering just one year later.
This has been a point of frustration amongst TV fans with Netflix subscriptions, as they have to wait years between seasons of their favorite shows. Meanwhile, Virgin River has steadily released at least one season each year since its initial debut and that doesn’t appear to be changing in the near future.
Perhaps even more important for Netflix is the fact that it now has another show with a real library of episodes. Long-running shows have often found sustained success in the world of streaming, which has been an issue for Netflix when it comes to original programs. Subscribers are almost trained to wait to see if a show is cancelled after a season or two before watching it because that trend has become so troubling for the streamer. When fans to latch onto a show, they can work their way through every episode in a pretty short amount of time.
This library situation is what helped make Suits the breakout streaming success of 2023. When Netflix users discovered Suits last summer, they found it with eight seasons under its belt. Suits is a show users could binge through over the course of several weeks or months, because there was already a substantial backlog of episodes to work through.
Very few Netflix shows are able to provide that. Virgin River is now approaching 70 episodes, giving fans quite a lot to watch once they dive in.
These are the kinds of shows Netflix needs if the streamer hopes to create more hits in the realm of television. Chasing big budget IP projects can bring some eyeballs, but those titles often aren’t sustainable enough to anchor an entire network. Virgin River gives Netflix a legitimate blueprint to follow for future projects. Whether or not the streamer follows that blueprint is another story.
