‘Virgin River’ Season 6 Netflix Release Date Confirmed and Everything We Know So Far
The new (slightly smaller season) of Virgin River will land just in time for Christmas this year!
Netflix is returning to Virgin River for a highly anticipated sixth season featuring a backdoor pilot episode for a potential spin-off this December. Here’s your extended look into everything known about the upcoming sixth season of the feel-good drama, including the latest production information, new and returning cast list, what to expect from the story, release date, and much more.
In case you missed it, Virgin River was renewed for season 6 in May 2023, ahead of season 5’s release. The announcement came via Netflix’s Upfront Event. The show has become accustomed to early renewals, with every season given an early renewal (and often filming ahead of the announcement) since season 2.
The future of Virgin River continues to look pretty safe on Netflix. Jinny Howe, the head of scripted drama at the streamer, teased in an interview with Deadline in 2022 that so long as fans keep turning out for the series, “you can rest assured that there will be more Virgin River.”
What to Expect from Virgin River Season 6
With the Christmas episodes now out in the wild, we now know that Mel’s father, Everett Reid, will be in the picture in the future despite their horrific first meeting. Showrunner Patrick Sean Smith teased to Deadline, “What we’re exploring more in season 6 is who Everett Reid is, what his backstory is, what his connection to Virgin River was when he met her mom and then also what it is today.”
The two-holiday specials end with Everett revealing to Mel that he’s got something serious to tell Mel before the credits begin to roll. What could he have to say? Does she have siblings? Something about her mother? That’ll be one of the key storylines heading into season 6.
Expect at least two weddings in the next season of Virgin River, with Mel and Jack finally looking to tie the knot. Could that mean we get a bit of a time jump headed into the next season? It sounds possible. As we reported in February 2024, we’ll see multiple returning faces for the upcoming wedding, with Mel’s sister Joey (played by Jenny Cooper), her husband Nate (played by Dan Payne), and their children attending the wedding alongside Jack’s Marine Corps comrades Zeke (Garfield Wilson), Josh (Eric Brecker), and Tom (Andrew Zachar).
The showrunner for Virgin River season 6 spoke to Glamour Magazine about the show’s future and gave away some hints. Patrick Sean Smith teased that the events of the upcoming Christmas episodes will “directly propel us into season 6.”
Other insights from that interview included:
Ava will be returning in season 6.
We will see a resolution for Preacher in season 6 and how complicated his relationship with Kaia is, but Smith says he’s worried for Preacher’s future.
The relationship between Cameron and Muriel will be explored further.
More Mel and Jack in Season 4
Ildiko Susany spoke to The Viewer’s Perspective in November 2023, telling the outlet that there’ll be a more significant focus on Mel and Jack but added, “We will still have everyone’s stories as well. We are definitely thrilled about Mel and Jack’s journey in season 6.”
In a recent live stream on Instagram, Martin Henderson and Alexandra Breckenridge seemed to confirm this, too. The pair suggest that things have “shifted some stuff around,” with Breckenridge saying after also speaking to Sean, “I feel like we’re going to be working a lot more.”
While season 5 did have generally positive reviews, some feared the show strayed more into other storylines, with Mel and Jack taking a backseat. That evidently won’t be the case in season 6.
A Backdoor Pilot Episode for Potential Prequel
In February 2024, it was first reported that Netflix was in the early stages of development of a spin-off to the series. Patrick Sean Smith is spearheading the new spin-off focused on the love story of Everett and Sarah, who are Mel’s parents.
As revealed by Deadline later in the year, episode 2 of season 6 will be a prequel episode that will serve as the potential launchpad of a new series. Set in 1972, the show will follow Mel’s mother, Sarah, and Everett (played by Jessica Rothe and Callum Kerr, respectively) through flashbacks. We’ve got much more on this potential spin-off in our full preview here.
How Many Episodes Will There Be in Virgin River Season 6?
We’ve grown accustomed to Virgin River being given larger episode orders for the past two seasons. Both seasons 4 and 5 were upped from their regular ten episodes to twelve, with the most recent season splitting those extra two episodes off into holiday specials.
The Viewers’ Perspective in November 2023 confirmed, courtesy of an interview with Ildiko Susany, that we’re returning to the reduced episode count of 10 for season 6.
