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We have some excellent news about Virgin River season 6 to share with fans of the Netflix original series. It's finally time to mark your calendars! The sixth season will officially make its premiere on Thursday, Dec. 19. All 10 episodes will release at once, so don't worry about the new season dropping in parts. New Virgin River is the perfect Christmas gift!
Following the announcement of the season 6 release date, Netflix also shared a lovable teaser for the new season. In the short and sweet clip, Mel and Jack's love story through the seasons recaps and leads into the exciting news that we will definitely watch them get married! Prepare for your heart to absolutely overflow with joy when season 6 arrives this winter.
Production on Virgin River season 6 wrapped back in June 2024, and while it seemed as though the show wasn't going to be back much before sometime in 2025, Netflix surprised us all with a release by the end of 2024. There's so much to look forward to with the new season, so let's get into all of the news and updates fans need to know before tuning in!
Virgin River season 6 release date set for December 2024
On Oct. 7, Netflix announced that Virgin River season 6 would be released on Thursday, Dec. 19. The release date came as a pleasant surprise, as it was previously believed that the season wouldn't be able to make a 2024 release after the setbacks from the strikes and end up debuting sometime in early 2025. However, fans don't have to wait quite that long now.
On Feb. 1, Netflix revealed its lineup of movies and shows slated for released throughout 2024, but Virgin River was noticeably absent from the shows list. Unfortunately, later that day, confirmation arrived that season 6 would no longer be eyed to release in 2024. But that's now thankfully not the case and we will be able to watch all 10 episodes before Christmas 2024.
On Nov. 10, 2023, The Viewer’s Perspective published an interview with Virgin River writer Ildiko Susany, who revealed the official episode count for season 6. While the previous two seasons contained 12 episodes, the sixth will go back to basics with a 10-episode season. It’s unclear whether Netflix had given the reduced episode count order to season 6 prior to the writers’ strike or if it’s a result of the strike.
Synopsis and cast list
In the season 5 finale, Mel's birth father Everett arrived at her house with something to tell her. Obviously, we will find out what next steps Mel and Everett take in their newfound relationship as father and daughter. The new season will also travel back in time to the 1970s as we learn how Mel's mom met Everett, and it's all leading up to Mel and Jack tying the knot.
Here's the official Virgin River season 6 synopsis via Netflix's press release:
"Against the backdrop of Mel and Jack’s romantic spring wedding season, this sixth installment promises fresh twists and turns, escalating love triangles, delightful wedding drama, as well as uncovered secrets from Mel’s father’s past which will transport us to the magic and mystique of Virgin River in the 1970s."
Unlike past seasons, season 6 doesn't feature many casting shakeups. The entire main cast of season 5 returns to reprise their roles and continue their storylines. In addition to all of the main cast members, we will definitely catch up with all of our favorite colorful Virgin River supporting players and likely meet some new faces along the way.
Check out the main cast of season 6:
- Alexandra Breckenridge as Mel
- Martin Henderson as Jack
- Tim Matheson as Doc
- Annette O’Toole as Hope
- Colin Lawrence as Preacher
- Benjamin Hollingsworth as Brady
- Zibby Allen as Brie
- Sarah Dugdale as Lizzie
- Marco Grazzini as Mike
- Kai Bradbury as Denny
- Kandyse McClure as Kaia
- Mark Ghanime as Cameron
Jessica Rothe and Callum Kerr will also make an appearance in season 6 in the '70s flashbacks as Mel's parents Sarah and Everett. Their castings precede the potential prequel spinoff series that's in the works at Netflix. The episode they appear in will seemingly act as a backdoor pilot in order for Netflix to gauge the audience's interest in the possible spinoff series.
Season 6 finished filming in June 2024
On Feb. 22, a lot of great Virgin River news was announced by Netflix. On top of news that a potential prequel spinoff is in the works (more on that below!), Deadline confirmed that season 6 officially kicked off filming in Vancouver. Production will likely continue through the spring and then go into post-production. Netflix has already confirmed the season will release in 2025.
See Alexandra Breckenridge and Martin Henderson in the all-smiles filming announcement below!
During an Instagram live with Alexandra Breckenridge, Martin Henderson revealed that the sixth season would likely begin filming in early 2024. He also let it slip that cameras could begin rolling around February or March, meaning the season could wrap filming sometime in the summer for an eventual release in 2025. That's exactly what's happening!
As much as Virgin River fans will wanted season 6 to start filming immediately after season 5, the writers were still hard at work at crafting the season. The showrunner Patrick Sean Smith revealed to Glamour that prior to the writers’ strike, they had completed half of the episodes. On Oct. 9, 2023 the show’s official account revealed that the writers had excitedly returned to work on the remainder of season 6 following the resolution of the strike.
In her interview with The Viewer’s Perspective, Susany revealed that the writers would be completing work on the back half of season 6 “in a little over a month,” which means the writing on the season finished before the end of 2023. The writing process on season 6 began in spring 2023 before the strikes took place, but the writers were still working on scripts as of November 2023.
Production lasted about three and half months, according to Wood's caption from his Instagram post. It wrapped in late May or early June. We don't have the official date that production ended, but it was sometime in the late spring of 2024.
WARNING: Spoilers from Virgin River season 5 from this point forward!
Virgin River season 5 part 1 ending cliffhangers
Ahead of the holiday episodes, Virgin River season 5 episode 10 ends with a tease of what’s to come. Mel receives a phone call from her sister and learns that their mother had been having an affair with a man in Virgin River years ago. The love letters Joey found leads her to believe that this man could be Mel’s real father.
Elsewhere in the lead up to part 2, Lizzie tells Denny that she thinks she’s pregnant, which could surely throw a wrench in his plans to return to college. Doc signs on for a clinical trial for his macular degeneration, and it’s set to begin after the new year. He’s willing to take the risk on getting his vision back in the trial.
Brie and Mike begin a relationship, as do Cameron and Muriel (and gossip surely spread swiftly). Less romantically, Kaia tells Preacher that body has been discovered in the fire wreckage, and that has him worried for obvious reasons related to Wes. And finally, we learned that Calvin is the father of Charmaine’s baby, who still have yet to be born. But she does finally give birth in the Christmas episodes!
We're going to meet Mel's parents in the past
Along with the news that Netflix has been developing a Virgin River prequel series based on Mel's parents, Deadline revealed that before the spinoff gets the official green light, viewers will be able to get a glimpse into potential prequel in season 6. The upcoming season will feature flashbacks to Mel's mother Sarah and her birth father Everett, setting up the prequel. Virgin River's new showrunner Patrick Sean Smith will be writing and developing the prequel.
According to Deadline, they're still in the process of casting the younger versions of Sarah and Everett, who would then likely reprise their roles in the prequel spinoff should it be ordered to series. The potential prequel doesn't appear to be a limited series by way of Bridgerton's prequel spinoff Queen Charlotte, which means there's potential fans could see all sorts of drama go down in Virgin River in the past. Does this mean we'd get a young Doc, Hope, and more, too?!
What could happen in season 6?
Prior to the release of episodes 11 and 12, which marks the official conclusion of the fifth season, it was tough to predict exactly would could happen in season 6. However, some pieces of the puzzle had been teased toward the end of season 5, such as Lizzie’s pregnancy, Doc’s clinical trial, and Mel and Jack’s intention to buy Lilly’s farm.
Mel and Jack see buying the farm as an opportunity to grow their family, in whichever way works best for them. Jack also suggests that the farm could be a great place to get married. Being so, there could be a wedding in the works for season 6. Obviously, there will be plenty more ups and downs for each character to endure separately and as a community.
Season 5 part 2 contained a lot of answers to our questions, namely the identity of Mel's biological father. She and Jack embark on a holiday scavenger hunt around town to find him, and they finally do: Everett Reid. (No, we didn't know him prior to this season.) Elsewhere, Lizzie's pregnancy is confirmed, Cameron and Muriel seemingly hit a rough patch, the truth about Wes' body closes in on Preacher, and Lark might not be who we (or Brady) think she is.
After the holiday episodes, Smith revealed that Doc's trial will be successful, so that's a cliffhanger we don't have to lose sleep over. The showrunner also offered a number of teases about the upcoming season, including a continued focus on Mel and Jack, Mel continuing to get to know Everett (and learning what he has to tell her!), Brady and Brie still having a shot at love, and so many other juicy tidbits to look forward to in season 6. Check out all of the teases here!
Susany teased season 6 as much as she could to The Viewer’s Perspective, sharing this small tidbit on the trajectory of the forthcoming episodes:
"I’m not sure how much I can give away for season six, but I will say we are very excited to focus on Mel and Jack, but we will still have everyone’s stories as well. We are definitely thrilled about Mel and Jack’s journey in season 6."Ildiko Susany
Stay tuned for more Virgin River news and updates from Netflix Life!