‘Virgin River’ Season 6: Everything We Know

Just hours after the release of Virgin River season 5, diehard fans of the hit Netflix series were already clamoring to find out what’s next for Mel, Jack and the rest of the gang. Not much is known yet about season six of the show, but one thing we do know for sure is that a sixth season is happening…eventually.

That early renewal—Netflix confirmed season six in May, well before season five’s September premiere date—wasn’t exactly a surprise. Though the streaming giant doesn’t release exact viewership numbers, it has previously revealed that Virgin River is a consistently high performer. That assertion was confirmed by Nielsen last summer, when the show’s fourth season not only knocked Stranger Things out of Netflix’s top spot in its debut week, but also set a new personal record, garnering 2.64 billion minutes of viewing time for the week.

It’s safe to say that Virgin River won’t be going anywhere any time soon. Read on to prepare for those future episodes with everything we know so far about season six.

When will season six of ‘Virgin River’ premiere?

Unfortunately for fans of the show, a sixth season could be quite a ways away. While previous seasons of Virgin River have been well into the filming process by the time their preceding episodes hit Netflix, production on season six has yet to begin due to the ongoing writers’ and actors’ union strikes. The seasons typically air anywhere from eight to 14 months apart; with these delays, probably the earliest we can expect to see the sixth season hit Netflix would be the very end of 2024—if not well into 2025.

In an Instagram Story captured by Hello! in early August, Alexandra Breckenridge, who stars in the series as Mel Monroe, confirmed that the show’s typical filming schedule had been derailed.

“Since the end of 2019—no, December 2018—I’ve been going to Vancouver to film, and I’m supposed to be there right now, but because of the strike—strikes, plural, both the writers’ and actors’ strike—no filming,” she said.

Annette O’Toole, who plays Virgin River Mayor Hope McCrea, has also confirmed that the show’s future production schedule is dependent on the outcome of the strikes, writing in an Instagram post in May that “we’re going to film season 6 as soon as the strike is settled” and adding her support for what was then only the writers’ strike with “#WGAStrong!”

What will the sixth season be about?

Spoilers for season 5, part 1 ahead.

The dramatic conclusion of season 5—minus the two extra episodes set to arrive later this fall—set up several threads for the show to follow, including another lead on the identity of Mel's father, Calvin’s return, Preacher’s fate after the apparent discovery of Wes’ body, and, the news of Lizzie’s possible pregnancy. Though it'll be hard for fans to guess what comes next until after those last two episodes, there's plenty of content in the source material—that is, Robyn Carr’s Virgin River 24-book series—for the show’s makers to mine. They’re also not afraid to carve out new paths for Carr’s characters, as Jinny Howe, Netflix’s head of drama, told Deadline about the future of Virgin River last year.

“It will be exciting to see which characters continue to break out and audiences crave more of; we’re paying very close attention, understanding that this is a really rich universe of characters and that people can’t seem to get enough, myself included,” she said. “So I think as long as that continues to be the case—which we’re very hopeful for—you can rest assured that there will be more Virgin River.”

How many episodes will 'Virgin River' season six get?

An official episode count hasn’t been confirmed, but it’s highly likely that the sixth season’s roster will land between 10 and 12 episodes. Seasons one through three all featured 10 installments, while the fourth and fifth seasons expanded to 12 episodes each—with the final two episodes of season five slated for a separate, holiday-themed release in late November.

Who will return for season six of ‘Virgin River’?

As far as we know, all of our Virgin River faves will be back for future seasons of the show—and at the very least, we can be sure Mel and Hope will return, judging by Breckenridge and O’Toole’s excited Instagram posts about season six. Rounding out the show’s main cast are Martin Henderson, Colin Lawrence, Lauren Hammersley, Tim Matheson and Benjamin Hollingsworth, and time will tell whether the reported new additions to season five—including Susan Hogan, Elise Gatien, Kandyse McClure and Paolo Maiolo—will stick around for even more screen time.

Meanwhile, behind the scenes, Virgin River will likely continue to be helmed by showrunner Patrick Sean Smith, who took over for Sue Tenney starting with season five.