When Is ‘Virgin River’ Season 6 Coming To Netflix? Showrunner Patrick Sean Smith Weighs In

After twelve episodes packed with more small-town drama, charming characters, and heartfelt moments, Virgin River Season 5, Part 2 concluded with some serious cliffhangers that will leave fans craving answers.

Based on Robyn Carr’s popular novels, the Netflix series follows the day-to-day lives, careers, and relationships of Mel Monroe (Alexandra Breckenridge), Jack Sheridan (Martin Henderson), and their fellow Virgin River residents. After Season 5, Part 1 showed the town surviving local wildfires, a massive drug bust, and a number of other challenging crises, Part 2 gave characters and viewers alike some much-needed respite with a town-wide holiday celebration.

As the Christmas cheer died down, the Season 5 finale introduced a number of major obstacles, burning questions, and loose ends in need of tying. So when the end credits roll, fans will be wondering if and when Virgin River Season 6 is coming. Curious if Netflix renewed the series for another season? When we could see new episodes of Virgin River? And what storylines could lie ahead?

Here’s everything we know about the future of Virgin River, including comments from our interview with showrunner Patrick Sean Smith.

Will There Be A Virgin River Season 6 On Netflix?

Great news, Virgin River fans! Netflix officially renewed the series for a sixth season back in May 2023, which means we haven’t seen the last of the charming small-town drama.

Considering Virgin River garners impressive viewership numbers for Netflix year after year its early renewal didn’t come as a surprise. (Season 5 was such a hit it even dethroned Suits from its extended stay atop Nielsen charts this fall.) For those who don’t know, there are more than 20 books in Robyn Carr’s Virgin River series, so there’s no doubt amongst fans that writers have extensive inspiration to pull from when crafting new storylines for the screen.

So when can Virgin River stans expect new episodes?

When Is Virgin River Season 6 Coming To Netflix?

As of Virgin River‘s Season 5, Part 2 release date (November 30), Netflix had yet to announce a Season 6 premiere date. But we know that post-WGA strike the show’s writers reassembled and thanks to showrunner Patrick Sean Smith, we have some idea of a production timeline.

“We’re scheduled to write through the end of the year,” Smith told Decider in a Zoom interview. “We’re trying to get back into production as quickly as possible, but I don’t have any firm dates on that yet.”

Though there’s no official Season 6 release date yet, past premieres can offer some insight into when we could see new episodes.

• Season 1: December 6, 2019
• Season 2: November 27, 2020
• Season 3: July 9, 2021
• Season 4: July 20, 2022
• Season 5, Part 1: September 7, 2023
• Season 5, Part 2: November 30, 2023

Netflix has released a new season of Virgin River every year since it premiered in 2019, so it’s safe to assume the series will return with Season 6 at some point in 2024. A summer release may be out of the question due to production delays, but perhaps we could see a new batch of episodes next fall.

Virgin River Season 5 Ending Explained:

If you’re looking for a detailed Season 5 finale recap, Decider has you covered. But in terms of major Season 5, Episode 12 spoilers, there are a few main takeaways to keep in mind. Muriel asked Cameron to give their relationship more thought and decide if he wanted to be with her or have a family down the line. Charmaine finally gave birth to her twins, but now she has to learn to co-parent with Calvin. Kaia took a job as Virgin River fire chief so she could be with Preacher, but now that Wes’ body was identified Preacher is going to have to deal with the fallout. Lizzie and Denny are expecting a baby girl and taking life (and his Huntington’s Disease diagnosis) one day at a time.

Hope and Doc are recommitted to each other ahead of Doc’s macular degeneration clinical trial. Brie’s still with Mike and Brady’s still with Lark, but it’s clear there’s still a spark between the exes. Speaking of Lark, we’re VERY worried about Brady after seeing her conspiring against him on the phone with Jimmy, who appears to be Hazel’s father and is still in prison. As for Jack and Mel, Jack gifted her a puppy in the finale and post-miscarriage it’s clear they still have family on the brain. But before Mel can think about children she’s got a biological dad to meet! In the final scene of Season 5, Mel’s dad shows up at her house and says he has something important he needs to tell her, which brings us to Season 6.

What Is Virgin River Season 6’s Plot?

What can fans expect from Virgin River Season 6? Well, Smith teased answers to all of the above cliffhangers in our interview.

As for specifics, when asked about Doc’s upcoming clinical trial Smith had the following to say: “I think I’m always trying to find what feels fulfilling in the journey of it as opposed to just the finish line and looking at, you know, something like Doc’s eyesight: What would it look like? Do you want to live in that with that character? Do we feel like that character needs to go on that journey? And if he doesn’t, then we don’t do it. So it’s really very, very thoughtful in these decisions.”

Charmaine and Calvin’s relationship, or lack-thereof, is also “definitely” something Smith and team plan to explore in Season 6, as is the relationship between Mel and her father. Per Smith, the last line of Season 5 — in which Mel’s dad says he has something important to tell her — is “definitely a bit of a bombshell for their relationship and it’s something that informs a lot of what’s happening in Season 6.”

Smith also assured us there’s hope for Brie and Brady, but noted that when it comes to Lark and Jimmy’s mysterious Season 5 finale threat, “it’s a question of how Brady’s going to react. Is he still going to continue to be the guy that’s on the up and up or is he going to go back to Shady Brady?”

Though Smith was unable to share and potential Mel and Jack wedding spoilers, for those wondering, he confirmed there will be another time jump in Season 6. “I can’t say how much of one, but we will not begin on December 26.”

Stay tuned for more Virgin River Season 6 updates. Until then, Virgin River Season 5 is streaming on Netflix for all your rewatch needs.