November 30th can’t come any sooner for Virgin River fans. The idea of two more episodes, which also happen to be the first holiday specials in the show’s history, is enough to make old-time viewers’ hearts skip a beat.
But the specials are not the only piece of good news for fans this fall. If you’ve been worried about the future of Virgin River because of the ratings dip the show suffered in Season 5, put your doubts aside.
Season 6 is definitely happening
Showrunner Patrick Sean Smith recently confirmed in an interview with Glamour that despite the declining numbers, Netflix is still greenlighting the new chapter and it is already in the works.
‘We have half of season six written, so now we just have to get back for the second half,’ Smith said.
The showrunner added that as early as November, we’ll have an idea of what’s in store for Mel, Jack and the rest of Virgin River next season.
‘There are many surprises still to come in the holiday episodes that then propel us into season six,’ he said. ‘Plenty of twists and turns to get you excited about season six.’
Well, that sounds perfect, but when exactly can we expect Season 6?
The next season is likely to air in 2025
While neither the studio nor the creators are rushing to announce exact dates, we can estimate when Season 6 arrives.
A full season of Virgin River takes about 12-15 weeks to write. With half of the new episodes already finished and the writing team back in the room together since October 10, according to the show’s official Instagram, the script could be ready by the time the holiday special debuts.
However, the SAG-AFTRA strike is still ongoing, and the season can’t start filming until the cast get a fair deal with the major studios. If that happens in the next two months, production can begin in early 2024.
Season 5 took four months to shoot and another ten months for post-production and marketing. If this schedule holds, Virgin River Season 6 is looking at a winter-spring 2025 premiere at this point, which is not ideal but probably the best deal we can get with everything going on in the Hollywood scene.
