Virgin River Season 3 Is Here! What We Know About Mel and Jack's Journey So Far
Virgin RiverSeason 2 left us with a lot of questions late last year, and fans of the Netflix hit were immediately clamoring for a third season to find out more about what midwife Mel (Alexandra Breckenridge), Jack (Martin Henderson) and the rest of the sweet small-town gang would be up to in the future. As it turns out, not all of those questions from Season 2 get answered in Virgin River Season 3, which arrived July 9 on the streaming service. However, Netflix did previously promise that Season 3 will bring "death, a fire, custody arguments, breakups"—and clearly, more drama!
Can't wait to learn more? Here's everything you need to know about Virgin River's third season, but beware: Spoilers ahead!
Is there a Virgin River Season 3 trailer?
On June 11, Netflix unveiled a two-minute trailer that begins with Jack's hospitalization after getting shot at the end of Season 2 (more on that below), but makes it clear that he's got a lot more life to live; in fact, just a few moments into the trailer, Mel tells him to "take it easy" amid his ongoing recovery.
The preview is also full of Mel-and-Jack makeouts, plus a lot of intrigue about what their future may hold.
When will Virgin River return for Season 3 on Netflix?
Netflix announced that there will be a third season of the show dropping on July 9 and showrunner Sue Tenney is ready! In an interview with Parade.com (see below), she said we'd have to "wait for season three" to find out the answers to some of our burning questions.
How many episodes will be in Virgin River Season 3?
The third season will have 10 episodes, the same number of episodes there were in Seasons 1 and 2.
Is Alexandra Breckenridge in Season 3 of Virgin River?
Yes! Alexandra Breckenridge previously told Parade she's "pleasantly surprised" by Virgin River's popularity, and it certainly sounds like she loves starring as Mel, so it's likely you'll see more of her in Season 3. "When you’re filming it it’s one thing, but when you see it all put together in the end, I get it. I get why people enjoy the show," she said. "It’s beautiful and it’s comforting even though you’re watching some real emotional moments...I realized that it’s a show to keep you entertained but cozy, and give you really a beautiful, relaxing experience, then I thought, 'Oh yeah, I think this will be received well.'”
Is Martin Henderson in Virgin River Season 3?
Yes! While Jack was shot at the end of Season 2, he makes it.
"It’s delightful, I’m not going to lie," he previously told Parade of the response to the show. "I think as an actor your job is to entertain. Of course, there’s all sorts of reasons people take jobs, right? I think sometimes you take a job because the role is challenging or it’s something different that you want to challenge yourself, whether you take a job for the money or you take a job—there’s so many reasons. At the end of the day your job is to entertain, and I think to get a response that’s been as overwhelming as it has been, and so positive, and the passion of the fans is delightful. I think it makes one feel that we’re doing a good job, that clearly our efforts are being appreciated and people are being entertained or maybe even moved. That’s really all you can ask for."
He added, "I don’t do Facebook but Instagram, the amount of comments and messages I get from people that are just so desperate to see another installment and how eager everybody is to revisit these characters and how much they love the show and the characters is very gratifying and humbling, too. You don’t know when you put your work out there whether it’s going to be received. You work hard and you try to give people your truth and try to make the character as real as you can. The fact that people get invested in the characters is wonderful."
Who else is in the Virgin River cast for Season 3?
Preacher isn't going far, even though his future was sort of up in the air at the end. Netflix revealed Colin Lawrence (who plays Preacher), Tim Matheson (Doc), Annette O'Toole (Hope), Benjamin Hollingsworth (Brady), Grayson Gurnsey (Ricky), Lauren Hammersley (Charmaine), Sarah Dugdale (Lizzie), Jenny Cooper (Joey)and more of your favorite VirginRiver locals will be back. One name noticeably missing from the list is Lexa Doig, who plays Paige.
Why isn't Hope in Virgin River Season 3?
Hope's character isn't physically present for Season 3 of Virgin River, but she is still in the cast! O'Toole's lack of in-person interaction with the rest of the stars is, unfortunately, a casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic. Showrunner Tenney explained to Entertainment Weekly that Hope's appearances in Zoom calls was "a pandemic pivot" and that "we've worked very hard to make sure she was still very much in the show." Tenney added, "If we have a fourth season, everyone is now vaccinated and the pandemic is not what it was. So, I would hope that we would have Annette back."
One of the pivots that Tenney and writers had to make was sacrificing Hope and Doc's vow renewal ceremony in the storyline, something Tenney says she knows fans were looking forward to, but promises there are more great things in store for the fan-favorite couple.
"We had a very lovely, two long episodes about that, two episodes of plot on that," Tenney confirmed. "When we get to that point, which is a re-commitment ceremony, we definitely are going to want to see that. But we have some drama going on with both of those characters that puts that on the back-burner, but also heightens their commitment to one another."
Are there new characters in the Virgin River cast for Season 3?
Yes! Netflix revealed a new series regular and a new recurring role. Zibby Allen (The Flash, Grey's Anatomy) is the new series regular and plays Brie, Jack's sister. "Brie is a lawyer who is smart, hard-charging, ballsy and a whole lot of fun," Netflix revealed. The recurring role will be played by Stacey Farber (Saving Hope, Diggstown). She will play Tara Anderson, Lilly’s daughter, "who we finally meet this season since she is helping her with Baby Chloe while her three other siblings are living away from home."
Will Virgin River Season 3 follow the books?
Virgin River follows the books by Robyn Carr pretty closely, but the books move a bit more quickly than the Netflix series does. Season 3 will likely follow that pattern.
What happens in Virgin River Season 3?
We don't know yet what sort of melodrama awaits Mel and the gang in Season 3, but we do know what Breckenridge hopes will go down in Mel's future.
"I really would like to see some therapy work for Mel on the show," she told us. "I think it’s important to not only work on yourself but I think sometimes people need help to get over huge emotional things like the loss that she’s had. And so I would like to see her visit the therapist just as an inspiration point to others who might be dealing with the same amount of grief. Because it can really be all-consuming and I think sometimes people kind of poo-poo therapy, but I think it’d be really helpful. I think Jack needs a therapist as well." So do we!
Tenney has some plans. "In a future season(s), my co-executive producer Amy Robertson and I want to explore how our characters will react both individually, and as a group, under pressure."
Who shot Jack in Virgin River?
While Brady was arrested for shooting Jack in Season 3 of Virgin River, it may not be what it seems: Even though the gun found in Brady's car matched the one used to shoot Jack and Brady's alibi didn't hold up, it doesn't necessarily mean he's guilty. Tenney told Us Weekly, "It's a big part of the season—who shot him and what's going on. His friend Mike (Marco Grazzzini) ends up staying in town and he’s trying to investigate and find out who the shooter is, while also trying to keep Jack from taking the law into his own hands. There will be an arrest at the end of Season 3—but everything is not the way it looks. The story is not over with the arrest."
The case isn't solved by the end of Season 3, but various fan theories point the finger at local drug dealer Calvin (DavidCubitt) and his crew, while others believe Wes Logan's twin brother or even Charmaine are responsible for pulling the trigger.
Are Mel and Jack together in Season 3 of VirginRiver?
"In life, relationships are tested by internal and external conflicts–often over and over. Mel and Jack are no different," Tenney said. "The question is will they be able to persevere? I think we are all rooting for them, but relationships are complicated and these two characters have a big mountain to climb, even though they share a deep love and emotional connection."
Indeed, the couple are back on by the Virgin River Season 3 finale, but not without drama: Mel is pregnant, and it's unclear whether or not Jack is the father of her unborn child. Why? Remember back to how in one of her and Jack's "off-again" periods she visited a fertility clinic where she'd frozen embryos with her late husband Mark? That's why. It's especially problematic for the pair because they often conflicted over whether or not to have kids together in the future.
How to watch and stream Virgin River Season 3
Virgin River Season 3 will stream on Netflix, like the prior two seasons. All 10 episodes of Virgin River's third season are available to stream now on Netflix.
Additional reporting by Debra Wallace
Next, get an exclusive sneak peek at Season 2 of Netflix's Sweet Magnolias!
