Virgin River Renewed For Two More Seasons By Netflix

Netflix has renewed the series Virgin River for two more seasons. Virgin River seasons 4 and 5 were confirmed by USA Today, and this isn't all that surprising of a move by Netflix, as the series has grown to be a major hit since debuting in December of 2019. During the COVID-19 pandemic's mega-binges during lockdowns, Virgin River managed to stack up enough viewers and buzz for Netflix to fast-track seasons 2 and 3 for release in Fall 2020 and Summer 2021. By the time of the season 3 premiere back in July, Virgin River was the top streaming series as measured by Neilsen ratings. 

Virgin River is based on the Robyn Carr book series and follows Melinda "Mel" Monroe, a woman who answers an ad to work as a midwife and nurse practitioner in the remote Northern California town of Virgin River, envisioning the perfect place to start fresh and leave her painful memories behind. But Mel discovers that small-town living isn't quite as simple as expected, and must learn to heal herself before she can truly make Virgin River her home.

Virgin River stars Alexandra Breckenridge as Mel Monroe, Martin Henderson as Jack Sheridan, Annette O'Toole as Hope McCrea, Tim Matheson as Doc Mullins, Colin Lawrence as Preacher Middleton, Lauren Hammersley as Charmaine Roberts, Benjamin Hollingsworth as Dan Brady, Grayson Gurnsey as Ricky, Sarah Dugdale as Lizzie, Zibby Allen as Brie Sheridan, and Marco Grazzini as Mike Valenzuela.

Season 3 left fans dangling from big cliffhangers including Hope needing life-saving surgery; Brady arrested for (maybe) shooting Jack; Preacher's house being stormed by Chris's dad; Charmaine and Todd trying to grab custody of the twins; Jack proposing marriage to Mel and the double-twist of her revealing she is pregnant... you see how this all goes. 

Virgin River has been there to provide TV viewers with a soapy drama series when they've really needed one, and the streaming service seems to be reaping big benefits from it. 

As for drama: Virgin River star Alexandra Breckenridge teases that fans of the books could get gobsmacked by a big twist coming up in season 4, regarding Mel's baby. In the books Mel and Jack have a son - but will showrunner Sue Tenney chart a different path? "In the books, [Mel does have a son with Jack] but a lot of things are different in the series than in the books," Breckenridge teased before adding that regardless of the father, "I would like to watch her journey of becoming a mother."