There are few Netflix shows fans love more than Virgin River,

and to their delight, they’re going to get a whole lot more of it in the future.

Not only is Virgin River season 5 releasing in fall 2023 (in two parts!),

but Netflix already announced Virgin River season 6 is in the works. It’s not a surprise that Netflix would want to keep the hit romantic drama series going for as long as possible. Alexandra Breckenridge recently opened up about her hopes for the series being renewed for season 6, and the Mel Monroe actress got her wish — as did we all!
Now that Netflix has confirmed Virgin River season 6, it’s time to keep fans updated with everything we know about the upcoming season, including details on the renewal, reduced episode count, season 5 release date, filming status, and more! The latest update was added on Monday, Nov. 13.

Virgin River season 6 is officially renewed

On May 17, as part of Netflix’s first upfront presentation, the streamer announced the exciting news that Virgin River had been renewed for a sixth season. Virgin River season 6’s renewal comes ahead of the fifth season’s release in September 2023.

How many episodes will there be in season 6? On Nov. 10, The Viewer’s Perspective published an interview with Virgin River writer Ildiko Susany, who revealed the official episode count for season 6. While the previous two seasons contained 12 episodes, the sixth will go back to basics with a 10-episode season. It’s unclear whether Netflix had given the reduced episode count order to season 6 prior to the writers’ strike or if it’s a result of the strike.
Even though Virgin River fans had been hoping season 5 would follow suit with seasons 3 and 4 and release in July 2023, Netflix revealed that the release date had been pushed to fall. Virgin River season 5 part 1 began streaming on Thursday, Sept. 7. The first part consists of 10 new episodes full of romance, drama, and fire. But there’s more episodes to come this fall.

In addition to the release of season 5’s first 10 episodes on Sept. 7, the final two episodes of season 5’s 12-episode order will be released on Thursday, Nov. 30. These two episodes are holiday-themed episodes. Fans have long wanted a Virgin River Christmas special, and season 5 will finally deliver two episodes taking place during the holidays. What’s to come in these episodes was teased at the end of episode 10, but more spoilers a bit further down!

Is season 6 filming yet?

How many episodes will there be in season 6? On Nov. 10, The Viewer’s Perspective published an interview with Virgin River writer Ildiko Susany, who revealed the official episode count for season 6. While the previous two seasons contained 12 episodes, the sixth will go back to basics with a 10-episode season. It’s unclear whether Netflix had given the reduced episode count order to season 6 prior to the writers’ strike or if it’s a result of the strike.
Even though Virgin River fans had been hoping season 5 would follow suit with seasons 3 and 4 and release in July 2023, Netflix revealed that the release date had been pushed to fall. Virgin River season 5 part 1 began streaming on Thursday, Sept. 7. The first part consists of 10 new episodes full of romance, drama, and fire. But there’s more episodes to come this fall.

In addition to the release of season 5’s first 10 episodes on Sept. 7, the final two episodes of season 5’s 12-episode order will be released on Thursday, Nov. 30. These two episodes are holiday-themed episodes. Fans have long wanted a Virgin River Christmas special, and season 5 will finally deliver two episodes taking place during the holidays. What’s to come in these episodes was teased at the end of episode 10, but more spoilers a bit further down!

Is season 6 filming yet?

In her interview with The Viewer’s Perspective, Susany revealed that the writers would be completing work on the back half of season 6 “in a little over a month,” which means the writing on the season will be finished before the end of 2023. That leaves the door open for the season to begin filming in either December 2023 or in early 2024 after the holidays.

Production had been expected to begin in summer 2023, but don’t expect the cast and crew to get back to work until the end of 2023 at the very earliest. The writing process on season 6 began in spring 2023 before the strikes took place, but the writers are still working on scripts as of November 2023. Being so, season 6 might not start filming until sometime in 2024 depending on how long it takes for the rest of the episodes to be written.

The writers’ and actors’ strike delays

Executive producer and writer Richard Keith shared on Instagram that if the strikes aren’t resolved by the end of 2023, season 6 of Virgin River likely would not premiere until 2025. Thankfully, both of the Hollywood labor strikes ended — the writers’ strike in late September 2023 and the actors’ strike in early November 2023 — before the end of the year, which means we shouldn’t have to wait until 2025 for season 6.

From July 2023 and into September, the ongoing writers’ strike prevented the Virgin River writers — as well as all writers across the entertainment industry — to continue to write new episodes. Not only will season 6 be slightly delayed because of the strike, but most shows fans look forward to each fall won’t be airing on the small screen in September and October. Expect lots of delays across the board into next year.

The writers’ strike wasn’t the only strike that Hollywood will have to contend with moving forward, as the Screen Actors Guild also joined the Writers Guild. That means, both guilds struck in tandem and the work stoppage will be doubly impactful to the future of programming. Thankfully, both guilds reached resolutions and earned new deals from the studios.

Martin Henderson inadvertently teased season 6

Even though the strikes are impacting the production of season 6 and the promotional plans for season 5, Virgin River season 5 is still very much on the way this fall. Getting ahead of the promotional cycle, Martin Henderson posted a photo of himself from set and accidentally captioned the photo with “season 6,” leading fans to think cameras started rolling on the next season.

However, as stated above, season 6 has not started filming. Henderson simply made a typo when sharing the photo with his fans. When season 6 does have the chance to start filming, Henderson and the whole cast will surely tease fans on social media as normal. But this time around, fans will have to practice a little patience until that day can come.

What could happen in season 6?

Before the release of episodes 11 and 12, which marks the official conclusion of the fifth season, it’s tough to predict exactly would could happen in season 6. However, some pieces of the puzzle have been teased toward the end of season 5, such as Lizzie’s possible pregnancy, Doc’s clinical trial, and Mel and Jack’s intention to buy Lilly’s farm.Mel and Jack see buying the farm as an opportunity to grow their family, in whichever way works best for them. Jack also suggests that the farm could be a great place to get married. Being so, there could be a wedding in the works for season 6. Obviously, there will be plenty more ups and downs for each character to endure separately and as a community.