Welcome back to the titular Northern California town.

Virgin River first premiered on Netflix back in 2019 and the American

romantic drama has been a fond favourite amongst subscribers ever since.

Based on Robyn Carr’s Virgin River novels, there has been exciting source material to pull from.
Fortunately, it has been renewed time and time again, with audiences being welcomed back into the fold for season 4 on Wednesday, July 20th 2022.

With its return, we have a pressing question to address. Fans may have found it a little jarring when the latest season began with a jump ahead in time, encouraging us to fill in the blanks. As a result, you may be eager for a little recap. After all, it’s been a while since season 3.
With that in mind, what happened to Hope on Virgin River?

What happened to Hope on Virgin River?

Casting our minds back to the beginnings of season 3, we learn that Hope (played by Annette O’Toole) left the town of Virgin River to come to the help of her aunt.

Although she expected to be back home in no time, her aunt’s condition demanded that she be away for longer. In audience terms, she was essentially absent from the entire season.

However, the true kicker comes at the end of the season when Hope is driving back to town and suddenly gets into a catastrophic car accident. The season finale sees her being rushed to the hospital, leaving fans waiting patiently to determine her condition.
On the bright side, season 4 assures us that Hope is still alive and back home. However, she is still recovering from the ordeal and is suffering from a brain injury.

Needless to say, it’s an emotional batch of instalments for Hope fans. Doc explains to her that the road to recovery is going to require resilience and patience.

‘I really missed being there’

Viewers may have been wondering if there was any reason behind the scenes for Hope being away in season 3.
Well, Annette O’Toole has explained during a conversation with Pure Wow that the decision was down to the COVID-19 pandemic:

“I really wanted to come back, but it was all dependent on this ridiculous COVID travel situation. And that’s really what it was—it wasn’t fear of the virus or anything like that, it was fear of separation from my family.”

She added: “I really missed being there, and I love doing the show and all the people the cast and crew are very fantastic. [Season 4] is just going to be more intense. A lot of questions will be answered, but a lot more will be presented.”

Is Virgin River renewed for season 5?

You’d better believe it.
Netflix actually announced the series’ renewal for both seasons 4 and 5 back in September 2021, displaying their utmost confidence in the show.

A release date is yet to be confirmed but we predict new episodes could premiere as early as July 2023.