(Credits: Netflix)

Netflix have officially announced the renewal of Virgin River for a seventh season. The sixth season of the show is set to premiere on December 19th, with fans waiting since November of last year after the second part of season five was released.  

The announcement was made on social media, with the cast saying, “Good news, Virgin River is confirmed to come back for season seven! More love, drama, and small-town charm coming your way. You’re very welcome.” 

The show is a romantic drama about a nurse who moves from Los Angeles to a small town in Northern California. In the upcoming season, viewers can expect to learn more about the romance between Mel and Jack, played by Alexandra Breckenridge and Martin Henderson, as they progress in their relationship.

The last episode followed the build-up to their wedding, with the showrunner Patrick Sean Smith saying, “There’s a lot more to go here with these characters. I think we’ve only just begun to see Mel and Jack function as a married couple, which is exciting. 

He expanded by saying that the next series will “explore the honeymoon phase for them as they’re building their lives on the farm, which can come with its own obstacles.” 

The marriage between these characters has been highly anticipated, with Sean saying, “I can’t imagine creating a scenario where you think Mel and Jack are going to break up. It forces you to dig a little bit deeper into, well, what other issues can they have in their relationship? Especially when you want to keep it through the romance lens. I think Alex and Martin play all of those [moments so well], it’s just resting on emotional stakes as opposed to will they, won’t they.” 

As well as the central characters, there are plenty of other supporting storylines to follow in the next season, such as the romance between Hope and Doc, Preacher and Kaia and Lizzy and Denny.

When asked to discuss the potential storylines for the other characters, Smith highlighted Hope and Doc (played by Annette O’Toole and Tim Matheson), saying, “Especially with Hope and Doc, getting to tell love stories between two people at that age is something that television never does. Or if they do, it’s for comic relief or something. So the more that we get to grow those characters and dig into them, it just feels special. It feels like nothing else anybody is doing on television.”