After nearly all my favourite TV shows have been cancelled one after the other, Netflix’s renewal of the uninspired, run-of-the-mill drama Virgin River was like a slap in the face.
The series has risen from the ashes of all those who have come before, becoming the Netflix English-language drama series with the most number of seasons. On top of the existing five, it’s now been renewed early for a seventh season.
That’s right, it’s beaten The Crown, House of Cards and Stranger Things to secure its place in Netflix history – likely with the aim of running for many, many more.
Orange is the New Black’s first two seasons count as a comedy but even if the full show is considered, Virgin River is on track to overtake it imminently.
Only Spanish drama series Elite has the show beaten in seasons for now (at eight), although Virgin River still exceeds it in number of episodes.
For the uninitiated (allegedly not that many, given its popularity), the newly-crowned Virgin River is based on the book series by Robyn Carr.
The show follows nurse practitioner Melinda Monroe (Alexandra Breckenridge) who swaps out her Los Angeles life for a fresh start in a remote town in North California where she soon meets the rugged and charming Jack Sheridan (Martin Henderson).
As Mel entrenches herself in the local community, we soon get caught up in the dramatic comings and goings of the neighbourhood – from shock pregnancies to gun crime to drug smuggling and everything in between.
At the beating heart is Mel and Jack’s love for one another, as they try to navigate a romance burdened by past trauma and fears for the future. Essentially, all the ingredients for your stereotypical US drama that centres on a straight white couple and their woes.
I tried to give the show a try myself a few years ago and didn’t really get the appeal. The plots, characters and tropes all felt surface-layer and well-worn so I ended up clicking off after a few episodes.
Although I could see myself returning to the show in the mid-winter when I am looking for some cheesy, mid-stakes TV to watch.
Whatever they have put into this adaptation, it is clearly working because the show continues to produce astonishing viewing numbers.
In a Netflix report tracking viewing numbers from July to December 2023, they confirmed season five of the show notched up an incredible 331million viewing hours with a total of 35.8million viewers. And they’ll be anticipating similar – if not better – results for their sixth season in December.
I have no doubt that shows like this have a valuable space in the streaming ecosystem and the dramatic, but ultimately feel-good nature of the series is likely an important form of escapism for millions.
And yet I can’t help but despair for the future of TV if these are the only shows with any chance of longevity.
Why Virgin River is my not-so-guilty pleasure
It was the early days of the pandemic and like the rest of the world, I was bored at home one evening, endlessly scrolling through Netflix trying to find something to take my mind off the perils of the outside world.
I then came across something I’d added to My List a little while ago before the world as we knew it changed forever: a brand new show called Virgin River was sitting there among the hundreds of other films and shows I’d added over time but never got round to starting.
It featured a recognisable face; Alexandra Breckenridge who I knew from American Horror Story and The Walking Dead, and one unfamiliar face; Martin Henderson who I grew to love.
Lo and behold, it took just one episode for me to become swept up in the will they, won’t they tangled romance between Mel and Jack and I’ve been hooked ever since. There’s no romantic arc that I love more than the friends-to-lovers trope and Virgin River offers that in abundance. It’s escapism viewing at its finest with feel-good storylines and drop-dead gorgeous scenery, which is what we all needed during lockdown when I first started the binge.
Over the past few seasons, the show has now become synonymous with Christmas for me, helped in part by the plot finally making it to the cosy festive holiday.
Yes, Virgin River has been on screens for five years but the time frame across five seasons is actually less than a year which makes Charmaine’s elephant pregnancy (she must have been the longest-pregnant woman on TV), Jack’s shooting and recovery, Preacher helping Paige go on the run and her eventual return, and all the other ridiculous events even more bonkers.
Virgin River is absolutely melodramatic and, at times, unrealistic but that’s part of its charm. It gives you grit without having to be depressed and leans into its absurdity without pretending to be anything more than it is: a whole lotta wholesome goodness
In the past few years, trailblazing series featuring vibrant, diverse casts very rarely represented on screen (especially for LGBTQ+ people of colour) have been ruthlessly cancelled before they even get a chance to thrive.
First Kill, Kaos, Dead Boy Detectives, Shadow and Bone, Glamorous, Uncoupled, 1899, Warrior Nun, Partner Track, Dead End: Paranormal Park, Everything Now – need I go on?
Not only did so many of these provide vital representation on the streaming platform for marginalised groups, but the vast majority also have steadfast fan groups who have tirelessly tried to save their favourite shows from an untimely demise.
These shows provided not only brilliant premises (star-crossed vampires, quirky coming-of-age dramas and haunting fantasies) but reshaped the boundaries on what we could expect from a show when it came to actually representing the world we live in.
They pushed the needle forward, even if they didn’t tot up millions of views in the first week they aired.
It is clear to me that Virgin River – which is also considering a number of potential spin-offs – is not going to plug this gap.
Although there is a base level of diversity when it comes to race, class and sexual orientation, the first few seasons were bland enough that there was an increasing pressure to do anything to make the show even slightly more representative.
In 2022, Netflix drama head Jinny Howe reiterated it was a focus on the show.
‘I think it’s fair to say that that is going to continue to be a focus and something the audience will get to experience more in Season 5. It’s definitely a priority, and I think you will see, as we expand the Virgin River community, that there will be more diversity and inclusion,’ she told Deadline.
Some episodes have featured LGBTQ+ plotlines, but these characters are still so achingly rare on the screen that we struggled to even find stills of them in the show for this article. So you will simply have to imagine gay couple Johnny and Adrian.
Although season five introduced recurring LGBTQ+ character Ava Anderson to hold up the fort with resident Hannah (played by Clare Filipow), so I suppose it’s about the small wins.
As I say, I’m sure Virgin River is the perfect gritty, yet somehow still cosy, drama for an autumn night in but why should it be one of the only shows to get the treatment many others deserve?
Hot Property Picks from Metro
I sold my £2,000,000 Omaze house — the best thing about it was the lawnmower
The ‘beautiful’ county where houses are on the market for £35,000
What I Rent: I pay £1,895 for my one-bedroom Battersea flat, but I don’t have my own oven
Man builds world’s smallest tiny home measuring 19 sq ft — but the shower is outside
‘Grim’ £1,295pm studio flat that sleeps 10 compared to the Big Brother house
If a stereotypical provincial drama – that deigns to slip in a ‘progressive’ plotline every now and then – is the bar for what gets renewed, then any ingenuity in the TV landscape has officially breathed its dying gasp.