Latest Virgin River Update Leaves Fans Rattled with Shortened Season 6 News
With the shortened Season 6 story, we can only trust the writers to do a good job.
Summary
- At the end of this month, Season 5 Part 2 of Virgin River will be released.
- But then there will be an excruciating wait for Season 6, which has been delayed due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
- The news is all the more disappointing as the season will be shorter.
An adaptation of Robyn Carr's equally beloved novel series, Virgin River is one of Netflix 's most popular feel-good (despite its many heartbreaking storylines) romantic dramas. So it's no surprise that fans eagerly await the release of each new season. But lately, the wait for the continuation of the story of Mel, Jack and all the other residents of the town nestled in the picturesque forests of Northern California has been getting longer and longer.
First we learned that Season 5 will be released in September instead of the summer like the previous two seasons. Then it was revealed that the season would be split into two parts, with the second part not being released until late November. Then the unprecedented Hollywood double strike hit, shutting down the entire TV and movie industry and delaying the start of Season 6 production indefinitely.
Fortunately, Netflix is determined to release the next chapter of Virgin River, but the impatient anticipation of fans has been somewhat undermined, as a new update suggests that Season 6 will turn out to be shortened.
In Anticipation of Season 5 Part 2
But before we get to the bad news, let's talk about the good ones first, because we're about to see the two episodes that conclude Season 5. They will be the salvation of the agonizing wait, just as Part 1 was a salvation in September, released on the streaming service at a time when we were facing a dry season in the entertainment industry, amidst actor and writer strikes.
The new episodes will be Christmas-themed and will be released as early as the end of November. Showrunner Patrick Sean Smith, who replaced Sue Tenney, provided more details.
'The holiday episodes are a little bit lighter, and we wanted to play a little more comedy after the weight of this season. It felt like, if we're going to give a holiday gift to the audience, let's make it a fun one,' he told Glamor Magazine.
Season 6 Discouraging Update
But back to Season 6. The fact that it would be released was announced in May of this year, the same month that the writers announced the start of the strike against the major studios. We already knew then that this would affect the release schedule and that the continuation of the story after Season 5 would not be waiting for us any time soon.
However, fans are now literally shaken, as the new update suggests that not only will the season have to be delayed for an incredibly long time, but it will also get a shortened number of episodes. Ildiko Susany, a member of the writers' room since Season 5 and a staff writer for Season 6, told The Viewer's Perspective that 'for Season 6, we'll have ten episodes.'
This was the number of episodes for the first three seasons, but the number was increased to twelve starting with the fourth season. And here we go again, hopefully this will not radically affect the quality of the writing and the pacing.
When will Production of the New Season Begin?
Well, the upside is that the writers and actors have successfully reached a tentative agreement with the AMPTP. With the end of the WGA strike on September 27, Virgin River writers have already begun work.
'I think we'll be finished in the writer's room in a little over a month. We're getting to the final episodes,' Susany said.
However, even if all goes well, filming won't begin until late 2023 or even early 2024, meaning a Season 6 release wouldn't be expected until late 2024 or later.
Source: Glamour, The Viewer's Perspective.