Virgin River's Prequel Series Facing a Major Problem Already

Summary

• The new season of Virgin River is in production and won't be released until 2025.
• In the meantime, Netflix has announced a new prequel to the series.
• Some fans were already underwhelmed by its premise, so the creators will have their work cut out for them.

It's been almost five months since the final two episodes of Virgin River Season 5 aired on Netflix, providing a sense of comfort and relief, albeit a brief one, after all the mayhem of the first part of the season.

Of course, there were still plenty of events in the lives of many of the characters: Charmaine finally gave birth after five seasons, Mel and Jack may have tension over Charmaine, and Mel finally met her biological father, who is definitely hiding a secret. In other words, it looks like Season 6 will have even more drama to shake up the idyllic Northern California setting.

The new season is still in production, so not even an approximate release date is known. However, Netflix does not want to leave fans in agonizing anticipation, so they continue to share exciting updates and news about Virgin River from time to time.

In February, for example, it was announced that a new spin-off of the series was in development, a prequel featuring Mel's parents, Everett Reid and Sarah Jensen. However, not all viewers were thrilled with the news - after all, we met Everett not too long ago, and he did not inspire much sympathy, to say the least.

News about the Prequel

While the show's crew and cast were just getting ready to start filming Season 6 due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes and then the weather conditions in Vancouver, Netflix released some very intriguing news on February 22, 2024: an untitled prequel project expanding the Virgin River universe has been announced.

The story will follow Mel's late mother, Sarah Jensen, how she moved to a quiet Northern California town and met Everett. So far, nothing else is known, including the main cast, except that some old characters may appear in the series as cameos.

Patrick Sean Smith, the showrunner of the original series, is working on the script, but he and his team will have a difficult task to convince the audience.

Why a New Project Can Fail Miserably

Unfortunately, the premise doesn't seem very convincing, if it's convincing at all. While we have yet to learn more details, the fact that the story will revolve around Sarah and Everett's romance has already alienated some fans.

For one thing, the formula for Virgin River's success on Netflix is precisely character-driven storytelling. Not that the prequel characters can turn out to be less compelling, but it is the old characters we've grown to care about.

However, we know absolutely nothing about Sarah and Everett... well, he just seems like an unappealing character per se, especially considering he left Sarah at some point and Mel grew up without a father. So focusing on a questionable character who is only connected to a negative experience in Mel's life is a very risky move.

Does the Prequel Stand a Chance? (Spoiler: It Does, but It's Going to Be Tough)

But not all is doom and gloom for the upcoming show. Well, at least the series still has a chance, albeit not a big one, to please the fans of the original. First, besides Patrick Sean Smith, the original production crew should be involved in the project. Second, the new prequel has to impress Virgin River fans with melodrama, a sense of comfort, and sometimes wild plot twists that make you want to binge-watch the series through and through.

We'll see how well they do with the story of Mel's parents. In the meantime, Virgin River Season 6 won't be released until 2025 at the earliest, and the release date for the prequel is still unknown.