Virgin River’s season two finale abandoned fans with the greatest cliffhanger: At the last minutes of the show, Jack’s destiny and Doc’s wellbeing were put into question.
Leading up to the heart-stopping finish, the next season gave fans a much deeper look at Paige and Christopher’s complex past, Hope and Doc’s revived relationship, and Mel and Jack’s future as a couple. Given that the show ended with two major cliffhangers, buffs have a question in mind: Will there be a season 3 of Virgin River?
Keep reading to find out what we understand about Virgin River season 3, including the launch date, cast changes, and storyline details.
When will a third season of Virgin River be released?
Netflix declared in May 2021 that season 3 of Virgin River will premiere on July 3, 2021. That is even earlier than fans had expected –that the third season will emerge just six months following the second season did. Filming wrapped up for the third season earlier in 2021.
Is the entire cast coming back?
By the looks of it, it seems like everyone will go back to the Virgin River. The cast comprises Alexandra Breckenridge, Martin Henderson, Colin Lawrence, Lauren Hammersley, Tim Matheson, Annette O’Toole, Jenny Cooper, Grayson Gurnsey, Sarah Dugdale, and Benjamin Hollingsworth.
There will also be a few new faces the third time around. Zibby Allen, who is famous for her work on The Flash and Grey’s Anatomy, will join the cast as Jack’s sister,” a lawyer who is smart, hard-charging, ballsy and a whole lot of pleasure.” Saving Hope and Diggstown celebrity Stacey Farber will play Tara, Lilly’s daughter, who is”assisting her with baby Chloe while her three other siblings are living far from home.” Jasmine Vega, who recently only wrapped Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, will join the cast as Stella, per What’s on Netflix.
In the weeks leading up to the season 3 release, the official Virgin River Instagram gave a glimpse at two new characters: Tara (Stacey Farber) and Denny (Kai Bradbury). This marks the first time that we’ve seen — or heard about — Bradbury’s function on the series. The Motherland: Fort Salem actor plays Denny, clarified in the Virgin River novels as “a 24-year-old that has served in the Marines and comes to Virgin River to find his biological father.”
View this post on Instagram
Any spoilers about the season 3 storyline?
This remains the largest question! In season 2, fans got a couple of answers about each one of the major relationships in Virgin River, however as we all know, more replies can often cause more questions, especially when it comes to Doc and Hope’s complicated relationship as well as Preacher’s participation with Paige/Michelle’s cover-up. It goes without mentioning that season 3 will even handle the two major cliffhangers in the season finale: What is happening with Doc’s health? Who shot Jack?
Some of the more recent storylines, such as Lizzie and Ricky’s budding relationship, are just getting started. Showrunner Sue Tenney is particularly interested in exploring Ricky and Lizzie even more at the seasons ahead: “Ricky has an excellent arc in the books that I intend to research. We get into a little bit of it in season 2 but we’ll certainly explore it [possible ] further seasons,” she told TVLine.
Dugdale, who plays Lizzie about the show, echoes Tenney’s wishes, stating that she expects Virgin River provides a deeper look at the”triangle with Lizzie, Ricky, and Aunt Connie.” Lizzie and Connie, specifically, spent most of season 2 at odds with one another, but the coming season is a chance to view their relationship in a whole new light. “We’ll hopefully get to explore her existence, even if she is not there; the complications which bring up for them; and their ability to remain current together when there’s all this other stuff going on,” she continued in an interview using TVLine.
Some fans could be turning to Robyn Carr’s books for replies, but Tenney warns they have steered away from the book series in recent events. “Ultimately, how I look at the show is that we’re going to have as many seasons since we get,” she lasted. “And when we get to this last season, we want them to become where [writer Robyn Carr] has them”
