Here's the Real Reason Virgin River Might Not Make It to Season 7
Season 5 and the writers' strike threw a spanner in the works.
Summary
- A change of showrunner wasn’t well received by fans.
- Season 5 drew plenty of criticism.
- Season 7 remains up in the air right now.
With Season 5 just finished and Season 6 not even in production, it seems strange to be speculating about whether there will be a Season 7 of Virgin River at all. But such was the fans' dismay at the way Jack and Mel's relationship was handled in the heavily criticised season 5 that it seems a debate worth having.
All change for season 5?
One of the risks of changing showrunners on hugely successful shows is that the new person will decide to take things in a different direction. When this comes off, we hail them as a genius. When it doesn't... well, we blame them for ruining what was once a perfectly good show.
Sus Tenney was showrunner for seasons 1-4 of Virgin River, but was replaced by Patrick Sean Smith for season 5.
When he took over, Smith said. "The cast cares so much about the show and the fans, and they want to put on the best show possible. I think they've done that for the past four seasons, so it just makes it easier for me to pick up the ball and keep running into Season 5 and beyond."
In the end, though, many fans felt that, if he ever picked up the ball up, he dropped it pretty quickly.
What was so wrong with the last season?
One fan on Reddit was scathing about Season 5, saying they hoped the writers and showrunners “took this long break to study the books, study the dynamics between Mel and Jack, hire new intimacy coordinators AND most importantly, I hope they took this time to read all the fans’ comments on all social media platforms regarding Season 5.”
It seems unlikely that they will have read every comment on social media. But they will no doubt have got to grips with the general feeling that the passion and spark seemed to have gone out of Mel and Jack's romance in Season 5. In many ways, this shouldn't come as much of a surprise. It's been over six years since the show premiered, and everyone, including the actors themselves, is tired of VR's infamous slow pacing.
But regardless of the realities of life, if it's the spark between the couple that captivated the audience in the first place, then that's what they'll want to see. And if the show can no longer deliver that, the network may decide it's best to bow out gracefully rather than continue to flog a wounded horse.
What do we know about a potential season 7?
Not much. Patrick Sean Smith and Alexandra Breckenridge (Mel) have both hinted that there is more to come, but there has been no official word on the new season.
The writers' strike may prove to be a blessing in disguise for the powers behind Virgin River. It gave them some time to come to terms with the reviews of Season 5, and reports suggest that part of Season 6 has been rewritten to make it more palatable to fans.
With no confirmation of a new series as yet, and the whole industry still trying to work out exactly how it's going to make up for lost time, the top brass may well be taking this opportunity to think carefully about the future of the show.
Only they know what Season 6 has in store for Jack and Mel. And if it seems that the show has run its course in terms of the couple's relationship, they may well decide to bring it to a close with some sort of fanfare at the end of Season 6.
There's always the option of putting the new season out there and seeing how it's received. But that could be a risky move. More negativity could lead to Season 6 fizzling out and Season 7 just never happening. If next season is going to be the last, the network will want to take the bull by the horns and make that decision for themselves.