Everything to Know About Season 4 of Netflix’s ‘Virgin River’

Credit: Courtesy Of Netflix © 2022

Everything to Know About Season 4 of Netflix's ‘Virgin River’

More to the story! After a cliffhanger-filled season 3 finale, Virgin River has officially been given the green light to divulge more details of Mel and Jack’s story.

“Here’s your first look at Virgin River season 4 coming to Netflix on July 20th! 🎉,” the show’s official Instagram teased in May 2022.

The series — which debuted its third season in July 2021 — is based on Robyn Carr’s bestselling book series of the same name, which begins with nurse practitioner Mel (Alexandra Breckenridge) relocating to the small town of Virgin River in northern California. While balancing working with a grumpy town doctor (Tim Matheson) and a budding romance with Jack (Martin Henderson), Mel deals with plenty of drama — including the mysterious circumstances of Jack’s shooting and the paternity of her baby.

“We came up with that real doozy of a cliffhanger that will bring her back to the town, but also bring complications with it,” showrunner Sue Tenney exclusively told Us Weekly in July 2021. “I want to do as many seasons as we can. If we get the actual reveal [of Jack’s shooting in season 4], it would detail more of how this all was intertwined. The webbing of that story goes all the way back to the first season, so it’s a connective tissue that goes through four seasons.”

Elsewhere in season 3, Mel had just finished telling Jack that she was expecting a child before the finale concluded. While the bartender had yet to react to her impending baby news, he did not know that Mel underwent IVF with embryos she had previously stored with her late husband, Mark (Daniel Gillies), during their brief breakup. Like Jack, fans were also left wondering about the paternity of the baby and if the embryo was viable after her previous fertility struggles.

“With her history, her fertility issues and having a stillborn baby at such a late stage in pregnancy, you don’t know if she’s going to be able to,” the This Is Us star previously told Us in July 2021. “In the books, she does, but a lot of things are different in the series than in the books. But I would like to watch her journey of becoming a mother.”

The Netflix drama also stars Zibby Allen (Brie), Marco Grazzini (Mike), Colin Lawrence (Preacher), Annette O’Toole (Hope) and Ben Hollingsworth (Dan).

“I told Jack that I was pregnant when he was about to propose at the end of season 3. So obviously we're going to watch Mel and Jack navigate the baby that we don't know who the father is,” Breckenridge teased during an interview with Glamour in April 2022. “So that should be enjoyable. And they never actually get engaged at the end of season three. So we'll see if they end up getting engaged in season four or not.”

Scroll below to learn more about Virgin River season 4:

Credit: Courtesy Of Netflix © 2022

Has It Been Renewed?

Netflix announced in September 2021 that the popular series would return for both season 4 and season 5.

Credit: COURTESY OF NETFLIX © 2021

Who’s Coming Back?

Many of Virgin River’s most illustrious residents are set to come back according to the first season 4 stills, including Mel, Jack, Preacher, Hope, Doc and Brie.

Credit: Courtesy Of Netflix © 2022

When Did Filming Start?

“And then, as it [just so happened], we were supposed to start shooting season five of Virgin River in March, but it was pushed to July,” Breckenridge told Glamour in April 2022 of returning to This Is Us amid her Netflix commitments. “So had we started when we were supposed to, I don't know that [my character] Sophie and Kevin [Pearson, played by Justin Hartley] would’ve ended up together.”

Credit: COURTESY OF NETFLIX © 2021

Will Cliffhangers Be Answered?

Tenney previously told Us in July 2021 that she doesn’t plan to reveal the paternity of Mel’s child until “the end” of season 4.

Credit: COURTESY OF NETFLIX © 2021

What Can Be Expected?

“The ride continues. What you've come to expect from us from season 1 through 3, you can expect it to be just that much more in season 4,” Tenney revealed to Entertainment Weekly in July 2021. “The ride will continue and be really fun and really emotional and funny and all the elements that the audience loves about the show. All your favorite characters are going to be tested, and new love will spring up in places and possibly revive old love.”

Credit: Courtesy Of Netflix © 2022

When Does It Return?

Season 4 is slated to premiere on the streaming platform on July 20, 2022.

Credit: COURTESY OF NETFLIX

Where Do Mel and Jack Stand?

Netflix dropped the official season 4 trailer in July 2022, revealing that Jack has mixed feelings about Mel’s pregnancy. “I can’t do that right now,” Jack tells Mel in the teaser after she suggests they do a paternity test to find out if it’s his baby. “Because if we find out Mark’s the father, it could change how I feel about our baby.” Things appear to get worse for the couple as Jack starts drinking to cope with the stress of possible fatherhood. Plus, Jack’s father arrives in town and muddies the waters even more.