Netflix's romantic drama Virgin River has returned for Season 5 Part 2, but what will happen, and how many episodes are included?
As of Thursday, November 30, Virgin River Season 5 Part 2 began streaming on Netflix following the release of Part 1 on September 7.
While Part 1 consisted of 10 episodes, Part 2 has just two holiday-themed episodes to close out Season 5 on Netflix.
Episode 11, "The More the Merrier," teases how "visiting relatives bring drama to town" as Mel and Jack search for the writer of some "mysterious letters:"
"As the holidays get underway, visiting relatives bring drama to town. Mel and Jack try to track down the author of the mysterious letters to her mother."
Episode 12, "Father Christmas," closes out Season 5 with the promise of "shocking news and unexpected gifts" for the festive celebration:
"Shocking news and unexpected gifts are in store on Christmas Eve as couples and families come together despite their differences."
The most important plot point going into the festive specials appears to be the search for the man behind the strange love letters to Mel's mother, who is suspected to potentially be the biological father of the Virgin River lead.
Beyond that and on a lighter, more comedic note, Season 5 Part 2 will see Virgin River residents getting involved in the town's Christmas tree decorating competition, bringing plenty of festive spirit to the Netflix Original.
Virgin River Season 6 & Future Plans Explained
Virgin River has already been renewed for Season 6 which, according to Deadline, is expected to begin production in Spring, on a 10-episode season.
Showrunner Patrick Sean Smith told the outlet how he doesn't plan to "do the holidays again" next time for Season 6 and is instead "probably looking at a 10-episode season moving forward:"
“No, I don’t know if I would do the holidays again. It’s sort of, been there done that, and I feel like we did it in a big way that I wouldn’t even know where to start to explore. I think we’re probably looking at a 10-episode season moving forward.”
Additionally, the series' future received a promising update from Smith, teasing there are "no plans of wrapping anything up" anytime soon. He even called for Netflix to "just pick up Season 7" early, seemingly revealing his desire to write and shoot the next two seasons back-to-back:
“I keep trying to tell them they should just pick up Season 7 so we can just knock Seasons 6 and 7 and call it a day.”
There were previously concerns whether Season 6 would still happen after Season 5 Part 1 faced a drop in viewership, but development is moving full steam ahead in the aftermath of the strikes. Fans are hoping viewership recovers or maintains next season to ensure a Season 7 renewal.
Looking at Season 5, production was conducted from July to November 2022 before a premiere in September 2023. Assuming Virgin River repeats a similar pattern for Season 6, Netflix subscribers can next expect more from the series around Summer 2025 if the spring production plans come to fruition.
The first five seasons of Virgin River are streaming now on Netflix.
