‘Virgin River’ Season 3: Netflix Release Date & What To Expect

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virgin river season 3 netflix what we know so far

Virgin River – Picture: Netflix

Virgin River season 3 is on the way after a quick renewal and a production schedule meaning it’s likely that filming has already wrapped. Here’s everything we know so far about Virgin River season 3 coming to Netflix likely by the end of 2021.

Quick catchup for anyone not familiar with the show. The feel-good series is a cross between an ABC and a Hallmark show complete with a feel-good story, down-to-earth characters, and excellent acting and writing. The first season of Virgin River dropped on December 6th while the second season has just dropped on November 27th.

The series remains incredibly popular and featured in the Netflix top 10s in the majority of regions around the world although it eventually disappeared from the top 10s in early January 2021.

virgin river popularity overtime on netflix

Popularity graph for Virgin River season 2

Virgin River season 3 renewal status

Official Netflix renewal status: Officially Renewed (Last updated: 12/18/2020)

The first we heard of season 3 of Virgin River was back in July 2020 when we got a production listing that confirmed that season 3 was not only in development but scheduled to go into production from August 2020 through to December 2020.

However, it wasn’t until December 18th that Netflix gave the official thumbs-up to season 3 (despite the fact it had already begun filming). The announcement came with a couple of other goodies which we’ve included below.

Netflix Queue included a video alongside the season 3 announcement.

Before the renewal, the most compelling evidence but that filming had actually started was when the two main cast members posted a video to say the new season was “releasing in 7 days”. You can see the pair on what looks like be a film set.

 

Filming for the series has been reported as early as September 2020, though. On September 7th, 2020, a Twitter user by the name of Jen Eggleston stumbled on a production notice at Cleveland Dam. What’s worth noting is that the notice actually lists 2019 on the day-to-day schedule, although the actual days match up with 2020 dates.

virgin river season 3 production notice

Production notice for Virgin River season 3 – Picture: Jen_Eggleston/Twitter

More filming notices were spotted throughout late September 2020.

Based on previous years’ production schedules, we’re speculating that filming for season 3 has actually wrapped and now begins the long process of editing, localization (including dubbing for other languages), and getting it ready for release.

Who will be in the cast for Virgin River season 3?

Beyond the core cast returning, we’ve already got one new casting for season 3.

The returning cast confirmed for season 3 includes Martin Henderson, Alexandra Breckenridge, Jenny Cooper, Grayson Maxwell Gurnsey, Tim Matheson, Benjamin Hollingsworth, and Colin Lawrence.

The first new casting we’ve heard so far is Jasmine Vega to feature as Stella from season 3 onwards. Vega has previous featured in titles such as Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina as Lizzie and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.

Alongside the renewal, Netflix themselves unveiled two new cast members.

That includes Zibby Allen (The Flash) who will feature in all 10 episodes as Brie who is Jack’s sister who is a lawyer by trade.

Stacey Farber (Degrassi: The Next Generation) will play Lilly’s daughter, Tara Anderson.

new cast members for virgin river season 3

Left: Zibby Allen – Right: Stacey Farber

Some of the other smaller cast members set to debut in season 3 include:

  • Kerën Burkett as an ER Nurse
  • Jessie Liang as Dr. Benson
  • Janet Walmsley as Mrs. Gardner

In May 2021, we got word that Kai Bradbury would feature in season 3 as Denny who along with Tara (see above) will be visiting Virgin River. Kai Bradbury is known for Warigami, The Terror and Motherland: Fort Salem.

kai bradberry season 3 virgin river

Kai Bradberry in season 3 of Virgin River

What to expect from Virgin River season 3

Before we dive into spoiler territory for season 2 (please go and watch season 2 before reading this), it’s important to note that the series itself is based on the novel franchise, which gives the writers no shortage of material being 21 novels strong.

Now, the big cliffhanger going into season 3 is what will happen to Jack. As season 2 draws to a close, Mel enters the bar to find Jack with a gunshot wound and slowly bleeding out on the floor. The other question, of course, is who shot Jack?

As far as we’re concerned, there are five suspects:

  • Brady
  • Calvin
  • Charmaine
  • Vince
  • And the most probable, Jamie

As NetflixLife notes, the series bringing back Martin Henderson means that Jack is almost certainly alive but what sort of condition he’ll be in remains to be seen.

Beyond the main story arc there, we need to know what happens with Preacher. Having had plans to leave Virgin River, seems to be constantly held back from ever leaving with Paige’s son Christopher now reliant on him.

What happens in the relationship between Mel and Jack will be a contentious subject too with Jack soon to become a father.

Hope and Doc seem to be a happy couple once again and Lizzie and Ricky could patch things up too.

In an interview released in early February 2021 with ET Canada, Daniel Gillies revealed several things we can expect from season 3, including:

  • He will be returning for more flashbacks (or visitations, as he calls it, given his character is dead)
  • More detail on the relationship between him and Mel.

Benjamin Hollingsworth who plays Brady on the show replied recently to an Instagram post saying that we can expect big things from season 3 saying:

“I’m wearing a safety helmet to protect myself from all the bombshell plot twists season 3 has. Hope y’all ready for it.”

When will Virgin River season 3 release on Netflix?

A release date has yet to be announced, but given the production schedule the show is on, it’s highly likely we’ll once again be seeing a fall release date, meaning we’re currently expecting season 3 of Virgin River to be on Netflix by the end of 2021.

Season 1 aired in November whereas the most recent season, season 2 dropped in December. Given the filming schedules, we can expect the same for season 3.

The Virgin River Instagram account is rather vague when answering questions surrounding a release date with the best response saying: “We have a season 3 order but we don’t know when it’s coming out”.

Everything Else We Know About Season 3 of Virgin River

  • IMDb is listing the third season to once again consist of 10 episodes.
  • The majority of the cast took to Instagram on January 1st to wish us all a happy new year! Video set 1 – video set 2.
  • The audiobook series has been reissued with Therese Plummer narrating.

And as we’ve included in the past, superfans of the show really need to be following the show’s official Instagram account for constant behind-the-scenes looks and teases for the upcoming season.

Will there be a season 4 of Virgin River on Netflix?

Predicting this may be a bit premature but it’ll likely be the case we get word of season 4 just before season 3 starts airing. That’s because both season 3 and season 2 were seemingly renewed ahead of airing each new season.

Given the show’s popularity, it’s easy to see why Netflix would give it a season 4 but it’s worth noting contract negotiations usually come into play beyond season 3.

Are you looking forward to season 3 of Virgin River on Netflix? Let us know in the comments down below. While you’re waiting check out our other suggestions on what to watch that’s like Virgin River on Netflix.