Whenever we review a “warm bath” show, as we call them, we tend to compare those shows to Virgin River. There’s a reason for that; Virgin River managed to set a standard for streaming comfort shows during an era where streaming services were still doing more prestige-oriented shows. But they were starting to pivot to shows with broader audience appeal, and Robyn Carr’s Virgin River novel series seemed like a good way for Netflix to enter into Hallmark’s territory of romantic, atmospheric series. Now the show is entering its sixth season, already renewed for a seventh, a number Netflix series don’t usually have a chance to reach.
VIRGIN RIVER SEASON 6: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
Opening Shot: Sweeping woodland vistas, then the scene of two people getting married in Virgin River, California.
The Gist: The couple getting married isn’t Mel (Alexandra Breckenridge) and Jack (Martin Henderson), but when they walk past the limo, they get excited about their pending nuptials in three weeks. Mel stops by the wedding dress shop to try on the dress she ordered, with Brie (Zibby Allen) and the Sewing Circle ladies to help. When the wrong dress comes out, the ladies volunteer their services to transform it into one that is more like the one she actually ordered.
In the meantime, Hope (Annette O’Toole) waits for her husband, “Doc” Vernon Mullins (Tim Matheson), to come out of his eye appointment. He’s in a clinical trial to help treat and maybe reverse his macular degeneration. He comes out not only with a good prognosis from the ophthalmologist, but he and the eye doctor geek out over the science behind the treatment.
As Jack and Preacher (Colin Lawrence) race to finish the barn before Mel and Jack’s wedding, another deadline looms: Preacher is about to go on trial for murdering Wes (Steve Bacic). He is still protecting Paige (Lexa Doig), whom Preacher says accidentally killed the crooked cop. Jack will be there to support Preacher for the trial, but he wishes his old friend had reported Paige’s involvement. In the meantime, Preacher’s girlfriend Kaia (Kandyse McClure), the town’s fire chief, tries to get an idea from Brie, Preacher’s defense attorney, just what he’s up against.
Mel wants to honor her mother at the wedding, so she and Jack have dinner with Everett (John Allen Nelson), her biological father, to find out more about her. She senses his breathing is labored, but he refuses to get treatment, especially from Doc Mullins. The two of them seem to be sworn enemies, though Mel hasn’t been able to find out why. Later, he even refuses to go to Doc’s clinic, even as the problem gets worse; Mel forces him to go, and she shocks his afib back into rhythm.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Virgin River Seasons 1-5. In the “warm bath” category of series, the one that most closely resembles this show is Sullivan’s Crossing. Given that both series are based on Robyn Carr novel series, that’s not a surprise.
Our Take: Sue Tenney and her writers have never been in a hurry to push the stories of the people in Virgin River forward, and that is just as evident in the sixth season as it was in the first, back in 2019. For every scene where there’s conflict or character development, there’s at least one or more scenes of the people in town just being around each other. Hope finds an injured horse that she once thought was lost; the Sewing Circle gossips about fixing up Muriel (Teryl Rothery) with a new guy; Jack and Mel somehow try to dance a waltz to “Let’s Stay Together.”
That pace is what has made Virgin River such a success for Netflix. Things do push forward, and there is conflict; for heaven’s sake, Preacher is facing murder charges this season. But even there, the reasons for why he’s going on trial have more to do with him protecting someone else than doing anything criminal.
One thing we get from this world is that, even if half the town burns down, like what happened last season, there’s still going to be positivity and hope. Will there be hard things going on? Sure, but it does seem that even people in the most dire of situations, like what Preacher is facing this season, will end up being OK. Even one couple, which we find out will be a potential grifting situation, might not be as sad a story as it seems at first.
Sex and Skin: None. If there is any sex, it’s mostly implied or obscured.
Parting Shot: At the courthouse, Brie tells Jack and Preacher that Jack has been added to the prosecution’s witness list.
Sleeper Star: We like the chemistry O’Toole and Matheson have as Hope and Doc. They come off as an authentic longtime couple who have come back together after some problematic years — they came close to divorcing in the early seasons of the series due to Doc’s infidelity.
Most Pilot-y Line: When Mel tells Everett he has to change his diet, he asks “So no more rabbit?” Who knew rabbit was that bad for you?
Our Call: STREAM IT. Virgin River continues to be the best comfort shows on streaming, mainly because the characters and their easygoing chemistry with each other is now so well-established.
Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.
