The Untold Truth Of Virgin River
The romantic drama “Virgin River” is one of Netflix’s most popular original shows. After premiering on December 6, 2019, Netflix quickly renewed it for a second season within weeks of its debut (via Deadline). According to Variety, the series has been renewed for a fourth and a fifth season, thanks to the immense success of Seasons 1-3.
Based on the popular book series of the same name by romance novelist Robyn Carr, “Virgin River” follows nurse practitioner Melinda “Mel” Monroe (Alexandra Breckenridge) as she leaves Los Angeles and moves to Northern California for a fresh start after the death of her husband Mark (Daniel Gillies). In her new home, she faces more complications than expected in such a small town, including butting heads with her new coworker Doc Mullins (Tim Matheson) and facing her growing feelings for a new love interest in the local bar owner Jack Sheridan (Martin Henderson) ).
Seeing as “Virgin River” is so popular, its fans will likely be interested to learn about some trivia behind the romantic drama. Read on to find out some little-known facts about “Virgin River” — including details even the biggest fans may not know.
Robyn Carr is happy with the series
Viewers likely remember that the two don’t actually become intimate until a couple of episodes into the second season, despite sharing their first kiss toward the end of Season 1 (following many episodes full of romantic tension). On this note, Tenney said, “If you’ve read the books, you know that sex is a big part of the books. But I just didn’t feel that the first season was about that. I wanted to hold off.”
Despite this change — which is quite significant in the romance world, considering the prominent role that sex plays in the genre — author Robyn Carr was beyond happy with how Tenney and the rest of the creative team adapted her books for television. Tenney continued, “[Carr] watched Season 1 when everyone else got it, and she was the first phone call I got. She said she couldn’t be happier, she thought it was amazing and that she wishes she’d thought of some of those twists. It’s very important to honor the books and the book fans. We talk about that often.” Additionally, fans of the show — whether they’ve read the books or not — certainly seem to agree with Carr about how good “Virgin River” really is.
Star Alexandra Breckenridge almost wasn’t available
If you’re a fan of the star of “Virgin River,” Alexandra Breckenridge — or of romance-filled drama TV — then you probably know that the actress also shows up on a different popular series, NBC’s “This Is Us.” On the latter, Breckenridge plays the recurring character of Sophie, the ex-wife of one of the leads, Kevin (Justin Hartley). Breckenridge was a series regular for all of Season 2 while Sophie and Kevin were back together after years apart.
A HuffPost interview with the actress reveals that Breckenridge was let out of her contract because the writers of “This Is Us” decided to explore Kevin’s life without Sophie in Season 3. Thus, because she was no longer contractually tied to a show, she was then able to sign on for “Virgin River.” Breckenridge told HuffPost, “That’s a bittersweet situation. [‘This Is Us’] is such a lovely environment to work in.” Luckily for “This Is Us” fans, Breckenridge has made a few appearances as Sophie since exiting the show as a regular and will hopefully turn up now and again in the future.
The timing worked out in favor of “Virgin River” fans, though. Further, her co-star (and on-screen love interest) Martin Henderson said in an interview with Robyn Carr for Harlequin Books that he believes their real-life “genuine friendship” is the driving factor in their characters’ chemistry. After all, their romance is the heart of the show. Who knows if the series would’ve been successful with another lead. Luckily, we don’t have to wonder.
