Alexandra Breckenridge, who stars as Virgin River’s Mel Monroe, was forced to apologize to viewers over her refusal to discuss anything “work-related.”
The actress explained that although she found it “weird” it is part of the rules due to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strikes.
As season five is set to premiere in September, viewers are expecting the stars to promote the series and provide clues about their characters.
However, as writers and actors on the picket lines to fight for work security and better wages, productions have been halted.
This is also the case for the Netflix romance drama, as Breckenridge confirmed production for season six is still on hold.
She instead kept fans updated with recipes and cooking tutorials as she said: “I’m trying to do something fun and creative with my time because SAG is on strike and I can’t go back to work.
“I can’t even talk about work so if all ya’ll are trying to send me messages and asking about work-related things, I can’t answer you and I’m really sorry about that.”
Breckenridge continued: “I can’t post anything, I can’t promote anything. It’s very weird.
“I’m not usually somebody who likes doing a lot of promotion or interviews just because it can be rather daunting and stressful.”
“So I’m trying to do cooking because that’s what I love to do and share with you when I’m at home strike or no strike,” the 41-year-old added.
The unions called on their members to strike over ongoing labor disputes with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents major studios including Netflix, Disney, and Amazon.
Following the immediate shutdown of Hollywood’s film and TV productions, SAG members are not permitted to provide any publicity for projects they’ve already filmed.
This includes interviews, premieres, fan expos, press junkets, festivals, and podcast appearances, among other types of publicity.
Thankfully for fans, the season five trailer provides major insight into the installation as it hinted at terrifying wildfires ripping through the town.
As well as “surprising new relationships, a shocking break-up, a difficult court trial, and a heartbreaking goodbye.”
As for the arrival of Mel and Jack Sheridan’s (Martin Henderson) baby, the nurse will be contemplating her future at the clinic and taking potentially a step back to focus on motherhood.
Fans also spotted the first sighting of Mel’s baby bump in a behind-the-scenes photo the official Virgin River page recently posted on Instagram.
