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Netflix‘s Virgin River is based on the 21-book series by Robyn Carr. It has become one of the most loved and talked about shows on the streaming service. The series follows Mel Monroe (Alexandra Breckenridge), a nurse who leaves her life in Los Angeles for a fresh start.

Almost immediately Mel has an intense connection with Jack Sheridan (Martin Henderson), a retired Marine who owns the town’s bar. Still, as magical as their romance is, it’s not without its trials and tribulations. Fans are smitten with Mel and Jack. However, when she first snagged the show, Breckenridge didn’t think anyone would watch it.

Alexandra Breckenridge as Mel Monroe smiling with her hand on her face in 'Virgin River'
Alexandra Breckenridge as Mel Monroe in ‘Virgin River’ | Netflix

Though this series is a pretty straightforward one about a woman healing and finding love again, it has become one of Netflix’s most popular shows. When Virgin River Season 3 debut on Netflix on July 9, 2021, Nielsen reported that over 1.4 million viewers watched the new season in the first week. It even toppled the numbers that Disney+’s Loki was doing.

While Virgin River has become a smashing success, Breckenridge never thought anyone would bother to watch the show.

Alexandra Breckenridge was convinced no one was going to watch the series

Though fans of Carr’s books were eager to see the adaptation come to life, and people love a good love story, Breckenridge wasn’t convinced anyone would watch Virgin River. “I just kept telling Martin [Henderson], ‘Nobody’s gonna watch this! And to this day, he just quotes me: ‘Nobody’s watching, right, Alex? Nope. Nobody’s watching,” she told The Huffington Post via Looper.

The This Is Us actor explained that because she thought no one would watch the show, she was able to be as vulnerable as possible. “When I took the job, at the time, I had seen so many things on Netflix that just ended up in the graveyard, so to speak,” she explained. “You’d see a show, it would flash by, you’d say, ‘Oh, maybe I’ll watch that,’ and then it just disappeared. And so, during my own exploration of acting in the first season, I was just like, ‘Well, nobody will be watching this,’ and it was a great opportunity for me to sort of unabashedly lay all of my guttural emotions on the table and see how it goes — really rawly connect with this character on an emotional level and just kind of let it all out. It’s hard to reach in and pull those emotions out in front of a crew, let alone knowing that lots of people will be watching.”

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What is the release date for ‘Virgin River’ Season 4?

Not only is Virgin River one of the most-watched series on the streaming service, but the series also has an avid fan base. Long before Netflix announced that they would be renewing the series for seasons 4 and 5, fans guessed that something was amiss.

Now that new episodes have been confirmed fans are desperate to know when season 4 will debut. It has been rumored that season 4 is currently in production and that it’s slated to wrap in November 2021. As a result, it appears that the new episodes will debut in the spring of 2022.

After all, Netflix usually takes about six months to release a show after filming is complete. This means that if all goes according to plan Virgin River Season 4 will premiere in May 2022.

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