What you’ll love (and hate) about the Netflix Virgin River series

In case you weren’t aware, the wildly popular Virgin River series by Robyn Carr has been made into a Netflix series. I went ahead and watched it for you so that if you were on the fence, you’d be able to make a nice, comfortable viewing decision. You’re welcome. Here’s what I discovered. (Note: Originally published 1/13/2020, updated on 12/1/2020 to include my thoughts on season 2, again on 7/25/2021 to include my thoughts on season 3, and NOW I'm updating it again on 8/7/2022 to include my thoughts on season 4.) 

You’ll Love: The scenery

Season 1: One of the things Robyn Carr does best in her series is describe the lovely, idyllic small town of Virgin River in such detail that you feel like you’re right there alongside the characters. Wherever Netflix shot this show is just as gorgeous as what Carr describes in her books. I’d totally go there. If, you know, I had any desire to be outside very much. Which I don’t. But I digress…

Season 2: The scenery is still practically a main character all on its own. It's so gorgeous its ridiculous.

Season 3: Nothing new to report. This place is still shockingly gorgeous and every house seems to have a fabulous view. I'm officially jealous of everyone who lives there. 

Season 4: If possible, it's even prettier this season. I would happily live behind the dumpsters at Jack's bar. 

---

You’ll Love: Alexandra Breckenridge as Mel

Season 1: I’ll admit that I wasn’t super excited to see that Alexandra Breckenridge was the lead in this show. I remembered her as Jessie Anderson from The Walking Dead, aka, mother of the two worst children who ever showed their faces on the show. But she pleasantly surprised me here. She really is a talented actress, and she’s gorgeous, but not so unapproachable and perfect and Barbie-doll looking that I hate her on sight, you know? She looks like someone you could be friends with.

The character of Mel is pretty great, too. She’s a survivor of some pretty awful tragedies, and she’s a little beaten down, but not broken. She’s in town to recover and rebuild her life, and she does that admirably. Mel doesn’t take any crap from anyone and is damn good at her job, too. (And y’all know I love me some competence porn.) 

All in all, I’d say I owe Ms. Breckenridge an apology. We’re now square for that whole TWD thing, hon. Bygones.

Season 2: I'm still liking Mel. She's a little wishy-washy in season 2 where Jack is concerned, but I can overlook it. She's still grieving, and that makes sense to me. And if it's possible, I think this actress even got MORE attractive since last season. :0

Season 3: I'm glad that Mel is over her "I can never love again because it hurts too much" wishy-washy stuff where Jack was concerned this season. She was always straightforward with him and open about what she wanted and needed. Overall, I still like her.

Season 4: Mel has come a long way this season. I LOVE how open and honest she is with her feelings. She doesn't stew and keep things to herself and tell Jack she's "fine" when she isn't. Nope. Not Mel. The Mel from this season tells everyone what she's feeling right away and it was SO refreshing.    

---

You’ll Love: Preacher

Season 1: As I was watching, I found myself almost ready to rush through scenes with other characters just so I could get to more scenes with Preacher in them. His character is completely fascinating, and he’s not exactly hard on the eyes, either. Ahem. Here’s hoping that there will be way more Preacher in season 2. (Hint, hint, Netflix)

Season 2: He's still one of my favorite characters on the show. He's just so...good at everything. I was a little disappointed that his role in season 2 wasn't bigger. I was hoping for a grand romance between him and Paige this season, but alas, it wasn't in the cards. Still, Preacher is a great reason to keep watching this show in season 3. 

Season 3: OK, seriously now...is this guy ever getting laid? Because as adorable as it is to see Preacher parenting Paige's kid, romance is LONG overdue for this dude! (A quick aside: There's a little girl in Christopher's class that looks at Preacher with dreamy eyes and says, "You look like an Avenger." I'm that little girl. He does.) 

Season 4: I still didn't see enough of this guy, but at least he FINALLY got laid.  

---

Unpopular opinion alert: You’ll (maybe) Hate: Martin Henderson as Jack

Season 1: Look, Martin Henderson is a talented guy. And he’s not bad-looking, either. But I just don’t get a “romance novel hero” vibe from him. Like, at all. He’s just a little...boring and plain when compared to the other actors on the show. 

And as a character, I found Jack to be a little clueless and bumbling at times. His insistence that his “friend-with-benefits” doesn’t think their 2-year affair is anything more than it is because she swore when they started out she wasn’t looking for a relationship was a little sad. I mean, of COURSE she thinks you’re something more than friends with benefits after TWO YEARS  TOGETHER. Geez, man, take a big whiff of all the commitment clues she’s been throwing at you. I felt like he really led Charmaine on and treated her kind of crappily, frankly. Not behavior I like to see in my romance heroes. (Even though Charmaine was a total doormat and I didn’t like her very much, she didn’t deserve THAT.) 

(As a quick aside: I have read the first several books in the Virgin River series, but it’s been a while ago. I can’t remember Jack annoying me in the books, though. And I usually have near-perfect recall of all things that annoy me. So, I’m guessing that my annoyance with Jack is at least partly Martin Henderson’s fault. No offense intended, sir.)

Season 2: OK, he grew on me a little this season. I feel like he should wash his hair more (he's a little greasy in season 2, if I'm being honest), but overall, he's handling the stress that Charmaine brought into his life at the end of last season decently. He had his moments of panic, sure, but overall, he didn't lead Charmaine on and showed the makings of a good romance hero. I think he owes Preacher a big time apology and definitely owes him ownership stake in the bar after all he's done, but I'm confident that'll all work itself out next season.   

Season 3: I'm sorry to all the Jack lovers out there, and I felt bad for him in a lot of ways (I mean, he went through some STUFF this season)...but I really wanted to smack him. A lot. He's going through shit, I get it. But Mel's never given him any reason to doubt what she says. Dude, if she says she doesn't want a big birthday celebration and that she wants you to live with her, can you just believe her instead of second guessing every word that comes out of her mouth? Geez. It was exhausting! And don't even get me started on that "breaking up with you to protect you" BS. He annoyed me at every time this season, and when Mel angrily told him to get out of her house, I did a fist pump, because I wanted him gone, too. But on a positive (and totally shallow) note...has Martin Henderson been working out? He looks good this season...   

Season 4: Look, I'm trying here. I know y'all love this actor and most of y'all seem to love Jack. And I do think Martin Henderson is a talented actor. But I wanted to smack Jack SO HARD this season! I totally understand his trauma. I get it. He's had a hard life. Terrible things have happened to him. But it took him SO LONG to open up to Mel! All he had to say was, "You know, give me a minute, I'm going through some stuff" and Mel would've been totally supportive. Instead, he kept trying the "I'm fine...it's all fine...everything is fine" ploy while burying his feelings under bottles of whiskey. It was painful (and annoying) to watch. He did come around towards the end of the season, but good grief, by then it was too late for me. Sorry, but if I was Mel, I would've dumped him. He's just not hot enough for me to accept that particular brand of asshattery.

---

You’ll (probably) Love: Benjamin Hollingsworth as Brady

Season 1: Brady’s not a good guy. He’s kind of shifty and mysterious and obviously has problems that most likely stem from things that happened to him while he was in Iraq with Jack and Preacher. But watching him struggle and try to do the right things but fail a bunch made him infinitely more interesting to me than the squeaky-clean Jack. He’s complicated and messed up, and I could see his redemption arc being EPIC. Frankly, I wouldn’t mind seeing more of Brady and way LESS of Jack in upcoming seasons.

Season 2: Brady continued to be interesting in season 2. I wish he would've had more to do in season 2, but he had a nice little moment to shine in the last episode. 

Season 3: While I'm not a fan of his hair this season, I am a HUGE fan of this character! I really loved seeing him getting his own romantic storyline with Jack's sister this season. And to the actor who plays Brady, I say, thanks for all the shirtless scenes. That was super kind of you, sir. *chef's kiss* 

Season 4: I adore this guy. He's a perfect example of a great himbo: not the sharpest crayon in the box, but loyal and ready to do anything for the woman he loves. His relationship with Brie is really sweet and I'm enjoying it very much. I really wish he'd tell Brie the whole truth about how he's being blackmailed by the grandma-looking drug kingpin...but hey, at least he can talk about his feelings without getting drunk (*side eyeing Jack pretty hard*)

---

You’ll Love: Daniel Gillies as Mark

Season 1: If you, like me, were worried about what would happen to Daniel Gillies after the dumpster fire that was the series finale of The Originals, fear not. He’s right here, looking lovely as ever in this show (even if he’s only seen in flashbacks...but beggars can’t be choosy).

Season 2: Nothing new to report here. He's still dead. But still...it's nice to see him working.

Season 3: He's still dead. But his flashback scenes with Mel are super cute.  

Season 4: Still dead. Only made 1 quick appearance in one of Jack's dreams. But it was a very impactful appearance. :0

---

You’ll Hate: The lack of diversity

Season 1: With the exception of Preacher, Virgin River is very, very white. It also seems to be very, very straight. A little (or a lot) more diversity would really help the show.

Season 2: Still very straight and white. And as a viewer pointed out in the comments, this show is set in Northern California, which makes the lack of diversity even more glaring. Honestly, if not for the scenery, I'd think this show was set in a small town in the rural south east.

And to anyone who feels the need to point out that not every show needs diversity...well, of course not every show NEEDS diversity to tell a story. But this is fiction. Why WOULDN'T we include more characters that we find in every day life? There are gay people and Black people and Asians and Latinos in small towns everywhere. Why should fiction continue to push the false narrative that all small towns are populated only by straight white people?  And on the flip side of the "not every show needs diversity" argument--are you trying to say that the story wouldn't work just as well with more diversity? That, say, any of Hope's sewing circle friends COULDN'T have been gay or Black or Asian or Latino? 'Cause I think that'd be a pretty tough argument to make stick without sounding  a little foolish. Don't try the "well, the books weren't diverse" argument, either. This show has strayed FAR from what happens in the books, so no, I don't believe that it would hurt anything to add a little diversity to the show.

Side note to the person who told me she loves the show because it's NOT diverse and that she hates gay people: You suck. I will delete your comments with extreme prejudice. You don't have to agree with me, but you will NOT show up on MY page and hate on people. Good day, ma'am. I said good day!   

Season 3: Still pretty straight and white.  I don't see that changing anytime soon.  

Season 4: THERE ARE 2 NEW DIVERSE CHARACTERS!!!! Julia is a super cool, Black taekwondo master, and the actor who plays Doc's grandson is of Japanese decent. It's not a lot, but it's a start. 

---

You’ll Love AND Hate: The differences

The plot of the show doesn’t exactly follow the books. Frankly, I don’t see how it could. It’s hard to pack books into bite-size snippets for television episodes. I’m sure some viewers will enjoy the differences because it makes everything less predictable. But for book purists...be prepared to grit your teeth in consternation and mutter, “But that’s not what happened in the book” a bunch of times.

---

You’ll Hate: Hart of Dixie comparisons

If you were a fan of Hart of Dixie (and if you don’t know what I'm talking about, go look it up on Netflix immediately because it’s delightful), the plot similarities between it and the first episode of Virgin River will annoy you. Fish-out-of-water city medical professional travels to charming small town where the doctor despises her on sight and tries to run her out of town. That plot/sentence fits both Hart of Dixie and Virgin River. And the biggest similarity of all? Both shows hired the same actor—Tim Matheson—to play the grumpy, unwelcoming small-town doc.

---

You’ll Love: The quality

Netflix doesn’t cheap out when they do an original series. They hire good actors, good writers, good production crews, and obviously scout the best locations. Virgin River really feels very high-end when compared to, say, Hallmark and Lifetime movies. So, if you like Hallmark and Lifetime movies, you’ll LOVE this Netflix series. But even as you love it, you’ll still be able to appreciate how high-end it feels and looks.

Random season 4 thoughts

1. I didn't think this show could make me hate Charmaine more than I already did. I was wrong. 

2. It's so weird that Lizzie is starting to be one of my favorite characters. I hated her with a fiery passion when she first arrived on the scene, but now, she's actually decent. It's weirding me out, frankly. I'm not used to changing my opinion on characters like that. 

3. Is it weird that I like Hope more with her traumatic brain injury? She was a lot less annoying this season. And watching her start up a real friendship with Muriel was pretty cool. 

4. Why do I have a feeling Ricky is going to come home next season missing a limb or something?  He doesn't seem in any way ready to fight a war. I don't think basic training can change that. 

5. Apparently the women in Mark's family were the absolute WORST. Yikes. I thought the sister was a heinous bitch until the mother in law showed up and said, "Hold my beer."

6. I think Mel might have bad mojo. Everywhere she goes, someone has a heart attack or something bad happens that forces her to jump into "super nurse" mode. I think the townsfolk should keep their distance. 

7. Mike is like the worst 3rd wheel ever. Stay out of Brady's way! (Although, I think in the books, Brie is supposed to end up with Mike and Brady is supposed to end up with someone else. So...how is that gonna work out?)

8. Now I don't know if I'm rooting for Preacher to end up with Paige, or Julia. I mean, I love Paige. But Julia is a badass.  

​9. Feel a little bad for Cameron. I mean, all he did was point out what we all already knew: that Jack was drinking too much, and it's not easy to come back from addiction. I think Mel got a little angrier at him than she needed to.  

10. Sigh. Another cliff hanger. 

Random season 3 thoughts

1. I feel like my prayers have been answered. The whole season only had a few minutes of Hope in it. Yay! (I wasn't wishing her DEAD or in a medically induced coma, though. Even I'm not that cruel.)

2. Is it wrong that I find myself wishing that Doc would fall for Muriel? Sure, she's actively going after someone's husband. But at least she seems to genuinely love him. I wonder about Hope sometimes. 

3. Lizzie certainly did a 180 this season. I was ready to yeet her into the sun after last season, and this season, I find myself angry with Rickie on her behalf. He should've told her what he was planning. He owed her that much. 

4. Wow...this season is way darker than the first two. It was a little bit of a downer, frankly. I'm OK with that. I never expected everything to be sun shiney all the time. But it was surprising. 

5. I've hated Charmaine from the beginning, and I hate her even more now. The way she latched onto this jerk is totally on brand for her. As is being willing to keep Jack away from his kids out of spite and giving her dog away because her pretentious asshole of a fiancé doesn't like pets. Frankly, I couldn't hate this character more if she drowned kittens and abused babies.  If she were to drive off a cliff after having the twins and dropping them safely off at Jack's house, I'd do a happy dance. 

6. Again...cliffhangers SUCK.  But I'm not mad at Mel. She did what she thought she had to do to get her own happily ever after after Jack flaked on her. Kudos to her. 

Random season 2 thoughts

1. There is WAY too much Hope and Doc this season for my liking. Hope was on my nerves last season, and she didn't earn herself any points this season with her whole "you should date other people so that no one knows WE'RE together" nonsense. It was immature and ridiculous and I wanted to smack Hope upside the head many, many times.   

2. There is also WAY too much Charmaine this season for my liking. If there was ever a more petulant, childish, desperate, whiny, needy character on TV, I certainly can't think of one. I have no idea why Jack kept her as his friend with benefits for any length of time. She's horrible. 

3. I hate Lizzie with the fire of a thousand suns. Poor Ricky. 

4. I was JUST starting to like Connie...then she got all judgmental and hypocritical, not to mention nosy and nasty. Sigh.

5. Mel's former sister-in-law can choke on a giant bag of dicks as far as I'm concerned. I sincerely hope she's a character that NEVER darkens Virgin River again. 

6. Mel casually takes a fair amount of verbal abuse from Charmaine and her former sister-in-law this season. She handled it quietly and gracefully, which is, I guess, in character for her. But just once, I kind of wanted to see Mel go off on one of these hags and ripe them a new one, because they deserved it.   

7. Cliffhangers SUCK. That is all.      

---

All that said, if you’re looking for some sweet and wholesome, easy-to-watch fluff that’s a cut above your average Hallmark or Lifetime movie, you could do a lot worse than Virgin River.