Netflix hasn’t confirmed Virgin River season 7’s rumored release date, but there’s an obvious reason why it makes perfect sense

Mel and Jack link arms on a barge

Alexandra Breckenridge (Mel) and Martin Henderson (Jack) in Virgin River. (Image credit: Netflix)

Even if you’re not a megafan, you’ve likely seen reports that Ben Hollingsworth (Brady) has accidentally leaked the Virgin River season 7 release window on live TV.

During an appearance on Good Day, New York, Hollingsworth confirmed that new episodes would be released in March 2026 when the show’s anchors announced it at the end of his interview.

However, none of this has been confirmed by Netflix – whether Hollingsworth was a proverbial deer caught in headlights and felt he couldn’t say no remains to be seen.

After a wedding comes a honeymoon – and that’s the perfect starting point for Virgin River season 7

Mel and Jack hold hands walking by the river
Mel and Jack finally got married in the Virgin River season 6 finale. (Image credit: Netflix)

Anybody who thinks Virgin River season 7 episode 1 is immediately going to answer one of its overarching big questions is sorely mistaken.

Mel (Alexandra Breckenridge) and Jack (Martin Henderson) might be adopting a patient’s baby, Brie (Zibby Allen) needs to decide whether she wants to marry Mike (Marco Grazzini), Brady needs to get his money back from Lark (Elise Gatien), Doc (Tim Matheson) might have his surgery taken away from him, and Charmaine (Lauren Hammersley) has disappeared off the face of the earth.

But none of this is where new episodes will pick up. Instead, we need to look at the biggest event that has directly happened before: Mel and Jack’s wedding. After six seasons of not-so-patiently waiting, we finally got the moment we’ve been waiting for, so why lose momentum now?

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Instead of immediately jumping into what needs to be resolved, I think we’ll see Mel and Jack on their honeymoon (or just getting back) before anything is revealed. This is the first season in two years not to be released in December, and I think this signals a shift in fictional season and time.

I don’t think we’re looking at a huge time jump, just a couple of months forward. From there, it would be really easy to pour more anticipation into each of the cliffhangers while also extending them into the new season. Seeing Mel and Jack on a beach somewhere before a baby pops up, for example, would make the ideal watercooler moment.

We know that Virgin River season 8 is already confirmed, so we’re likely a long way from things being resolved regardless. However, I’m pretty confident that the March 2026 release window is correct for Virgin River season 7 because it works for everyone, not just us.

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Jasmine is a Streaming Staff Writer for TechRadar, previously writing for outlets including Radio Times, Yahoo! and Stylist. She specialises in comfort TV shows and movies, ranging from Hallmark’s latest tearjerker to Netflix’s Virgin River. She’s also the person who wrote an obituary for George Cooper Sr. during Young Sheldon Season 7 and still can’t watch the funeral episode.

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