Netflix subscribers know all too well that becoming invested in any series has a 50/50 chance of ending in nothing but disaster when the axe is eventually swung in its direction, but viewers have been able to enjoy Virgin River‘s return by sleeping soundly in the knowledge that it was guaranteed at least one more season.
In a rare accolade the streaming service hardly ever hands out, the long-running romantic drama was renewed for fifth and sixth runs shortly after the conclusion of the fourth, a stay of execution that puts it in very rare company alongside the likes of Vikings: Valhalla and not very many others to have come around in the last couple of years.
It makes sense when you consider the show has always been one of Netflix’s biggest performers relative to its scope, scale, and budget, with the faith being shown in Virgin River proving entirely justified after it returned with a vengeance on the worldwide watch-list. Per FlixPatrol, the first 10 of season 5’s 12 episodes – with the remainder set to drop on Nov. 30 – have debuted as the fifth top-viewed series on the charts by way of a Top 10 finish in 73 countries.
Clearly, the collective obsession with the ongoing trials and tribulations that come with the remote titular town hasn’t started to dim even the slightest, with the ongoing smalltown saga once more proving its worth as one of Netflix’s stealthiest favorites that everybody seems to binge without ever propelling it to the forefront of the pop culture conversation.