1. Season 1
Sometimes you just can’t beat the first season. When you first start watching a new series and it becomes one of your favorites, the first season can hold such a special place in your heart. It’s why first seasons, first movies in a franchise, a first single, etc. can often be at the top of rankings for shows, movies, and music. You can’t deny love at first sight.
Whether you read the Virgin River book series or merely started watching the series because it struck your fancy, the first season was the perfect opening either way. Mel arrives in Virgin River and quickly changes the lives of everyone she meets. From the moment she lands in this small town, it’s clear she found her home and her people.
Beyond the romance and drama that we know and love about Virgin River, there are some darker aspects to these episodes as Mel explores her grief for her husband and child. But what’s always touched the fans is the series’ commitment to being relatable and honest, even when some of the other side stories can take a more sensational spin. The first season set the stage for a cherished series that means so much to so many people.
What’s your ranking of Virgin River seasons from worst to best? Stay tuned to Netflix Life for news and updates on Virgin River season 6!
2. Season 5
Before you attempt to write off season 5 for any particular reason you might have, consider everything that happened in the fifth season: A wildfire, a shocking pregnancy announcement, an unexpected coupling, a drug bust and shootout, Christmas, paternity bombshell, and Charmaine finally gave birth. Objectively, season 5 accomplished more than any of the past seasons.
One of the things that sets season 5 apart from the rest could have something to do with the series gaining a new showrunner in Patrick Sean Smith, who took over creative control beginning with this season. Smith clearly came into the series with a vision for the storytelling, and thankfully that included speeding up the timeline a bit with a season-ending fast-forward to Christmastime.
Aside from all of the fundamental changes that accompanied the showrunner change, season 5 also told some of the show’s most ambitious and heartfelt stories to date. When the wildfire devastates the town in the middle of the season, it brings everyone together in an inspirational showing of community in the midst of grief. Mel, too, goes through her own personal grief when she experiences another miscarriage. She and Jack grapple with the future of their relationship and family in the aftermath of such a tragic loss, which ultimately brings them closer than ever.
Virgin River has always been relatable and strikingly accessible to a wide range of ages, particularly when showcasing the realities of womanhood, but it achieved so much more of its potential in season 5. Not only was the season full of the same heart as always, but the series also became even more wildly entertaining. Also, as previously mentioned, we got to celebrate Christmas in Virgin River, complete with a scavenger hunt for Mel’s birth father and so many more good times. What’s not to love?
Finally, we’re going back to the start for the top spot in our Virgin River seasons ranking. You just can’t go wrong with the debut season of the series!
3. Season 4
For some Virgin River fans, you could arguably place season 4 as the best season of the series (so far). So many long-awaited moments happen in these episodes that it’s hard not to absolutely adore the season as a whole. Between Mel and Jack’s relationship progression and the season 3 cliffhanger resolution, the payoff in the fourth season is incredible.
Not only do Mel and Jack finally get engaged after the interrupted proposal in the season 3 finale and the hard-fought work they did on their relationship throughout season 4, but the expectant parents find out that Jack is confirmed the father and, drumroll, they’re having a baby girl. If you ship Mel and Jack, Virgin River season 4 seriously delivers the goods.
From helicopter (mis)adventures to finally finding out who shot Jack (it was Vince!), Virgin River season 4 featured all of the moments we had been waiting for, while also creating more to look forward to in season 5. After the bomb Charmaine drops in the season finale, the rug has been pulled out from underneath Jack again. Virgin River knows how to keep us hooked.
Next up, we’re checking in on the runner-up in our Virgin River seasons ranking. You just can’t go wrong with the most recent season of the series!
4. Season 2
What sophomore slump? Virgin River simply didn’t have one. The series remained just as cozy, cute, and captivating as it had been from the very start. In Virgin River season 2, we get to dig a little deeper into the characters and this small town. The best part? Mel and Jack’s relationship grows to swoon-worthy new heights as the will-they-or-won’t they continues.
But for all of the strengths of season 2, these episodes also stay true to the careful and conscious pacing of the series. Things happen, but they don’t happen very quickly. Case in point: Charmaine’s pregnancy was a major storyline in the second season, and as we anticipate the fifth season’s released in 2023, she still hasn’t given birth to these twins. Sometimes that slog wears on you.
In spite of some of the pacing choices that can leave certain storylines to be desired, Virgin River season 2 was a hit with fans and critics. The season holds a 90% critic rating and a 73% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Perhaps the biggest win of the second season is the truly thrilling season finale cliffhanger that left us breathless and wanting more. Who shot Jack?! We needed to know immediately!
For the dead-center entry in the Virgin River seasons ranking, we’re praising the highs of the fourth season of the beloved romantic drama.
Virgin River seasons ranked
Ever since Virgin River premiered on Netflix in December 2019, devoted fans have continued to fall head over heels for the romantic drama series and its characters with each passing season. That’s how the lovable small-town series managed to become one of Netflix’s most popular shows.
So far, there have been five seasons of Virgin River, with its highly anticipated sixth season expected to premiere sometime in 2024. But which of the five current Virgin River seasons is the best, and which one isn’t quite as great as the others?
While each of Virgin River’s seasons are charming and cozy, each fan has a preference for certain storylines and moments. Let’s get started with what could be recognized as the weakest season of the series, Virgin River season 3.
5. Season 3
The third season of Virgin River, which released on Netflix on July 9, 2021, was the first season of the series to be released in the summertime. Previously, Netflix dropped the show in November and December, giving the series a fall and wintry feel. While that doesn’t interfere with the content of the season, it did change the way some fans felt about the viewing experience.
Virgin River season 3 picks up in the aftermath of Jack being shot in the season 2 finale, and while we don’t get an instant gratification answer about that incident, we do receive other thrilling moments such as Jack’s house going up in flames and (of course!) the jaw-dropping season finale cliffhanger. In case you forgot, Mel’s pregnant! But… she isn’t sure if it’s Jack’s.
All in all, you can’t go wrong with a season of Virgin River. They each offer the comfort and catharsis that made fans become fans in the first place. But season 3 missed a little bit of the magic, and that might have had something to do with the lengths the writing went to keep Hope off camera. She appeared in video calls then was in near-fatal car accident. The first time we “see” her is in a body cast in the hospital. The show’s not quite that soapy.
As previously stated, season 3 isn’t deserving of being called “bad,” but it just didn’t reach the heights of the previous two seasons, and critics and fans alike seem to agree, as the Rotten Tomatoes scores for the third season marked a decline from season 2.
Speaking of season 2, next up on the list of the best Virgin River seasons is season 2!