Season 2 of Virgin River recently dropped on Netflix, and it is safe to say that fans are going to have a hard time waiting nearly a year until they get the third installment. Based on the books by Robyn Carr, the popular show left viewers with one heck of a cliffhanger, making the space between seasons grueling. What to do while everyone waits on Jack’s fate, Char’s babies, and Mel’s future?
Thankfully, there are tons of shows to busy yourself with that will give you that Virgin River feel.
Sweet Magnolias (2020-Present)
Available On Netflix
Netflix is certainly capitalizing on the popularity of a good small-town drama. Both Virgin River and Sweet Magnolias show viewers just how wild things can get in a sleepy little town, and both shows are based on a series of books.
Sweet Magnolias follows three friends, all going through varying challenges in life as they try to start anew by opening a joint spa. Like Virgin River, Sweet Magnolias likes to give fans major cliffhangers to chew on as they await the release of the next season.
Hart Of Dixie (2011-2015)
Hart of Dixie is a great show to get into as you wait for a potential third season of Virgin River. There are so many similarities between these shows it is nearly impossible to enjoy one and not the other. Like Virgin River, Hart of Dixie showcases a pretty medical professional as the main character who moves to a small town only to find the doctor there seems to have no great need for her.
Furthermore, the actor who plays the doctor in Hart of Dixie (Tim Matheson) is the same person who plays Doc in Virgin River, further connecting the two series. Even the love triangles and romances mirror those in Virgin River, with many plotlines thereof feeling eerily familiar to fans of both shows.
Chesapeake Shores (2016-Present)
Available On Fubo TV
In 2016, the Hallmark Channel rolled out a series called Chesapeake Shores, which also revolves around a series of books by the same name. The main character, another beautiful and capable woman, moves back to her small town to help her sister out. She came with the sole intention of saving the family inn, but a surprise romance catches her off-guard.
This romance series will definitely remind certain Virgin River fans of Mel, who sets out to throw herself into medical work, only to get caught up with Jack, igniting a romance that closely mirrors that depicted in Chesapeake Shores.
Schitt’s Creek (2015-2020)
Available On Apple TV
Schitt’s Creek lacks the dramatic element that Virgin River and many of the other shows of a similar category have, but it is still a great option for lovers of the hit Netflix series. The six-season sitcom satirizes a wealthy family that comes to a small town after losing everything.
Characters in both shows find themselves living life in a small, almost foreign town. The main characters in Schitt’s Creek, much like Mel, had every intention of returning to big city life following their small-town hiatus. But both the Rose family and Mel find that their feelings change and they become attached to the small-town life, the people, and all that it has to offer.
Northern Rescue (2019)
Northern Rescue stars actor Billy Baldwin as a family man who packs his family up and relocates them from busy Boston to his hometown of Turtle Island Bay. The family, which has been impacted by the mother’s traumatic death, finds much more in the small town than peace and serenity.
In Virgin River, the main character, Mel Monroe, also moves to the country in hopes of escaping the earth-shattering losses of her baby and husband before moving to the eponymous town. Both series have incredible emotional weight, pulling on fans’ heart strings every step of the way.
Everwood (2002-2006)
Available On HBO Max
Everwood ran on the channel that would later become the CW network for four seasons in the earlier part of the 2000s. The show revolves around a prominent New York surgeon who loses his wife.
Finding a major life change necessary, Dr. Andy Brown packs his teenage son and younger daughter up and moves them to the small town of Everwood in the hopes of being a better and more present parent. The show is charming, dramatic, and at times, a real tear-jerker.
Heartland (2007-Present)
Available On Peacock
If these types of small-town, family-friendly dramas are your thing, then you will love Heartland. There are currently 15 seasons of this Canadian drama to enjoy while fans wait for season five of Virgin River to air, most of which are currently available on Peacock.
In Heartland, the main character, Amy, finds meaning in life by healing horses following the loss of her mother. This is yet another great show that focuses on loss and the healing that a small town and a loving family can bring.
Dawson’s Creek (1998-2003)
Dawson’s Creek is an older series, but is still entertaining and relevant after its many years off-air. In this drama, the main characters go through all different types of life-altering events as they come of age in their small town.
Back in its heyday, Dawson’s Creek was considered to be a groundbreaking series, as it took on some heavily controversial and weighty topics, like mental illness, addiction, love, loss, and more, never backing down from tough conversations like many other streamlined television series.
Gilmore Girls (2000-2007)
Gilmore Girls is somewhat of a cult classic, and it is easy to see why people everywhere enjoy the series. It centers around a mother and her daughter who navigate life in a small town full of interesting residents.
With its female lead characters and a cast full of sleepy town busybodies, Gilmore Girls has many of the same themes that Virgin River encompasses. Fans of small-town dramas can catch all seven seasons of Gilmore Girls on Netflix.
When Calls The Heart (2014-Present)
Available On Philo
This Hallmark Channel series currently has nine seasons up and running - plenty to keep viewers busy between Virgin River installments. In When Calls the Heart, schoolteacher Elizabeth Thatcher leaves her high society life in New York behind to start anew in a small, Canadian coal town.
There, she meets a bevy of strong women, all working and living in rural Canada following their husbands’ deaths. This series will pull VR fans in, for sure, with its similar premise, though coupled with the trappings of a period drama.
This Is Us (2016-2022)
This is Us is one of the biggest dramas in recent years, telling the story of the Pearson family across decades, exploring loss, love, and lethargy in a world that is growing increasingly difficult to navigate.
This is Us tells a remarkably touching story and is full of emotional plot twists over the course of its six seasons, finding plenty of similarities with Netflix’s Virgin River. Every moment in each series seems laden with deeper meaning, making both perfect series to watch over and over again.
Emily In Paris (2020-Present)
Emily in Paris is a recent Netflix series that has found its way into the cultural zeitgeist, finding either intense love or intense hate from its many viewers. Starring Lilly Collins, the series explores the life of a young American woman who pursues her career in France, finding love and loss abroad.
Emily in Paris has certainly found its audience over the course of its two seasons, with fans debating the merits of the show’s protagonist and her actions throughout the series. Though the Netflix original clings to its comedic aspects more than Virgin River, both series focus on similar themes that unite their fanbases.
Bridgerton (2020-Present)
Set in the early 1800s, Bridgerton is one of the most popular period dramas in recent years. Starring a large cast of characters played by lovable actors, the series has become a phenomenon in recent years, with many of its collaborators finding fame through the show’s success.
Bridgerton aims to be the definitive romantic drama of its day, exploring themes of class tensions, romantic taboos, and mysterious endeavors in a way that few shows can so masterfully combine. For its part, Bridgerton is very much a heightened version of Virgin River’s best qualities, albeit set in 19th-century London.
A Million Little Things (2018-Present)
Available On Hulu
A Million Little Things is a drama series following a group of friends after one of their closest companions commits suicide. Each member of this friend group deals with their grief in their own way as they simultaneously attempt to discover what led their friend to take the actions that he did.
Coasting on the success of similar dramas such as This is Us, A Million Little Things has connected with audiences thanks to its heartfelt themes and poignant emotional moments. The series explores both the darkest and brightest sides of life, much in the same way that shows like Virgin River have become known for.
Jane The Virgin (2014-2019)
Jane the Virgin is a romantic comedy framed like a soap opera. Starring Gina Rodriguez, the series ran for five seasons on the CW, receiving widespread acclaim during its one hundred episode-tenure on the air.
Whereas Virgin River and other similar shows play many of the “soap opera” tropes straight, Jane the Virgin instead satirizes the genre in a truly hilarious fashion. Fans looking for a break from the ceaseless drama can instead laugh at this comedy’s obscene and bizarre twists, finding solace in the terrific writing and performances throughout.
