Virgin River is one of those American romantic drama television series that started out as a sleeper but has now enraptured the hearts of the fans globally. Ultimately, making Virgin River Season 5 premiere one of the most anticipated Netflix television series releases!
The show, which revolved around the story of a nurse practitioner who moved from Los Angeles to a remote Northern California town, broke the “once a sleeper, always a sleeper” rule for good. Considering the fact that the thriving show gained 333.92 million globally watched hours on Netflix’s top 10 hourly figures, with 225.12 audience growing with every passing day; seeing that the third season’s globally watched hours were 225.12 between July 4 and August 15 of 2021. Which, more or less, indicates to us that the forthcoming might break the previous records!
The show went through a long laborious slog but its efforts paid off in the end. This would not have been possible without Virgin River’s showrunner, Sue Tenney, who helped in getting the show the top ranking that it has now.
However, we will not be seeing her work in the upcoming season. As it has been revealed that she is being replaced with Patrick Sean Smith, the new showrunner for Virgin River Season 5.
Here is all that you need to know about him!
Virgin River Season 5 – Who is Patrick Sean Smith?
In an Instagram post from the official account of the Virgin River series, the biggest news was revealed to us! Besides giving us updates about the table read for the fifth Season, surprising news about a new showrunner for the said Netflix show was announced as well. And that person was none other than the renowned Patrick Sean Smith:
“Our cast in a table read for SEASON 5.. Yes, you heard that right folks. We have now started production on SEASON 5! Also, please meet our lovely new Show-runner Patrick Sean Smith. We can’t WAIT for you to see what we have in store. Don’t forget though, Season 4 is only 2 days away. See you soon!!”
Patrick Sean Smith is an American television show creator, writer, and producer. He particularly famous for his work in:
- The CW’s Supernatural
- ABC Family’s Chasing Life
- Writing the episode Jolene on Netflix’s limited series
- Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings ( also served as executive producer and showrunner)
A Die-Hard Virgin River Fan
Patrick Sean Smith, who is also the creator of Greek, confessed in one of his interviews that even though the original showrunner is not returning for Season 5, he is delighted to be a new part of this family. As he has been a fan of the Netflix show for quite a long time:
“Sue had moved on to other projects, and I’d worked with Netflix on Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings so we had a pre-existing relationship.I was already a fan, and I was super excited when they came to me with the possibility”.
He further added that:
“The cast cares so much about the show and the fans, and they want to put on the best show possible. I think they’ve done that for the past four seasons, so it just makes it easier for me to pick up the ball and keep running into Season 5 and beyond”.
It is clear that he is really excited for the upcoming season and is willing to give it his all to showcase his approach to this show that has already been on the long-run.
Virgin River Season 5 – The New Showrunner was overwhelmed?
After taking the reins from the previous showrunner, Sue Tenney, Smith was a little overwhelmed. Which is understandable! Considering the fact that he is joining in on a series that has already achieved a ‘ top status’ on Netflix.
Moreover, the show’s story has already moved quite ahead and he has to get his head around all of this before diving into the development of the forthcoming season. As he he “inherited an incredible group of characters… and also a lot of cliffhangers” :
“There is a lot going on, and it took me a while to get my head around what [the characters have] all been through, where they’re heading and where I’d like them to go”.
He finally acknowledges that he endeavours to get perfect masterpiece in the shape of the next season:
“I wanted it to be as seamless as possible”.
Spoiler from the new Showrunner
Patrick Sean Smith teases the whole fandom by giving away a little spoiler! He highlights that Season 5 will follow right after the storyline of Season 4.
So, fans can have a little idea what they have in stock for:
“Season 5 picks up right after Season 4. There’s no time jump between four and five”.
So what are you waiting for? Catchup on previous seasons till you wait for the release of Season 5.
