Virgin River is like your favorite cable-knit sweater or pair of wool socks, or the smell of your grandma’s house on a Sunday afternoon, or like a slice of warm banana bread. It’s comforting, it’s cozy, and it’s easily digestible. And season 5 officially has a premiere date—get ready to binge sooner than you think!

“The moment you’ve ALL been waiting for….Drumroll please. Virgin River Season 5 will be streaming on Netflix September 7th! I repeat, September 7th!”

But that’s NOT ALL…there’s a surprise addition (no, not Charmaine’s twins…at least not yet) for fans of the show.

“Better yet… There will be a part two. Our HOLIDAY episodes will be released on November 30th.”

Ahhh! So much coziness to look forward to this fall!

The show has a soap opera-esque feel to it without being too over-the-top (the storylines are a little wild, yes, but they’ve got nothing on Days of Our Lives in the 1990s).

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There’s no shortage of drama, but the visual surroundings—and the townspeople—are so stunning, you want to hop on the next plane to this fictional town and have a drink and a meal at Jack’s bar.

In 2021, it was announced that Virgin River was picked up for seasons four and five—further proof that we all love this show, even the parts of it we love to hate.

The series is based on the expansive romance book series by author Robyn Carr, which also tracks as to why we love it so much: romance. Today’s entertainment is seriously lacking in the rom-com charm of yesteryear, and, frankly, audiences are starved for it.

A quick recap for those who may be considering a cozy binge-watch before season 5 premieres this fall: Virgin River mostly follows the story of Mel Monroe (Alexandra Breckenridge), a nurse practitioner and midwife who leaves life in the big city after the death of her husband. She decides to start over in a charming, idyllic small town (big Hallmark vibes, right?) in a small practice in Virgin River. Her new boss, Doc Mullins, is reluctant toward her at first, but eventually, the two have a really sweet friendship (as Mel does with many other very memorable supporting characters).

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But it’s Mel’s relationship with Jack (Martin Henderson)—the owner of Jack’s, natch—that will keep you pressing “Next Episode” over and over again. He’s handsome, a little broody, very into Mel, and has the best head of hair a man has had since Patrick Dempsey’s Grey’s Anatomy days. (You just want to run your fingers through it, sorry not sorry.)

Watching her navigate small-town life, a new romance, and all the charms and quirks Virgin River has to offer makes the whole show a perfect curl-up-on-the-couch-with-your-favorite-blanket type of show.

What separates it from Hallmark movies (which are also cozy and addictive in their own right) is that Virgin River doesn’t shy away from gritty plotlines: postpartum depression, grief, crime, personal tragedy, and, of course, actual sex scenes. In a cozy log cabin. That Jack beautifully restored himself just for Mel, expecting nothing in return. What’s not to love?

With each season, it seems like the drama kicks it up a notch—murder, fugitives on the run, love triangles, and, oh yeah, the world’s longest pregnancy.

**SPOILER ALERT**

Raise your hand if, after watching “Virgin River” season 4 last summer, you asked yourself, “Wait, has Charmaine really been pregnant since season one?” The answer to that would be yes. Yes, she has. Because the absolute insanity that is the timeline of Virgin River is not interested in being based in reality. We can’t wait until season 5 to find out if Charmaine FINALLY has those damn babies.

“Season 5 is going to continue to stay true to what fans have loved about the show from the beginning; it feels like a community that we all belong to and that we’re all a part of, it’s very comforting, it gives you hope, and I think all of that is stuff that people can’t get enough of these days,” Netflix’s Head Of Drama, Development Jinny Howe told Deadline last August. “I think what’s going to be interesting is to see this universe continue to grow and expand and to see new characters, other characters return. A lot of that was set up in the Season 4 finale but it’s going to be really exciting to see all of that come to a head in Season 5.”

A version of this story was published September 19, 2021. It has been updated.