Virgin River has had a pretty dark fifth season so far, with a wildfire running

through town threatening to destroy everything, alongside personal dramas such as

the continuing mystery of Mel’s biological father. There’s still two episodes of the season –

a two-part holiday special dropping in November. To counteract the

heaviness of what’s come before, executive producer Patrick Sean Smith has told Glamor this will be warmer and fuzzier.

“The holiday episodes are a little bit lighter, and we wanted to play a little more comedy after the weight of this season,” he said. “It felt like, if we’re going to give a holiday gift to the audience, let’s make it a fun one. So part of what Mel and Jack are going through in those two episodes is like the scavenger hunt through Virgin River trying to track down the man who is her biological father. They’re going from clue to clue.”

It’s not all holiday cheer, however. Wes’ body was recently discovered, and Smith stated that we won’t need to wait until season 6 to see how it affects two characters, stating: “We will get resolution as far as what this means for Preacher and get a sense of how complicated this will be for his relationship with Kaia.”
The holiday special will take place at Christmas, jumping ahead from Labor Day (early September), which is the biggest time skip the show has had so far.

“We’ve joked about it. We’ve been like, ‘We’re jumping seven seasons of Virgin River!’ With that said, I think there are many surprises still to come in the holiday episodes that then propel us into season 6 . It’s definitely not just a two-off. It’s still tied into the serialized stories.

“You won’t get a wedding, but you may or may not get a birth or two. The two episodes are packed. They touch on all the characters’ lives. It’s feel good, but there are also plenty of twists and turns to get you excited about season 6.”