It looks like 2022 was a great year for Netflix's Virgin River, although we can't say we're too surprised.
According to the Nielsen U.S. streaming charts for 2022, per Deadline, the romantic drama is ranked sixth among the top 15 original shows from streaming services. With an impressive 13.6 billion minutes viewed, the popular series surpassed other hit shows like Dahmer, The Crown, Inventing Anna and Prime Video's The Boys. Check out the full list below.
Landing in the top spot is Netflix's Stranger Things, followed up by Ozark, Wednesday, Cobra Kai and, of course, Bridgerton.
Virgin River's impressive ranking comes just a month after Netflix announced the success of season four. As it turns out, the show's latest season is ranked tenth among the most viewed English shows on the streaming platform for 2022.
In case you're unfamiliar with the series, it follows Melanie, a midwife and nurse practitioner who moves from Los Angeles to Virgin River in hopes of getting a fresh start. However, she comes to learn that living in a charming small town isn't as easy as she thought.
During an interview with New Beauty, Alexandra Breckenridge, who stars as Melanie, commented on the show's major success. She said, "Virgin River did better than we could have imagined and it’s continuing to grow this audience…the only way I really experience 'success' is, all of a sudden, more press and more people recognize me. I haven’t quite adjusted to that yet."
As for the show's upcoming fifth season, the the 40-year-old actress revealed that new episodes may arrive early. She told the outlet, “This season, we have had the pleasure of starting earlier than we usually do.”
Breckenridge continued “We’ve been shooting in the winter the last four seasons, but now we started to spend more time there in the summer; I got to experience a little bit more of the sites and amazing things to do in [Vancouver]. Typically, it was so cold and wet. The winters could be so brutal…but now I’m like, ‘Oh wow. I get it now. I get this town.’”
Something tells us that season five will also be a big hit this year. If only we could get a premiere date....
