After waiting for over a year, viewers finally found out who died in the newest season of Virgin River.
The season 6 finale, which aired in December 2024, showed Jack (Martin Henderson) arriving at Charmaine’s (Lauren Hammersley) home, only to find a startling scene.
When the hit Netflix series returned for season 7 on Thursday, March 12, it was confirmed that Charmaine was kidnapped while Calvin (Josh Blacker) had been killed.
Charmaine was the main suspect since she was nowhere to be found. Brie (Zibby Allen), however, figured out that the mom of two was taken hostage and ultimately connected it back to Charmaine’s boss Grant (Alessandro Juliani).
Grant claimed he killed Calvin to protect Charmaine. He was ultimately arrested for murdering Calvin and abducting Charmaine.
“I knew somebody was dead, but I wasn’t sure who exactly it was until I knew what it would lead to,” showrunner Patrick Sean Smith told TV Line on Thursday. “I saw the potential in what the different [options] were, but I wanted to explore all the different choices to see which played best in the totality of the season.”
Smith called Calvin’s death a “convenient” way to end Calvin’s story. He noted that Calvin has “already come back from the dead and wants his children and has murdered people. [The actor was recast in season 6] as well, so it just felt like an opportunity to clean that out.”
Season 7 of Virgin River went through several cast changes. News broke on Thursday that Marco Grazzini won’t be returning as a series regular.
“Character departures are very common in this business — especially on a long-running and beloved series like Virgin River,” Grazzini, 45, who has been on the show since season 2, told Entertainment Weekly. “It’s been a wonderful opportunity to play Mike for six seasons.”
Grazzini said he has “nothing but love for the cast, crew and especially the phenomenal fans who make the show so special,” adding, “I’m excited for this new chapter in my career.”
In addition to Grazzini, Lauren Hammersley, who has been playing Charmaine since the show premiered on Netflix in 2019, is also not expected to come back. With the exception of Grazzini, the rest of Virgin River‘s season 7 series regulars are expected to return in season 8.
This isn’t the first time the show has gone through some changes behind the scenes. Grayson Gurnsey left as Ricky after season 4, and Mark Ghanimé, who played Cameron, had a surprising exit once season 6 was released.
Virgin River is currently streaming on Netflix.
