'Virgin River' Creator Explains Why One Star Has a Decreased Role in Season 3 (Spoilers)

The creator of the Netflix show Virgin River is opening up about the decreased presence of a series regular in the just-released third season.

Season three of the hit series was just released on the streaming service and fans are sad to see that one character is barely featured this year.

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Hope McCrea, the mayor of Virgin River, is only seen in season three through FaceTime.

Showrunner Sue Tenney has revealed that Hope’s decreased presence is due to actress Annette O’Toole‘s inability to travel during the pandemic.

“It was totally [a result of the] pandemic,” Sue told TVLine. “[O’Toole] was not able to travel, so we had to pivot. I actually really like what we came up with, though. I think it works really well. Keeping her present on the show, even though she’s only actually in a couple of episodes, was paramount. She’s talked about, I keep her in the forefront.”

The show explains that Hope is visiting family in South Carolina and her trip is prolonged due to a series of unfortunate events.

The creator of the show explained last year why it took so long for Mel and Jack to sleep together.