Virgin River Renewed For Season 9, Becoming Netflix's Longest-Running Scripted Drama Series

This calls for a round of drinks at Jack's Bar: "Virgin River" has been renewed for Season 9 ahead of the show's Season 8 premiere (date TBD), TVLine has learned. This renewal marks yet another major milestone for the small-town series, which is on track to become the longest-running scripted drama on Netflix.

Based on the book series by Robyn Carr, "Virgin River" stars Alexandra Breckenridge as Mel Monroe, a nurse practitioner who relocates to the titular town in search of a fresh start — and finds an epic romance with Marine-turned-bartender Jack Sheridan (played by Martin Henderson). For seven seasons, fans have watched them fall in love, from their first kiss in Mel's cabin to their long-awaited walk down the aisle.

Viewers have also endured Mel and Jack's long, difficult road to starting a family. Mel, who previously suffered several miscarriages and even a stillbirth before arriving in Virgin River, finally got pregnant in Season 3, only to lose the baby in Season 5 while aiding the victims of a raging wildfire. And this was after a paternity mystery involving Jack and her late husband's frozen specimen. Like we said, it's been a long, difficult road.

That road led us to Season 7, during which Mel and Jack agreed to adopt the baby of a young mother named Marley. The catch? Marley's baby was born with a heart defect, and the season ended with him being whisked off to surgery mere moments after entering the world. To complicate matters further, he's being operated on by Eli (Austin Nichols), Mel's ex-boyfriend from her days in Nurses Without Borders.

"Virgin River" also stars Colin Lawrence as chef extraordinaire Preacher, Annette O'Toole as town mayor Hope, Tim Matheson as Mel's boss Doc, Ben Hollingsworth as bad boy Brady, Sarah Dugdale as Hope's assistant Lizzie, Zibby Allen as Jack's sister Brie, Kai Bradbury as Doc's grandson Denny, and Kandyse McClure as Preacher's firefighter girlfriend Kaia.

Patrick Sean Smith serves as showrunner, executive-producing alongside Carr, Erin Cardillo, Richard Keith, Jackson Sinder, Mary Page Keller, Thomas Ian Griffith, Norman Buckley, Ian Hay, Sue Tenney, Roma Roth, and Christopher E. Perry.

As thrilled as "Virgin River" fans must be to hear that their favorite show will be returning for (at least) two more seasons, just imagine how excited the cast is. Actually, you don't have to imagine.

"I'm incredibly proud of our show and couldn't be more thrilled to have the opportunity to continue into Season 9!" says Alexandra Breckenridge, who stars as Mel. "Everyone on our production works so hard to make the world of 'Virgin River' come alive. It's truly been a gift to be here."

Adds Martin Henderson, who plays Jack, "It's staggering to think we are still making 'Virgin River' after all these years, and I'm delighted to get to play the role of Jack for the ninth straight season! It means the world to me that fans connect with the work we do in such a profound and passionate way — we wouldn't be here without them all so, THANK YOU. As long as you guys want it, we'll keep making it to the best of our ability!"

The TVLine Scorecard has been updated to reflect the show's renewal. What are your hopes for the next two seasons of "Virgin River" (and beyond)? Drop 'em in a comment below.