Who's Back — and Who's Not — for 'Virgin River' Season 8? Everything to Know After Major Cast Shake-Up

When Virgin River returns to Netflix for Season 8, Alexandra Breckenridge will be back, too!

The lead star, who plays Mel in the series, shared she is excited to see her character as a mother.

"I think we've anticipated that moment for far too long," Breckenridge told Tudum after the Season 7 finale.

With Breckenridge returning, Martin Henderson will once again join her in the cast to portray Jack.

Following the events of the seventh season, Annette O'Toole will be back as Virgin River Mayor Hope.

Ben Hollingsworth is set to return as Dan following his character's involvement in a terrifying crash at the end of Virgin River Season 7 finale.

Colin Lawrence will join the cast again as Preacher to witness another "diamond of the season."

"You actually feel like you're going to an event that happens every year," he told Tudum, referring to each season's town-wide event. "That's what's so amazing about our set decorators and the directing and the writing and how they put it all together. It's a lot of fun. I love doing these moments."

For the next season, Kai Bradbury will once again take on the role of Denny.

Appearing as Kaia, Kandyse McClure will still be part of the Netflix series for its Season 8.

They say people come, people go — the same goes for Lauren Hammersley, who will not continue in the role of Charmaine.

On the other hand, Virgin River showrunner Patrick Sean Smith clarified she could return in subsequent seasons.

"For me, I'm just trying to look to the longevity of the show and making sure that the characters that we’re keeping have enough story engine in them to keep going," he explained to Deadline. "So I can't say there are any specific cast shakeups planned, but I think we will have to start to — as characters run their course — make some decisions and bring in some new blood."

Like Hammersley, Marco Grazzini will not be returning to Virgin River in the upcoming Season 8.

Sarah Dugdale's Lizzie will have more to offer in Virgin River Season 8.

Tim Matheson will reappear on the show as Doc.

In an interview after Netflix greenlit Season 8, he revealed it took a couple of months after they wrapped filming the seventh season before they learned they were going to do another installment.

"It's always exciting when they share that news with us, but they're always tell us not to give anything away," he shared. "They've got all it all figured out with ratings and things, and they know their audience — they want to hold it back and not give the audience too much and too soon."

Matheson added, "We've just had little rough discussions about season 8, so we know vaguely what's going to happen, but mostly only with our characters. I mean, they don't discuss in detail about what's going to happen to everybody. You just have to wait and see until you get a script. It's always exciting when we sit down at read-throughs with the cast, learning what everybody's come up with... the feelings and the emotions come into play. It's then you really get a hold of it being is real, this is what's going to happen."

Zibby Allen will also return for the next season as Brie.