Hold onto your knitting needles, Virgin River fans. The town’s population is about to drop by two, as a pair of major actors are set to depart after season 7.
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According to Deadline, Marco Grazzini and Lauren Hammersley will be leaving before season 8.
Grazzini played Mike, a police officer who helps Brie (Zibby Allen) find the missing Charmaine (Hammersley). Per IMDb, he first appeared in season 3 and later developed a romantic relationship with Brie.
“He’s not coming back for season 8,” Virgin River showrunner Patrick Sean Smith told Deadline of Grazzini.
Meanwhile, Hammersley, who plays Charmaine, has been with the show since it first aired in 2019. She was a main character until season 4 and a recurring cast member for seasons 5 through 7.
‘Virgin River’ Stars May Return Down the Line
However, there may still be hope for fans of the two characters. Smith speculated that both could return in future 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,” the showrunner told 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.”
The Virgin River cast has been changing in recent years. Several new characters were added for season 7, including Sara Canning as Victoria, a former cop working as an investigator for the state’s medical board who runs into an old friend in Virgin River. Riverdale alum Cody Kearsley also joins as Clay, who is searching for a sister he was separated from in foster care. Additionally, One Tree Hill alum Austin Nichols was added to the season 7 cast.
Of course, other actors have also left the show. These include Grayson Gurnsey (Ricky), who departed after season 4, and Mark Ghanimé (Dr. Cameron Hayek), who left after season 6.
Based on the novel series by Robyn Carr, Virgin River follows Mel, a nurse practitioner who moves from Los Angeles to a small town in Northern California. She’s looking for a simpler life but soon discovers that small-town living is more complicated than she expected.
The seventh season of Virgin River dropped earlier this month on Netflix. The Entire series is available on the streamer.