When will Virgin River‘s long-awaited seventh season finally premiere on Netflix? It’s a very good question — just ask series star Alexandra Breckenridge.

The actress, aka Mel Sheridan, posted an Instagram story from the show’s Vancouver set on Thursday in which she theorized just how much longer fans will have to remain patient for their fix of small town drama.

“I feel like I’m on day 857 of filming Season 7,” Breckenridge said to her 1.3 million followers. “We’re almost done, can you believe it? I can’t even believe it. Almost to the finish line. I keep wondering if they’re going to put the show out this year. What do you guys think? Probably, right? If they have it, they’ll probably drop it … this year, 2025. I don’t know any information. I’m the last to know.”

Unfortunately, we have a feeling that when Breckenridge does receive that information, she’ll find out that Virgin River won’t be back until 2026. Though Netflix has neither confirmed nor denied a potential timeframe for Virgin River‘s return, it’s worth noting that the show hasn’t been included in any of the streamer’s announcements about what’s still to come in 2025. Purely speculatively, it seems more likely that we’ll see Season 7 in early 2026 — perhaps just in time for Valentine’s Day? — than in late 2025.

Of course, Virgin River‘s premiere date is just one of many questions we have ahead of Season 7. Others include: What happened to Charmaine? Will Mel and Jack really adopt Marley’s baby? And what trouble will be caused by the show’s two new additions — Victoria (The Vampire Diaries‘ Sara Canning), who arrives to investigate Doc before reconnecting with an old friend, and Clay (Riverdale‘s Cody Kearsley), who comes to town looking for his former foster sister?

There’s also the show’s potential spinoff to consider. Netflix was previously developing a prequel series about Mel’s parents‘ early life in Virgin River, of which we got a taste during flashbacks in Season 6. Will that receive a full series order? Do we want it to? There’s just so much to think about.

When do you hope Virgin River returns for Season 7? And which shows are you watching in the meantime? Whatever’s on your mind, drop it in a comment below.