Virgin River showrunner confirms 2 major cast member exits ahead of season 8

*Warning: Contains MAJOR spoilers for Virgin River season 7!*

Two key cast members will not be returning to Virgin River for its eighth outing on Netflix, with showrunner Patrick Sean Smith confirming the news

Marco Grazzini, who plays Mike Valenzuela, has been in the romantic drama for five seasons but will be leaving the cast after the latest season.

Alongside Grazzini, Lauren Hammersley who plays Charmaine Roberts will also not be returning for season 8.

"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," Smith 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."

Their exits do make sense in the context of their character's storylines throughout season 8. For Mike, his relationship with Brie came to an end after she couldn't accept his proposal. Though happiness was on the horizon for the cop, as he reunited with Victoria (Sara Canning), a former police officer who arrived in Virgin River to look into Doc's practice.

"Mike probably will be on the back burner for a little while until we have something we’ve written," Smith said. "We have so many relationships already that I think a little bit of that was just a sort of happy ending for this chapter for Mike to find his way back to Victoria and to explore what happens there. But I love Marco and could see his character coming back in a more substantive role if the creative is right."

As for Charmaine, her fate was thrown into question at the end of season 6 when Jack (Martin Henderson) arrived at her home and saw it ransacked. Throughout most of season 7, Charmaine and her twins were missing – presumed to be on the run for killing Calvin – but that couldn't have been further from the truth.

Thanks to Brie and Mike's detective skills, they discover that Charmaine was being held captive by her former boss, and it was him who had actually killed Calvin. Charmaine and the twins are then finally free to live their lives, and aren't seen again.

As for a potential Charmaine return? Smith says there are "no plans" for that to happen in season 8.

"But that’s not to say, when the right time comes, I’d love to bring the character back for something other than more cliffhangers and more lies on pregnancies," he said.

Aside from Grazzini, the rest of show's regulars are expected to return in season 8, including Ben Hollingsworth, whose character Brady fate is pulled into question during the season finale.

Another cast return includes Virgin River newcomer Cody Kearsley who plays Clay. One recurring character in season 7 was Tony (Matty Finochio), Hope's (Annette O’Toole) temporary assistant while Lizzie (Sarah Dugdale) is on maternity leave, though his return in season 8 is yet to be confirmed.

Smith told Deadline: "Actually, I found out a few weeks ago that he has booked a series regular on another show, so he’s unavailable for the first part of our shoot, but I would love to have him back. He was such a breath of fresh air and so funny and just a nice energy, especially up against Hope, that would want to squander that and not revisit again."

Austin Nichols, who appeared as Eli, the pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon operating on Mel and Jack’s adopted newborn son, is also another character Smith would like to return so long as schedules align.

He added: "He also booked something else, so we’re working around his schedule. We have such talented cast members that everybody wants them."

Virgin River returns seasons 1-7 are available to watch on Netflix now. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

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