Why did Hope leave Virgin River

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Virgin River is back. The Netflix series returned for its third season just a few days ago, and if you’ve breezed through all 10 of the show’s new episodes, you may notice one major difference. Hope (Annette O’Toole) is almost entirely missing from the show, and we miss her dearly. If you’re wondering when Hope may return to the Netflix drama — if she does at all — you’re not alone. We have answers from the showrunner, Sue Tenney herself.

“the new virgin river season is so good but i need more of hope,” one Twitter user wrote, continuing, “i have 3 episodes left and so far we barely saw her.”

The only time we see Hope in Season 3 of Virgin River is through a screen. And there’s a shocking ending that’ll leave all Virgin River fans hankering for Season 4. Hope’s storyline is left especially in the air, so we know you’re wondering what’s next for her Virgin River storyline. Here’s everything we know about Annette O’Toole, Hope, and the future of Virgin River.

What happens to Hope in Season 3 of Virgin River?

We only see Hope through video calls in Season 3, and her character doesn’t end up in good shape by the end of the season. By the end of Season 3 — spoiler alert — Hope is placed in critical condition in the hospital. Yikes!

Why was Hope missing in Season 3 of Virgin River?

Hope, played by O’Toole, was missing due to COVID restrictions. The plan was never to remove her from the storyline. Rather, to keep O’Toole safe from COVID-19, Tenney wrote her out of most of the scenes.

“That was a pandemic pivot,” Tenney told Entertainment Weekly. “We’ve worked very hard to make sure she was still very much in the show. If we have a fourth season, everyone is now vaccinated and the pandemic is not what it was. So, I would hope that we would have Annette back.”

Will Hope be back in Season 4 of Virgin River?

Well, the show needs to be renewed for a Season 4 for that to happen, right? Most likely, Netflix will renew the hit drama. Tenney said she plans on bringing O’Toole’s character back in full swing, so long as the pandemic restrictions are lifted. Hooray! Hope just has to make it out of critical condition, and she’ll be back.

Is Annette O’Toole leaving Virgin River?

No! She’s a Virgin River cast member through and through. Just to reiterate, the only reason she left for a bit was to stay safe from COVID. Now, thanks to the vaccine roll-out, she should be back for good.

Stream Virgin River on Netflix

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Netflix

It's difficult to predict what will achieve break-out success on Netflix and what will fly under the radar, but no one could have seen the success of "Virgin River" coming. Based on a series of romance novels by author Robyn Carr, the small-town series stars Alexandra Breckenridge as Mel Monroe, a nurse practitioner who moves to a remote town in northern California for a fresh start after the death of her husband (Daniel Gillies). She takes a position working with the aging town doctor (Tim Matheson) and soon finds herself falling in love with the charming town, its residents, and most importantly, Jack Sheridan (Martin Henderson), the owner of the town's only bar and restaurant.

Viewers have flocked to the heartwarming show ever since it first debuted in 2019. But while "Virgin River" is largely about Mel and Jack and their love story, the writers have taken great care to build out the show's world by developing its supporting characters and digging into their personal lives as well. This includes the town mayor, Hope McCrea (Annette O'Toole), who fans of the show very quickly noticed was missing from most of its third season.

Fortunately, there is a pretty simple explanation for why Hope has such a small role in "Virgin River" Season 3.

Annette O'Toole wasn't able to film Virgin River Season 3

Netflix

After Hope and Doc officially rekindled their relationship in "Virgin River" Season 2, fans were hoping to see more of the couple in the show's third season. But while Doc was a main fixture of the season, Hope was not. Early on, it was revealed that Hope was out of town visiting a sick aunt when a hurricane knocked out all the nearby power, making it impossible for Hope and Doc to contact each other. As the season progressed, however, Annette O'Toole did briefly appear as the character through some FaceTime calls. 

According to "Virgin River" showrunner Sue Tenney, Hope's absence was a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic. "[O'Toole] was not able to travel, so we had to pivot," Tenney told TVLine when the season premiered in July.

Unfortunately, this also meant that a major storyline for Season 3 had to be scrapped: Hope and Doc's vow renewal ceremony. "We had a very lovely, two long episodes about that," Tenney told Entertainment Weekly, revealing that the show's writers decided to cut the episodes rather than have the vows happen off-camera. "When we get to that point, which is a re-commitment ceremony, we definitely are going to want to see that"

However, given that "Virgin River" Season 3 ended with Hope in a serious car accident, it's unclear when viewers will get to see the ceremony. "We have some drama going on with both of those characters that puts that on the back-burner," Tenney explained, "but [it] also heightens their commitment to one another."

With "Virgin River" already renewed for Seasons 4 and 5, here's to hoping that Hope's recovery doesn't take too long.