Understanding the relatively unsexy allure of Netflix's "Virgin River" comes down to one thing - Salon

It didn't happen with the type of overwhelming worth-of-mouth social media push that has propelled some of Netflix's most popular series to the top of the streaming mountain, but the heartwarming, small town drama "Virgin River," which just released its third season on July 9, has emerged as one of the streaming service's most beloved and reliable performers since debuting in December 2019. .

It might not be obvious to the casual subscriber, but Netflix has made a concentrated push into the romance genre over the last few years, with licensed K-dramas and adaptations of popular romance book series like "Virgin River," "Sweet Magnolias" and the aforementioned "Bridgerton," which just received 12 Emmy nominations, leading the way.

It's also part of a larger endeavor by the streaming service to produce programming that is created by and for women (see also: "Firefly Lane" and romantic comedies like "Set It Up"). .

Whether or not there is a direct correlation between these employment statistics and the number of programs made for women in recent years requires deeper investigation than this story allows, but it does seem obvious that Netflix has, at the very least, figured out that entertainment made for women is financially wise in addition to filling a cultural void.

Also working in its favor is the fact that "Virgin River" primarily stars women over 35, with many of the show's supporting cast members being women who are at or over the age of 60.

Their stories are easily the biggest draw of the show, and if you need further proof that Mel and the older women are the stars, the single storyline involving teenagers is the show's weakest and often feels like nothing more than a half-hearted attempt to also attract younger audiences. .

But simply being content for women and offering better representation aren't the only reasons "Virgin River" and series like it have found success.

After all, basic cable networks like Hallmark and Lifetime have been producing content for women for years and haven't seen the same mainstream level of success.

But even if Hallmark has managed to escape the worst of the ratings woes that have befallen much of basic cable by offering heartfelt programming with low stakes that audiences of all ages can watch and enjoy, TV shows and movies airing on niche cable networks still suffer in comparison to those being readily available on a streaming service like Netflix that has 208 million global subscribers.

Even if "Virgin River" deals heavily in soap at times — there are drug dealers outside of town and the main narrative thread of Season 3 rests on who shot Jack at the end of Season 2 — it always returns to the very real, very honest issues affecting women today.

"Virgin River" Season 3 is now streaming on Netflix.