Stacey Farber isn’t ruling out a “Virgin River” return.
Though nothing is officially in the works, the Hallmark actress, who recently starred in “I’ll Be Seeing You” alongside Tyler Hynes and Christine Ebersole, is revealing whether or not she was asked to return to the series as Tara Anderson after multiple cast members exited ahead of Season 8.
After the premiere of Season 7 in March, fans were shocked to find out that Mike and Charmaine were written out. Mike Valenzuela, played by Marco Grazzini, was on the Netflix romantic drama for five seasons, the last four as a series regular. Lauren Hammersley has been playing Charmaine Roberts for the entire seven-season run of the show, starting off as a series regular for the first four seasons then moving to recurring.
Farber Is Open to the Idea of Returning to ‘Virgin River’
“I haven’t heard. It’s always a surprise,” Farber told Us Weekly in an exclusive interview from May 2. “I’ve gone away and come back.”
The actress is open to a return to the Netflix series. “I love that they’re still going,” she said of the long-running series. “They just aired their [new season] and I know sometimes they film really far in advance on that show. So I don’t know if they’ve already moved ahead. I can’t speak to it, but I love [the idea of coming back].”
“Virgin River” showrunner Patrick Sean Smith said of Grazzini and Hammersley’s departures, “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 at the time. “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.”
According to the outlet, the rest of the series’ Season 7 regulars are expected to return for Season 8, even Hallmark’s Ben Hollingsworth, who plays Dan Brady.
There have been other major departures from the show over the years, including Grayson Gurnsey’s exit from his role as Ricky after Season 4, and Mark Ghanimé, who played Dr. Cameron Hayek, also left once Season 6 was released.
Farber Reveals Favorite Thing About Her Character in ‘I’ll Be Seeing You’
“I’ll Be Seeing You” begins “when a work errand derails Amy’s weekend plans with her grandma, they embark on a road trip with one sentimental detour but need the help of a charming activities director,” per Hallmark Channel’s official synopsis.
“We all share a similar sense of humor, so that made things a lot easier,” Farber told Tell-Tale TV in an interview from April 24. “It’s long days on set, and it can be exhausting. You get a little delirious, so it’s nice to have people you can laugh with.”
“My favorite thing about my character was her relationship with her grandmother,” Farber said. “I have a great relationship with the two grandparents I’m lucky enough to still have, and I was super close with a grandmother of mine who passed away a while ago. They’re just so important to me, and the relationships are so special.”
She added, “So I loved drawing from my own life to infuse Amy’s relationship with her grandmother with some of my experiences. And I loved affirming to the viewers that we’re lucky to have older relatives in our lives. Maybe it’ll inspire people to reconnect with people or foster the relationships they have.”
