Virgin River, the Netflix series based on the romance novels of the same name by Robyn Carr, continues to delight audiences with a blend of high-stakes drama and small town sweetness. Virgin River first aired on the streaming service in 2019, with five seasons currently available to stream, and a sixth on the way. The show follows nurse Mel (Alexandra Breckenridge), who moves to Virgin River after a personal tragedy, as she finds love with the ruggedly handsome Jack (Martin Henderson) and becomes embroiled in the small town drama of this seemingly sleepy place.

The show is beloved by fans for the dramatic moments and cliffhanger endings that give it a soap-opera feel (including surprise pregnancies, a helicopter pilot having a heart attack, and a local drug camp), but also for the small-town charm and the personal stories of the Virgin River inhabitants. For those looking for other series that will hit the same spots, there are plenty of options, from pure small-town heartwarmers to sweeping period dramas.

Sweet Magnolias

(2020-Present)

Netflix is certainly capitalizing on the popularity of a good small-town drama. Both Virgin River and Sweet Magnolias show viewers just how wild things can get in a sleepy little town, and both shows are based on a series of popular books. Sweet Magnolias follows three friends, all going through varying challenges in life as they try to start anew by opening a t spa. Like Virgin River, Sweet Magnolias keeps things light yet still finds a way to give fans major cliffhangers to chew on as they await the release of the next season.

Unlike Virgin River, however, Sweet Magnolias does not use the fish-out-of-water scenario to kick it off. Instead, the three friends have known each other for years and already know the ins and outs of their shared hometown. The relationship dramas, the coming-of-age stories of the younger generation, and the family dynamics, however, are very similar.

Hart Of Dixie

(2011-2015)

Hart of Dixie is a great show to get into while waiting for a potential new season of Virgin River. There are so many similarities between these shows it is nearly impossible to enjoy one and not the other. Like Virgin River, Hart of Dixie showcases a pretty medical professional as the main character who moves to a small town only to find the doctor there seems to have no great need for her.

Furthermore, the actor who plays the doctor in Hart of Dixie (Tim Matheson) is the same person who Virgin River, further connecting the two series. Even the love triangles and romances mirror those in Virgin River, with many plotlines thereof feeling eerily familiar to fans of both shows. Heart of Dixie did not have as long of a run as Virgin River, and it's an even lighter series than the latter.

Chesapeake Shores

(2016-2022)

In 2016, the Hallmark Channel rolled out a series called Chesapeake Shores, which also revolves around a series of books by the same name. The main character, another beautiful and capable woman, moves back to her small town to help her sister out. She came with the sole intention of saving the family inn, but a surprise romance catches her off-guard.

Because the series is produced for Hallmark rather than Netflix, the series is even more family-friendly than Virgin River.

This romance series will definitely remind certain Virgin River fans of Mel, who sets out to throw herself into medical work, only to get caught up with Jack, igniting a romance that closely mirrors that depicted in Chesapeake Shores. Because the series is produced for Hallmark rather than Netflix, the series is even more family-friendly than Virgin River. It also does not go for quite as much darker drama, like the crime storylines in Virgin River. Fans of the cozy romances, however, will certainly love the Hallmark drama.

Schitt's Creek

(2015-2020)

Schitt's Creek lacks the dramatic element that Virgin River and many of the other shows of a similar category have, but it is still a great option for lovers of the hit Netflix series. The six-season sitcom satirizes a wealthy family that comes to a small town after losing everything. It was so well-received that it made history at the Emmys after its final season.

Schitt's Creek won nine of the 19 Emmys for which it was nominated.

Characters in both shows find themselves living life in a small, almost foreign town. The main characters in Schitt's Creek, much like Mel, had every intention of returning to big city life following their small-town hiatus. But both the Rose family and Mel find that their feelings change, and they become attached to the small-town life, the people, and all that it has to offer, making their home there.

Northern Rescue

(2019)

Northern Rescue stars actor Billy Baldwin as a family man who packs his family up and relocates them from busy Boston to his hometown of Turtle Island Bay. The family, which has been impacted by the mother's traumatic death, finds much more in the small town than peace and serenity as they adjust to their new surroundings and new friends. Each member of the family deals with their grief in different ways, which is also a common theme in Virgin River.

In Virgin River, the main character, Mel Monroe, also moves to the country in hopes of escaping the earth-shattering losses of her baby and husband before moving to the eponymous town. Both series have incredible emotional weight, pulling on fans' heartstrings every step of the way.

Unfortunately for Northern Exposure, the series never moved beyond the first season. It was impacted by filming shutdowns as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many shows were put on an indefinite hiatus as production studios and television networks tried to figure out how to change filming practices to keep crews safe. Some came back, but others were left in indefinite limbo, like Northern Exposure.

Everwood

(2002-2006)

Everwood ran on the channel that would later become the CW network for four seasons in the earlier part of the 2000s. The show revolves around a prominent New York surgeon who loses his wife. Finding a major life change necessary, Dr. Andy Brown packs his teenage son and younger daughter up and moves them to the small town of Everwood in the hopes of being a better and more present parent.

There, the doctor lends his expertise to the small-town residents, helping to solve the medical problems of the small town while his kids become embroiled in their own conflicts, and he learns to love again. The family gradually becomes closer than ever. The show is charming, dramatic, and at times, a real tear-jerker, putting it right in line with Virgin River.

Heartland

(2007-Present)

If these types of small-town, family-friendly dramas are your thing, then you will love Heartland. There are currently 18 seasons of this Canadian drama to enjoy while fans wait for more Virgin River to air, most of which are currently available on Peacock and Netflix. In Heartland, the main character, Amy, finds meaning in life by healing horses following the loss of her mother.

There are less medical storylines in this series as many of the characters belong to families who have grown with their ranches instead. Horses are the major throughline that tends to connect the different characters. Much like Virgin River, Heartland features a large ensemble of characters that gradually expand as the story continues. This is yet another great show that focuses on loss and the healing that a small town and a loving family can bring.

Dawson's Creek

(1998-2003)

Dawson's Creek is an older series but is still entertaining and relevant after its many years off-air. In this drama, the main characters go through all different types of life-altering events as they come of age in their small town. Back in its heyday, Dawson's Creek was considered to be a groundbreaking series, as it took on some heavily controversial and weighty topics, like mental illness, addiction, love, loss, and more, never backing down from tough conversations like many other streamlined television series.

While it's focused on a younger group of characters than Virgin River, the characters still go through a lot of the same issues. Dealing with loss and learning to love are major themes of the series, much like in Virgin River. The story moves from the small town of Capeside to Boston, Massachusetts, and back again, keeping the same small-town charm that Virgin River has.

Gilmore Girls

(2000-2007)

Gilmore Girls is a classic that is still watched over and over to this day, and it is easy to see why people everywhere enjoy the series. It centers around a mother and her daughter who navigate life in a small town full of interesting residents. With its female lead characters and a cast full of sleepy town busybodies, Gilmore Girls has many of the same themes and quirks that Virgin River encomes.

While Virgin River begins with a firm focus on Mel and her own struggles, Gilmore Girls makes both Rory and Lorelai dual protagonists of the show. Just as Virgin River allows Mel to deal with past traumas, Gilmore Girls sees Lorelai reconciling with her own past and Rory growing up. Both shows are heavy on romantic relationship dynamics, though Gilmore Girls is still arguably the lighter of the two.

When Calls The Heart

(2014-Present)

This Hallmark Channel series currently has 12 seasons up and running - plenty to keep viewers busy between Virgin River installments. In When Calls the Heart, schoolteacher Elizabeth Thatcher leaves her high society life in New York behind to start anew in a small, Canadian coal town. There, she meets a bevy of strong women, all working and living in rural Canada following their husbands' deaths. This series will pull VR fans in, for sure, with its similar premise, though coupled with the trappings of a period drama.

When Calls The Heart begins its story in 1910 instead of the modern day, but that's certainly part of its charm. It takes place during a time when technology is advancing and the small town is on the verge of big change. The show gradually builds its cast over its long run with a lot of actors fans will recognize from other Hallmark dramas.