Our next visit to Virgin River makes it Netflix‘s longest-running original series of all time. But now there’s doubt the smash hit will make it past Season 7… and it’s all one person’s fault.

Virgin River Season 7 hasn’t even started filming yet, but it’s already got a lot of work to do. The Season 6 ending threw out a bunch of new cliffhangers we didn’t see coming, from Doc potentially losing the clinic to Mike asking Brie to marry him.

In a nutshell, there’s still plenty more mileage when it comes to story. This should be a given regardless, seeing as there’s 22 novels (and counting) making up the original Virgin River book series.

But could the small-town drama’s future be over before it began? Some fans are concerned Season 7 is the final farewell, and that’s all down to one person.

Fans think Martin Henderson is likely to leave Virgin River

Season 6 saw Martin Henderson, who plays Jack in the binge-worthy TV show, take on the role of director for Episode 8. Now, fans think Henderson could get cold feet and leave the show altogether, causing it to collapse.

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“Do you believe there will be more seasons to come or is Season 7 gonna be the last one to be filmed? Does anyone have a feeling that Martin Henderson is looking for other acting opportunities as his character gets flat and he gets bored?” one fan posted on Reddit.

A second agreed, “Jack is starting to look very old. They’re not being realistic with the timeline. Since season 1 months passed, but the actor looks nearly a decade older. It’s very odd. They should wrap it up so they can all explore other opportunities before it’s too late.”

“Not sure if they plan on going past 7 but if they didn’t add a bunch of side drama they could’ve totally ended the show with Mel and Jack galloping away on the horse after marrying, I feel like that could’ve been a real nice ending,” a third weighed in. “I had to double-check what episode I was on cause I honestly thought that was the end.”

Of course, Virgin River’s charm – and success – comes down to focusing on the small things. For a long time, this has focused on Mel and Jack’s wedding and their journey to parenthood. If the Season 6 ending is correct and they adopt a surrogate child, is there more of the story left to tell?

There could still be some hope left yet, though. As one fan points out, “I think Season 8 is a 100% certainty because VR is a fairly cheap show to make and Netflix knows that it will get an audience year after year. It’s also 1 of the few shows on a streaming service Netflix or otherwise that produces a new season every calendar year.”

Henderson has made no comment on leaving Virgin River at any point in the future.

Virgin River Season 6 is on Netflix now. Check out our series recap and ending explained, what Ricky’s return means for Lizzie’s pregnancy, and what Everett had to tell Mel.