Will Ricky Return In Virgin River S6? The Actor Weighs In
Hope is not lost.
Summary
- Ricky Sudder has become a favorite of many Virgin River fans and they were sad to see him leave the hometown.
- However, everyone is hoping that Ricky will return in Season 6 to shake things up for Lizzie.
- In a recent Q&A session, Ricky's actor Grayson Maxwell Gurnsey addressed fans' questions about his return.
- He echoed the sentiments of Virgin River showrunner Patrick Sean Smith.
Ricky Sudder, Lydie's grandson, Jack's bartender and Lizzie's first love interest, has grown on Virgin River fans over his four-season tenure, and many were devastated to see the sweet young man say goodbye to friends and family and hop on a bus to go to Marine training at the end of Season 4.
The character hasn't returned to Virgin River since, and Season 5 was the first to be completely devoid of Ricky's presence, which didn't sit well with many fans bored with Lizzie's romance with Danny.
So has Ricky left his hometown for good? Will we ever see him again?
Grayson Maxwell Gurnsey weighs in
The actor who plays Ricky surprised the Virgin River fandom a few days ago when he took to the show's subreddit to answer some fans' questions in a Q&A session.
The most popular question, of course, was whether Gurnsey would reprise his role in Season 6 of the romantic series, which is set to begin production early next year. Unfortunately, the actor said that no one from the crew has contacted him about returning.
'Honestly your guess is as good as mine,' he wrote in the thread. 'I wish I knew. It's the one question I want to help you guys with the most but I [honestly] don't know. I love the cast and crew and hope to work with them sometime soon, but [who] truly knows.'
Considering that table reads are expected to begin in a few weeks, it is unlikely that Gurnsey will be given a major role in Season 6, if at all. Otherwise, the creators would probably have contacted him already and asked him to reserve time for filming.
'My best guess is that if I do come back it won't be as a [regular] on the show but maybe for a few [episodes],' the actor wrote.
Not all hope is lost
While this doesn't sound good for Ricky's fans, the hope of seeing him in Season 6 is not completely lost. Speaking to TVLine earlier this year, Virgin River showrunner Patrick Sean Smith left the door open for Ricky's return in future episodes.
'The timeline was set that Ricky would be in basic training until December,' Smith said. 'He's a fan favorite. Everybody loves him. We'll probably see Ricky at some point down the road.'
With Season 6 set to feature a slight time jump from the holiday specials, it seems logical to expect Ricky to at least visit Virgin River after his training. And his appearance would certainly add some much-needed spice to Lizzie and Denny's fluffy storyline.