Stacey Farber

Stacey Farber Instagram – 2.1 billion minutes of viewing in its first week. 🙃

We filmed these episodes last year at a difficult time in the pandemic when Covid cases were rising fast globally, and I saw, more clearly than ever, how groundless and uncertain my life was.

I thought a lot about the pain that we can be too shocked to move through when we’re forced to accept a loved one’s diagnosis or death; the sorrow that so many more of us had to endure in 2020 in particular– out of nowhere, at random, unjustified.

On set, a few cast and crew members talked candidly about grief between camera setups. We shared stories of our hardest losses. Two directors of different episodes cried while they described what it was like when their parent had died, years ago, next to them. Looking back from the pandemic’s middle, they recognized how lucky they both were—how grateful—to have been there in person for those final moments, holding a hand. Those conversations informed some of the scenes we shot.

I think this third season gives you, devoted Virgin River fans, what the show has offered you in the past: a much-needed escape to somewhere beautiful and an invitation to feel things. It’s entertainment, but I hope it also comforts you after a “challenging” 18 months.

And while we’re on the subject, here are two of my favorite poems about grief. 💙

“The Thing Is” by Ellen Bass
“Grief” by Raymond Carver | Posted on 14/Aug/2021 02:52:05