Virgin River’s Benjamin Hollingsworth Reflects On Brady’s Redemption Arc, Teases ‘Unexpected’ Season 5 Twists

Virgin River Season 5 Synopsi

Brady and Julia’s adult son, Luke (James Tupper), joins them in town, which raises many questions and leads to a few surprises. Meanwhile, Jack and Mel investigate the murder of a local woman; Angie raises some eyebrows when she takes on a cause; and Lily receives an unexpected offer just as she’s made plans to leave town.

Virgin River Season 5 Poster

Tupper says one of the things that has made his time on the show so enjoyable is getting to watch Brady’s evolution from an angry to a more thoughtful man. “He had a lot of anger,” he says. “You saw him in Season 2 and 3, looking for something to fight about with Jack (Kevin Rahm). But then after settling down in the Virgin River and getting married, he found his place in life [as an M.D.].

Brady’s ‘Unexpected’ Season 5 Twists

In Season 4, Brady returned to the show after a 12-year hiatus to play an entirely new character–the upstanding Virgin River doctor who fell in love with and married the town’s mayor. As is often the case with TV happy endings, that marriage was rocked by infidelity and divorce before the season ended. In Season 5, which premieres next week on November 15th at 8/7c, Brady not only returns as Dr. Keith Martin but also plays a pivotal role in getting his ex-wife back together with her son’s father–a loose end from 11 years ago when they broke up because of an affair she had while they were separated.

Brady First Appeared On The Show For The First Time In Season 4. 

A year or two went by and I was doing some location work up in Portland, Oregon and I started seeing something on my Twitter feed about #VirginRiver. So I said, “Hey, what’s this?” And they said that they were doing a mini-series of Virgin River back again and they were asking if I would come down and do a role. I thought, “Oh gosh–I never want to revisit something so important to my life.” But then I started thinking about it — it was 12 years later now — and how Brady impacted people in a way that.

‘Virgin River Celebrates 20 Years With Entertaining Season 4 Premiere

While some of Brady’s previous episodes have been transformative moments in his life, he says that this latest role has been even more emotionally gratifying because it was so unexpected. “I’m overjoyed about my episode. It’s been a long time coming, but I still have to pinch myself. Watching people get together is great, but the story of my episode was so unexpected and so fun that I’m thrilled to be involved in it. I got to play Dr. Keith Martin, who was an important character in Brady’s life 10 years ago,” he tells THR. “The storyline itself is a lot of fun and has been quite compelling for me as an actor.

Tupper Has Spent Some Time With Brady’s ‘Rebounding’ Ex-Wife

According to Tupper, Brady’s ex-wife–who returns in the next two episodes of Season 5–has made some changes. “At first, I met her and she was in a very different place and was not herself,” he says. “[But] it is nice to see that she has grown and matured into a fine, educated woman. She has.

Revealing Episode’s ‘Surprising’ Twist

Brady says he found out about the episode’s surprising twist during a meeting with executive producer Rick Eid. “He said, ‘I’ve got something that I want to tell you, but I don’t want you walking out of here thinking that this couldn’t have been a happy ending for everyone,’” recalls Brady. “I asked him what it was, and he told me that Julia was back together with Luke [James Tupper]. And I thought, ‘Oh my gosh–that is going to bring up so many issues for Brady.’ There’s a lot of stuff going on for Brady and Julia. In ways it was fantastic and in other ways it was bittersweet.

Discussing ‘Unexpected’ Brady And Julia Reunion

“It was unlike anything I think anybody was expecting,” says Tupper. “The way it happens, and when it happens, is a little bit of a surprise.” Brady’s ex-wife and former onscreen mother are no longer the women he knew. She’s now “a little bit unsure of herself and vulnerable, which is not something you’d expect. That makes it so much more interesting.”