Ben Hollingsworth really wants Jana Kramer on Virgin River. Like, he’s actively pitching it. And honestly? The man’s got a point.

When Chemistry Actually Matters

Hollingsworth – who plays Brady on the Netflix drama that’s basically become comfort TV for half of America – worked with Kramer on a Hallmark Christmas movie called The Christmas Ring. And apparently they hit it off so well that he’s now out here doing basically what amounts to casting director work.

“I had such a great time working with Jana. She’s so professional but such a friendly and nice person,” Hollingsworth said while talking about his upcoming appearance at Meet Cute Con. But here’s where it gets interesting – he didn’t just leave it at the usual Hollywood nice-nice. He went further. “Our families got along really well. I brought my family out to Nashville when we were shooting The Christmas Ring, and she had us over to her house a couple times.”

That’s… not normal set talk, right? That’s actual friendship. Which, in an industry where people throw around “we should totally work together again!” like confetti and then never speak to each other, feels kind of refreshing.

The Virgin River Connection

Now here’s where Hollingsworth gets strategic. “We just had a really great chemistry right off the bat. So I would love to do something with Jana. You know what? She’s been very vocal about wanting to be on Virgin River. So maybe that’s the play is [to] try and get her on Virgin River.”

Wait – Kramer’s been publicly lobbying for a spot on the show? That’s actually pretty smart. Virgin River’s been a ratings juggernaut, and it’s exactly the kind of ensemble drama where you can slide in a new character without breaking the whole thing.

Why This Could Actually Work

Look, I’m gonna be honest. When actors pitch their friends for roles, it usually feels like nepotism dressed up as “creative chemistry.” But this one… I don’t know, it kind of makes sense?

Kramer’s no stranger to TV drama – she spent years on One Tree Hill, she’s done plenty of Hallmark movies (which is basically Virgin River’s spiritual cousin), and she’s got that girl-next-door-but-don’t-cross-her vibe that fits perfectly in a small-town ensemble. And Virgin River loves adding new characters who stir things up. The show’s literally built on romantic complications and people showing up with mysterious pasts. It's a reminder that ensemble dramas live and die by their casting, as seen in why Nicola Coughlan is barely in Bridgerton Season 5.

The love triangle angle that got floated? Yeah, that tracks. Brady’s been in this will-they-won’t-they dance with Brie for what feels like forever, and the show’s never been shy about throwing obstacles at its couples. Bringing in someone who could create actual tension – not just manufactured drama – could be exactly what that storyline needs.

The Bigger Picture Here

What’s actually interesting about this whole thing is how openly Hollingsworth’s advocating for it. That either means he’s got zero pull with the producers (possible), or he’s confident enough in the idea that he doesn’t care if it seems pushy (more likely). The guy’s been on the show since 2019 – he’s not exactly a newbie trying to make waves. Not every actor's push for more screen time pans out the way they'd like, as the Task star's decision to quit Season 2 shows.

“She’s been very vocal about wanting to be on Virgin River. So maybe that’s the play is try and get her on Virgin River.”

And you know what? In an industry where so much happens behind closed doors through agents and managers and layers of Hollywood nonsense, there’s something almost charming about an actor just… saying it out loud. Like, “Hey, this person’s great, we work well together, people have told me they want this, let’s make it happen.”

Will It Actually Happen?

Here’s the thing – Virgin River’s in a weird spot right now. The show’s a massive hit, but it’s also gotten kind of bloated with storylines. Every season adds more characters, more complications, more threads that need resolving. So bringing in another new face is either brilliant timing (shake things up when things are getting stale) or terrible timing (we can barely keep track of who’s feuding with who already). It's a similar dynamic playing out with Landman's Season 3 shakeup, where Taylor Sheridan's ensemble is seeing its own share of cast turnover.

But if we’re being real, the Hallmark-to-Netflix pipeline is absolutely a thing. Virgin River’s basically Hallmark with slightly more budget and slightly fewer Christmas trees. Kramer would fit right in. She’s got the range for the drama parts, she can handle the romance stuff in her sleep at this point, and apparently she’s got chemistry with at least one cast member already locked down.

The producers would be smart to at least consider it. Hollingsworth’s doing their market research for them, basically. And if nothing else, the fact that he brought his whole family to Nashville and they all hung out at Kramer’s house suggests this isn’t just performative Hollywood friendship. That’s real “we actually like each other and would enjoy working together again” energy.

Whether it happens or not probably depends on what the writers have planned for Brady’s arc next season. But if I’m a betting person? I’d say the odds just got a lot better than they were before Hollingsworth started publicly making his case.