The Virgin River universe is growing with an upcoming prequel — but how will the show reintroduce fans to Mel’s parents?
The beloved family drama, which premiered in 2019, follows the lives of residents living in a small town in Northern California, including Mel (Alexandra Breckenridge) and her love interest Jack (Martin Henderson). The series also stars Colin Lawrence, Annette O’Toole, Tim Matheson, Benjamin Hollingsworth, Sarah Dugdale, Zibby Allen, Marco Grazzini, Mark Ghanimé and Kai Bradbury.
Mel’s complicated personal life has always been at the forefront of the series, but a Christmas special in season 5 kicked things up a notch when she found out the identity of her biological father, Everett (John Allen Nelson). Season 6 explored the duo’s budding relationship, as well as provided flashbacks revealing how Everett and Mel’s mom, Sarah, first met. The insight into their love story paved the way for an enhanced story in prequel form.
“What we’re exploring more in season 6 [of Virgin River] is who Everett Reid is, what his backstory is, what his connection to Virgin River was when he met her mom and then also what it is today,” showrunner Patrick Sean Smith told Deadline in December 2023, noting that the season would explore the “relationship of Everett with the town as well as Everett and Mel.”
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Keep scrolling for everything to know about Netflix’s Virgin River prequel:
When Will the ‘Virgin River’ Prequel Premiere on Netflix?
The spinoff is currently being developed by Smith, who has been a showrunner on Virgin River since season 5. Smith teased the show’s progress in December 2024, telling TVLine, “I’m writing it as soon as I get off [the phone] with you, so we’ll see. Fingers crossed!”
What Time Period Would the Prequel Explore?
Based on the flashback seasons from season 6 of Virgin River, the prequel would go back to the 1960s. Smith elaborated to Deadline in December 2024 about his plan to “still speak [to] and feel relevant to issues of today” despite being a period piece.
“That is what Virgin River itself has done beautifully in its balance of not being so boxy but also having something to say that still matters,” he said about the “romance-forward” and “character-based” expansion of the Virgin River universe.
Who Makes Up the Cast?
Virgin River season 6 introduced Callum Kerr as the young version of Everett while Jessica Rothe played young Sarah. Fans of the fictional small town can probably expect to see more of characters such as Bert (Trevor Lerner), Connie (Nicola Cavendish), Doc (Tim Matheson) and Hope (Annette O’Toole) — if not more.
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Will Robyn Carr’s Books Play a Role?
Since the original show is based on Carr’s book series, the prequel will follow in those footsteps.
“Each book was focusing on one couple and expanding the world outside of it, to put Sarah and Everett in the foreground of their own story, while populating, as Virgin River has, the world with supporting characters and other relationships — but all still running it through the romance lens — to me, is what defines a lot of what an expansion of the show and the franchise would be,” Smith told Deadline.
The screenwriter elaborated while speaking with Us Weekly, “And it felt like looking at Mel’s biological parents as having the depth of this epic romance that would be book worthy. [Something] that could span time, that could be star crossed and could have a pregnancy and a child and a father that wants to be a part of that. And everything just felt like a unique way to explore a couple in this through the lens of this show in a way that we haven’t seen before.”
What Do We Know About Everett and Sarah’s Love Story?
Virgin River explained to Us that Mel’s mother died when she was 11 years old, but it wasn’t until season 5 that she found out the identity of her biological father. Mel learned of Everett through love letters he once sent her mother, although he initially pretended not to know who Mel was when she first confronted him. He ultimately returned with a music box that featured Sarah’s voice.
“[The prequel would] expand Sarah and Everett’s story more while also expanding and learning more about the history of Virgin River,” Smith shared with Us in December 2024. “One reference that was made in the pilot that had never really been explored before was Hope says that the McCrae Cabin is a place that people within 50 miles know all about, which implies there she has a sort of family legacy to this area that we haven’t really gotten to scratch the surface of.”
Smith said that the Sarah and Everett flashbacks are a jumping off point.
“When we committed to the idea of introducing Everett, it felt like a great opportunity as somebody who we know has resided in the area but has kind of removed and isolated himself from the community to have this history and have this relationship to this town and to this area,” he explained about having an “opportunity that we could introduce a new couple, which the show has done fairly consistently over the course of the seasons, and not inherit another couple that we have to keep servicing in the present.”
