Colin Lawrence’s Virgin River character John “Preacher” Middleton has evolved significantly throughout the series. And in Season 7 (now on Netflix), there’s a strong focus on him possibly taking a big step in his career, and how that could impact his relationship with Kaia Bryan (Kandyse McClure).
“This season was a great opportunity for the character to really explore what he wanted to do with his life and his future,” Lawrence told Yahoo. “In past seasons, Preacher has always been about sacrificing his needs for the needs of others, … it’s been a strength, but also one of his flaws, putting everyone else ahead of himself.”
“So I think for this season, for him to actually want to chase his dreams, chase these goals, and in doing so, what is he willing to give up and sacrifice to possibly accomplish this, … it’ll be exciting to see how it all plays out in the future.”
Preacher and Kaia: Finding ‘common ground’
Early in the season, Preacher’s pork chops are written about in Food & Wine magazine, making Jack’s Bar a destination, with visitors travelling long distances just to eat Preacher’s food. That means he’s spending a lot more time in the kitchen, particularly when the food critic who wrote about the pork, Jamie (Carmel Amit), shows up and wants to help Preacher become the next José Andrés.
But with that comes some initial insecurity from Kaia, who feels disconnected from Preacher because she wasn’t aware of these career aspirations.
“I always value those [scenes], with such great admiration for her work,” Lawrence said about working with Kandyse McClure.
“In regards to the storyline, … Preacher always goes in head-over-heels with any relationship that he gets involved in, and this one really is no different. What the journey will be now is how these two deeply connect, and what sort of future is in store for them. … It’s trying to find that common ground that can keep them intertwined and stable with each other.”
And with everything that Preacher does in his life, his past in the military is the foundation of how he operates, walks through the world, and makes decisions.
“The experiences that Preacher’s had in his path and how that shaped him as a human in his current world definitely play on his choices in his life,” Lawrence said.
(Courtesy of Netflix)
Importance of playing ‘a Black positive role model’
While Lawrence has been engaging fans for years on Virgin River, the show came on the back of the actor’s success in popular projects like Battlestar Galactica, iZombie and Riverdale, just to name a few.
And when it comes to Preacher, the way the character is crafted and develops has made the actor love portraying him.
“To take on something that has compassion, something that shows a Black man in a positive light, is something that I really, really gravitate towards,” Lawrence said. “I’ve been doing this for decades now, … so to be able to play this character who I see as a positive role model, a Black positive role model, I think is really important, and I think it resonates with a lot of individuals.”
But the reality is that not many shows last for seven seasons, with Virgin River Season 8 on the way as well, and Lawrence recognizes what a “gift” the show’s longevity has been.
“With any project, as an actor, you hope it gets a really good run,” Lawrence said. “When I first started this project, … we were just hoping that we would get a second season, and here we are.”
“It’s really been a gift of a show to work on. I think it resonates so much globally, and I say that proudly. Globally. It’s just because of the content of the show. … What I say is that it’s easy to watch. It’s not complicated. It’s something that you can watch with your family. You can watch with your grandmother in the background. … I describe it as a warm bath kind of show, you can just sit into [it very nicely], and it’s very comfortable.”
(Courtesy of Netflix)
Could Phylicia Rashad play Preacher’s mom?
Even after Season 7, there’s still so much to possibly discover with the characters in Virgin River, and for Preacher, Lawrence would love to dive into his backstory even more.
“I would love to see more of a backstory, in regards to the fabric that makes Preacher who he is. … What instills this quality of self-sacrifice, this honour,” he said.
“I don’t want to call it a hero complex that he has, but he really likes to save individuals. … I think we’ve touched on that a little bit throughout the season, … But I would like to touch on what makes Preacher who he is, flashbacks or whatnot, really interesting storyline to delve into, and hopefully that’s something we can play with more in the future.”
In terms of a character that Lawrence would love to have more scenes with in future episodes, he said giving Preachers more time with Benjamin Hollingsworth’s character, Brady, would be a particular highlight.
“We’ve had kind of a troubling past based on our experiences of our military days, we’ve kind of come to see and understand each other … and respect each other a bit more throughout the season,” Lawrence said.
While Lawrence stressed that the writers of Virgin River have always been “bang on” for each season’s storyline, he would also love to see Preacher’s mom enter the show.
“I think the only thing I’ve ever really tried to pitch is, I would love to have some family moments,” Lawrence said. “I’ve always wondered what it would be like to have Preacher’s mom show up one day and put on the apron, and start critiquing my cooking skills.”
And who could play Preacher’s mom? Lawrence thinks Phylicia Rashad, who famously played Clair Huxtable on The Cosby Show, would be a treat.
While we’re crossing our fingers for Rashad to show up on Virgin River, there’s certainly a lot to explore for Preacher in the upcoming Virgin River Season 8.