Showrunner Patrick Sean Smith teases what to expect from the new season.
Alert the phone tree, because Virgin River Season 6 is headed to Netflix on Dec. 19 — and now you can watch a teaser for the new episodes.
This season is all about the lead-up to Mel (Alexandra Breckenridge) and Jack’s (Martin Henderson) wedding. “We’re trying to hit all the milestones of the pre-wedding planning, the bachelor and bachelorette parties, the rehearsal dinner,” showrunner Patrick Sean Smith says. There’s dress shopping, suit try-ons, and more than one last-minute wrench thrown into the mix for our favorite couple.
“I’m so proud of how it turned out,” he continued. “It feels very Virgin River in its production — the ambition of it, and that we’re a small group of people that care about something so much: the fans. So we just busted our humps to get it done.”
Want to know what else to expect this season? Watch the teaser, scroll through the gallery below for the first-look photos from Season 6, then read on for Smith’s hints about what’s next for Mel, Jack, and the rest of the small-town crew.
What happens in Virgin River Season 6?
If there’s one thing Smith can promise, it’s that “babies and wedding bells are never off the table on Virgin River.”
“Mel and Jack will advance on their path to parenthood while also turning Lilly’s (Lynda Boyd) farm into their ultimate dream home,” he says. As fans who watched the Season 5 finale know, Mel and Jack decided to buy the property.
Season 6 will take place a few months after Season 5’s Christmas-themed episodes. When we check back in on our favorite town, it’ll be “deeper into springtime,” Smith says. Since spring is known as a period of growth and change, there will be plenty of surprises ahead for our favorite characters.
As writer and producer Richard Keith told Tudum in 2022 about the series, “Yes, the characters do go through some pretty terrible things, but there’s always a happy ending. It may not be the happy ending they were expecting, but they find their way to a happy place that, in some ways, might be happier than if they’d ended up where they thought they would to begin with.”
Who’s in the Virgin River Season 6 cast?
Jessica Rothe (Happy Death Day) and Callum Kerr (ONE PIECE) will join the series as young Sarah and Everett, aka Mel’s parents, as they meet and fall in love in the 1970s. Seen in flashbacks mostly set in or around ’72, Sarah is a witty free spirit from the big city with an intense passion for activism who’s trying to avoid the conventional and traditional life of a young woman. Always up for an adventure, she can’t help chasing an instant spark with a handsome musician who might just be her star-crossed soulmate.
That maybe-soulmate is Everett. Present-day Everett is played by John Allen Nelson, but Kerr will play the younger version of the character. Everett is a handsome and freewheeling singer-songwriter with a poet’s soul. One day he’ll pursue his dreams of the stage, but for now, he’s skimming through life in a VW van, until a chance meeting with a beautiful hitchhiker may just show him there’s more to life than he ever thought possible.
“Getting to look at a different romantic relationship but still in the world of Virgin River is exciting,” Smith told Tudum. “I think with Mel and Jack, they’ve gone through so much, and to get to see another couple in the same universe dealing with the ups and downs of a love story just feels like a fresh opportunity.”
Breckenridge and Henderson will continue to lead the cozy drama. Tim Matheson, Annette O’Toole, Colin Lawrence, Benjamin Hollingsworth, Zibby Allen, Sarah Dugdale, Marco Grazzini, Mark Ghanimé, Kai Bradbury, and Kandyse McClure also star.
Smith says you can expect some “new directions” for your favorite characters like Preacher (Lawrence), Brady (Hollingsworth), and Kaia (McClure). “Brady will be volunteering at the Virgin River fire station under Fire Chief Kaia, who is pulled into Preacher’s past sins,” Smith added. “Also this season we’ll be surprised by some returning favorites from the past.”
There will also be at least one new face around town. “The big new mystery character this season is Mel’s biological father Everett Reid, who is carrying a long-held secret,” he says.
Where does Virgin River film?
As star Breckenridge says in the video below, Virgin River is certainly a real place … “in our heart of hearts.” But the series actually films in beautiful Vancouver, Canada.
Showrunner Smith is excited to have reunited the cast and crew in the West Coast city. “The last time we all saw each other was the end of 2022, so it’s incredible to just all be back together again,” he said. “Everybody loves the show. They love the fans, they love getting to work together, and I think that comes across on screen.”
It’s a major season for Henderson, who is set to make his directorial debut — and you can check out a photo of him at the helm above.
When does Virgin River return?
You’ll be able to stream Virgin River Season 6 beginning Dec. 19, so keep coming back to Tudum before then for all your Virgin River updates.
Additional reporting by Ariana Romero.
