After Virgin River season 5 ended with the shocking news that Mel (Alexandra Breckenridge)

had another biological father, Everett (John Allen Nelson), who had been nearby

the entire time, we’ll learn more about the unexpected love story between Mel’s mother,

Sarah, and Everett in season 6. As Deadline first reported, Jessica Rothe (Happy Death Day) and Callum Kerr (Monarch) will play Sarah and Everett in flashbacks set largely in 1972. The new season will shed more light on Sarah, who has been largely overlooked in the story so far, and her desire to pursue a life of activism and distance herself from the more conventional options available to a woman of the time. When the free spirit meets Everett, a handsome musician, they hit it off immediately, and she wonders if she’s finally found her soul mate.

The two met by chance when Everett gave Sarah a ride in the VW van he now calls home. The first images of Rothe and Kerr in character show the pair in Everett’s van, as well as in a crowded garage or workspace of some sort.

Earlier this year, Netflix shared plans to develop a prequel series about Mel’s parents, and the intention to introduce younger versions of these characters via flashbacks in season 6. Current Virgin River showrunner Patrick Sean Smith is writing the prequel, but no further details about the potential spinoff have been announced.

Virgin River showrunner answers all our burning questions about the season 5 holiday episode After the season 5 Christmas special aired last December, Smith revealed that an older Everett would be returning in season 6. “He’s definitely going to be a big part of Mel’s storyline,” he previously said. with Entertainment Weekly.

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Indeed, they deliberately introduced Everett, rather than exposing the mystery of his identity, with the goal of exploring this dynamic. “We’re looking forward to how we’re going to tell stories in season 6,” Smith said. “We’re more interested in exploring their relationship than in this whole season of treasure hunting to figure out who he is.”

Season 6 doesn’t have a premiere date yet, but Netflix has shared a synopsis for the season that reads: “Set against the backdrop of Mel and Jack’s romantic spring wedding, this sixth season promises fresh twists, escalating love triangles, exciting wedding drama, and secrets from Mel’s father’s past that will take us into the magic and mystery of Virgin River in the 1970s.”