After season 5 of Virgin River ended with the bombshell that Mel (Alexandra Breckenridge)

has a different biological father, Everett (John Allen Nelson), who has been nearby

all this time, we’re going to learn more about the unexpected love story between Mel’s mom,

Sarah, and Everett in season 6.

As first reported by Deadline, Jessica Rothe (Happy Death Day) and Callum Kerr (Monarch) will portray Sarah and Everett in flashbacks predominantly taking place in 1972.

The new season will shed more light on Sarah, who has been largely omitted from the storytelling thus far, and her desire to chase a life as an activist and separate from the more conventional options available to a woman of her time. When the free spirit meets Everett, a handsome musician, there’s an instant spark and she wonders if she might finally have found her soulmate.

The two meet by chance, as Everett gives a hitchhiking Sarah a lift in the VW van he currently calls home. The first images of Rothe and Kerr in character showcase the duo in Everett’s van, as well as in what appears to be a crowded garage or workspace of some kind.

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

After the season 5 Christmas special aired last December, Smith teased that the older Everett would return in season 6. “He will definitely play a good sized part in Mel’s storyline,” he previously told Entertainment Weekly.

Indeed, they purposefully introduced Everett, instead of drawing out the mystery of his identity, with an eye toward exploring this dynamic. “We were looking ahead to how we would tell the stories in season 6,” Smith said. “We were more interested in exploring their relationship than it being a season-long scavenger hunt to figure out who he was.”