The first season closely follows Melinda “Mel” Monroe (played by Alexandra Breckinridge),

a hot-shot, L.A. nurse practitioner and midwife who accepts a job with

Virgin River’s tough-loving general practitioner “Doc” Mullins (Tim Matheson,

Hart of Dixie’s beloved Dr. Brick Breeland) following the sudden death of her husband. As Mel adjusts to a place where the only local eating establishment is decorated with the heads and horns of last year’s dinner specials, tensions immediately rise between her and the sweet and sensitive bar-owner, Jack (Martin Henderson, as seen on Grey’s Anatomy). Half-expecting to leave town as soon as a replacement can be found, we walk alongside Mel as she finds a new, unlikely place she can call home instead.

Besides the small-town ambiance displayed so well that it’s almost tangible, folks fell in love with this series for the way it realistically tackles the uncomfortable topics — things like grief, PTSD, domestic violence, romantic entanglements, and (rumored to come in the second season) even murder. It seems that when it comes to this series, no topic is too heavy or taboo to be off-limits.

Based off of the New York Times bestselling author Robyn Carr’s 20+ book series (which are just as good as — if not better than — the Netflix series), Virgin River’s second season will bring back all the familiar faces we grew to know and love throughout the first season, while introducing us to new characters like Mel’s sister-in-law Staci (Melinda Dahl) and Jack’s “brother” from his time in the Marines, Mike Valenzuela (Marco Grazzini).