The waters of Virgin River are continuing to flow on Netflix… only this time, they’re going backwards.
The streaming giant is currently developing a prequel series that will take fans back to the idyllic California town’s past, specifically chronicling Mel’s parents’ complicated love story. Fans were given a taste of what the spinoff would feel like during Virgin River‘s sixth season, which introduced younger versions of Evrett and Sarah in a series of romantic flashbacks.
The spinoff is being developed by Patrick Sean Smith (Greek, Chasing Life), who took over as showrunner of Virgin River back in Season 5.
Read on for a breakdown of everything we know about Netflix’s Virgin River spinoff, then drop a comment with your own thoughts. Will you be tuning in to see Everett and Sarah’s story play out?
What’s the Status of Netflix’s Virgin River Spinoff?
Officially speaking, the prequel remains very much in the development stage; Netflix has not ordered it to series. When TVLine asked Smith about its progress in December 2024, he simply replied, “I’m writing it as soon as I get off [the phone] with you, so we’ll see. Fingers crossed!”
When Is the Virgin River Spinoff Set?
As seen in Virgin River‘s Season 6 flashbacks, Everett and Sarah’s story began in the 1960s, which is when the spinoff would be set — at least initially. Smith tells Deadline that he intends to keep things “romance-forward” and “character-based,” while also deep-diving into the specific issues of the time.
Despite being set in the ’60s, however, Smith says the prequel will “still speak [to] and feel relevant to issues of today, which I think is what Virgin River itself has done beautifully in its balance of not being so boxy but also having something to say that still matters.”
Callum Kerr as Young Everett
Long before entering his curmudgeonly shut-in era, Mel’s biological father was a heartbreaking, guitar-strumming, Volkswagen Bus-driving stud, played in flashbacks by Scottish actor Callum Kerr.
Though nothing is official, Kerr would presumably return to play Everett if the prequel is ordered to series.
Jessica Rothe as Young Sarah
Season 6 also introduced us to a young Sarah, played by Jessica Rothe. If there’s a cause to be protested, she’s probably already marching — and she brought enough extra signs for everyone. Rothe is best known for starring in the Happy Death Day films.
As with Kerr, Rothe is expected to return as Sarah if Netflix orders the Virgin River spinoff to series, though nothing is official yet.
Who Else Would Star in the Virgin River Spinoff?
According to Smith, the spinoff would follow the blueprint provided by both the Virgin River show as well as Robyn Carr’s original book series.
“Each book was focusing on one couple and expanding the world outside of it, to put Sarah and Everett in the foreground of their own story, while populating, as Virgin River has, the world with supporting characters and other relationships — but all still running it through the romance lens — to me, is what defines a lot of what an expansion of the show and the franchise would be,” he tells TVLine’s sister site Deadline.
The prequel would also be populated by younger versions of several Virgin River residents we already know, including Bert and Connie (played in a Season 6 flashback by RaeAnne Boon, pictured above). And given Doc and Hope’s long, complicated history in town, we can only imagine what kind of shenanigans they got up to back in the day.
