How did the Virgin River spinoff show get highlighted in Season 6? Details explored

Virgin River showrunner Patrick Sean Smith casually included a backdoor pilot (in Season 6) to a potential spin-off series set in the same universe.

The show is based on Robyn Carr’s novels, which featured a different couple and their story set in the titular town. While the Netflix show has many other couples at the center of their universe, it is Mel and Jack, who have been the main couple throughout the show’s six seasons.

But the showrunners are finally ready to explore another love story from the universe, of Mel’s parents, Everett and Sarah, who were introduced early in Season 6 Episode 2.

After Everett drops by Mel’s house, he retells his love story with her mother, and fans are given a flashback of 1972, when a young Everett (Callum Kerr) and young Sarah (Jessica Rothe) meet for the first time. Earlier, Netflix confirmed a prequel series for this parent show, and this might be it.

More on Virgin River’s potential spin-off show in our story.

How did Virgin River Season 6 tease a potential spin-off?

Virgin River Season 5 ended on a cliffhanger where Mel’s newly discovered biological father, Everett, drops at her door to apologize for shooing her away the other day and reveals that he is, in fact, her biological father. The show’s last two seasons have largely been about Mel coming to terms with her parentage after her sister, Joey, discovers a string of letters written between their mother, Sarah, and a man from their town.

The showrunner’s decision to dedicate a whole episode (Episode 2) of Season 6 to Mel’s parents, Sarah and Everett, meant the story was not just a filler. It was a sneaky way to set the stage for their own prequel series, which is reportedly in the works with Netflix.

Set in the 1970s, the show will explore the love story between Everett and Sarah. As Episode 2 shows, Everett is a singer-songwriter who is barely making it in life, traveling in his VW van until he meets Sarah one day, who is hitchhiking to a peace march in San Francisco. The couple rests in the titular town, which will eventually be their home.

While Episode 2 gave a glimpse of what their story was like and how it started, it definitely holds potential, and they could be the next favorite Virgin River couple after Mel and Jack.

What has Virgin River’s showrunner said about a potential spin-off series?

During a recent interview with Deadline about Virgin River Season 6, Smith opened up about a potential spin-off series, which Netflix confirmed.

“It’s still in development, so I’m working on that now.”

While discussing, he compared this spin-off to Netflix’s Bridgerton, which also had a similar prequel series, Queen Charlotte, which also gained wide popularity. Like Smith’s show, Bridgerton is also based on Julia Quinn’s novels, which made this spin-off adaptation easy.

“I personally see it a little bit like Queen Charlotte to Bridgerton.

He added,

“I think if there’s an opportunity to take what Virgin River as a book series was, which was each book focusing on one couple and expanding the world outside of it… So it’s still keeping things romance-forward, character-based, solid story engines, the beauty of the area, but then putting that in a time period that can inform some of the issues of the time, and that can still speak and feel relevant to issues of today.

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