Virgin River cast and showrunners tease Season 6: Wedding Bells, more

Maiden of the river the most beloved couple is finally about to say “I do” – and their wedding will be the event not to be missed in Season 6.

“Six seasons in the making,” the showrunner Patrick Sean Smith exclusively told Us Weekly ahead of the sixth season, which will be released on Netflix on Thursday, December 19. “When we started writing, we looked at the responsibility and expectations associated with it, so I wanted to make sure that the wedding stone is not overturned, that we will not fail to portray in the season.”

After arriving in the town of Virgin River in Season 1, Mel (Alexandra Breckenridge) and Jack (Martin Henderson) connected immediately. For the next five seasons, the couple aged decaysa fake paternity scandal, a pregnancy loss, and more before getting engaged at the end of season 4. Two seasons later, they’re more in love than ever and more than ready to hit the water.

Smith said us that while writing Season 6, he wanted to make sure the audience felt “enriched by the wedding experience they had looked forward to” for so long, but also wanted the show to keep moving forward after so much anticipation.

“To introduce the concept (of marriage) in Season 4, it felt like (we) might have overextended the engagement (until Season 6), so it’s time to finally pay off,” Smith explained. “The show is celebrating its five-year anniversary, and it also felt like it was time for the characters to enter a new phase in their relationship.”

While Mel and Jack’s wedding will be the main focus of the new season, it’s far from the only thing going on in Virgin River. Keep scrolling to see what the cast has been teased us about their characters’ future storylines:

Mel

Exclusively told by Alexandra Breckenridge us Mel’s relationship with her biological father, Everett (John Allen Nelson), will also be a major part of her journey — and even woven into her wedding day.

“She was where we left off in Season 5 just met her own father” she explained. “So she’s really trying to reach out to (Everett) because it’s a surprise, but it’s really important to her. And he knows so much about her mother that she didn’t know.”

Breckenridge said Mel is excited to reconnect with his “living father” and learn more about his late mother, Sarah, who died when she was 11. (Episode 2 of Season 6 will tell the story of young Sarah and Everett through flashbacks.)

“It’s very deep and meaningful for her throughout the season,” Breckenridge said us. “I think there are some bumps in (Mel and Everett’s) relationship, but I think at the end of the day, their bond is very strong, and it becomes very strong throughout.”

As for her wedding, Breckenridge joked that Mel “thinks” everything will go smoothly — but Hope (Annette O’Toole) threatening presence can cause several problems.

“Mel decided to have a very small, lovely, intimate wedding and the city kind of took over and Hope definitely took over and wanted to make it the event of the year,” she explained. “And I think Mel realized that she’s really giving something back to the community by allowing this to happen, even if it’s not necessarily what she wants.”

She added that Mel is “trying to roll with it” but it’s “a bit difficult” at times. “When she’s planning events, there might not be much hope,” she said with a laugh. “I think it causes a bit of controversy when it comes to the wedding day itself.”

Jack

In addition to celebrating his upcoming wedding to Mel, Martin Henderson opened up us it’s just that Jack will look inside himself and reexamine his feelings about his time in the military.

“I think part of Jack’s inner journey and journey throughout the season is trying to come to terms with what his military background meant to him then, but what it means to him now,” he shared. “And we’re watching him struggle with that.”

Henderson also teased that Jack will have a “relationship” with the horse, but promised it won’t turn romantic. “Mel and Jack will stay together,” he quipped. “For now.”

Jack’s relationship with his father will also continue to develop. “He also has some nice moments where he’s reconnecting with his father, and I think he’s reevaluating what that relationship is, and his father can be more emotional with Jack,” Henderson said. “I think the relationship between father and son softened, and that was really nice.”

Bree

After the end of season 5, starting a new romance with Mike (Marco Grazini) and testifying against her ex-boyfriend, Zibby Allen exclusively told us that Brie will “work on what she needs to heal” in Season 6 and “figure out what she needs most, and in love, and in life, and in career.»

“She decided to stay in Virgin River,” Allen continued. “So I think this coming season you’re going to see her still working on that conversation between her head and her heart, which maybe aren’t always saying the same thing.”

Hope

Annette O’Toole teased that Hope’s season is “intense”.

“She has a purpose, she has something very specific that she’s doing, which is to bring people together to make this wedding happen,” she exclusively said us. “Judge and decide all these things. And she likes to be a director, and that’s what she does. So it’s a very positive thing for her on this journey.”

O’Toole noted that despite Hope’s excitement about Mel and Jack’s wedding planning, there will be “a few hiccups with misunderstandings” along the way — both with Doc (Tim Matheson) and “others”.

Hope also gets some other great interaction moments with other characters. “I like the camaraderie of the sewing club,” O’Toole said. “I just think that’s such a big part of this show; how much women are really there for each other.’

doc

Doc ended season 5 with plans to start trials that could improve his eyesight, and while season 6 will address his health issues, Tim Matheson said that viewers will see another, very “wonderful and touching” part of his journey in Season 6.

“He’s coming to terms with years of simmering hatred for a person and finally making peace with someone and letting go of what’s important to people,” he said exclusively. us“to let go of hatred, irritation, or dislike of someone.”

Things won’t go smoothly, and Doc’s career could be on the line of fire.

“Doc, because of his commitment to taking care of people, it gets him into some trouble,” Matheson explained. “His commitment to not letting anything come between him and his patients while saving his patients gets him into a little trouble. And this is one of the elements of his storyline. An interesting twist.”