Virgin River Cast, Showrunner Teases Season 6: Wedding Bells, More

Virgin River Most beloved couples are about to finally say “I do” — and their wedding will be the can’t-miss event of Season 6.

“It’s been six seasons in the making,” the showrunner said Patrick Sean Smith He said exclusively Us Weekly Ahead of Season 6, which premieres on Netflix on Thursday, December 19. You cannot photograph in this season.

After coming to Virgin River City in Season 1, Mel (Alexandra Breckenridge(And Jack)Martin Henderson) connected instantly. Over the next five seasons, the pair Breakup surviveda fake paternity scandal, a pregnancy loss and more before getting engaged at the end of season 4. After two seasons, they’re more in love than ever, and more than ready to walk down the aisle.

Smith said we While writing Season 6, he wanted to make sure the audience felt “full of their wedding experience.” Been looking forward to“For a long time, but I also wanted to allow the show to continue moving forward after so much anticipation.

“To introduce the idea of ​​(marriage) in Season 4, I felt like we might have extended the engagement (by Season 6), so it was time to finally pay it off,” Smith explained. “The show is celebrating its fifth anniversary, and for the characters as well, it felt like the time had come for them to enter a new phase in their relationship.”

While Mel and Jack’s wedding will be a big focal point in the new season, it’s not the only thing happening on Virgin River. Keep scrolling to see what the cast teased we On upcoming story lines for their characters:

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Alexandra Breckenridge said exclusively we Mel’s relationship with her biological father, Everett (John Allen Nelson), will also be a major part of her journey – and will even tie in with her wedding day.

“Where we left off in Season 5, I did that She just met her biological fatherShe explained. “So she’s really trying to connect with (Everett) because it’s a surprise, but it’s really meaningful to her. And he knows a lot about her mother that she didn’t know.”

Mel is excited to connect with a “living parent” as well as learn more about her late mother, Sarah, who died when she was 11, Breckenridge said. (The second episode of season six will tell the story of young Sarah and Everett through flashbacks.)

“It’s really profound and meaningful for her throughout the season,” Breckenridge said. we. “I think the relationship (Mel and Everett) has some bumps in the road, but I think in the end their relationship is very strong and will be very strong all the time.”

As for her wedding, Breckenridge joked that Mel “thinks” things will go smoothly — but Hope (Annette O’Toole) The impending presence may cause some problems.

“Mel set out to have a really small, beautiful, intimate wedding, and the town took over, and Hope definitely took charge and wanted it to be the event of the year,” she explained. “And I think Mel realized that she was doing something for society by allowing that to happen, even though that wasn’t necessarily what she wanted.”

She added that Mel is “trying to deal with it” but it has proven “a bit difficult” to do at times. “Hope can be a little overwhelming when you’re planning events,” she said with a laugh. “I think that causes a little bit of friction when it comes to the actual wedding day.”

Jack

In addition to celebrating his upcoming marriage to Mel, Martin Henderson said we Exclusively that Jack will look inward and re-examine his feelings about his time in the military.

“I think part of Jack’s internal journey and his arc throughout the season is trying to come to terms and come to terms with what his military background meant at the time, but it means to him now.” “And we watch him suffer from that.”

Henderson also teased that Jack would have a “relationship” with a horse – but promised it wouldn’t turn into a romantic relationship. “Mel and Jack will stay together,” he joked. “for now.”

Jack’s relationship with his father will continue to develop as well. “He also has some beautiful moments where he reconnects with his father, and I think he’s re-evaluating what that relationship is, and his father is able to be more emotionally forthcoming with Jack,” Henderson revealed. “I think there was a softness to the relationship between father and son that was really nice.”

Brie

After the end of the fifth season, sparking a new love story with Mike (Marco Grazzini) and testifying against her abusive ex-boyfriend, Zibby Allen He said exclusively we That Bree will “work on what she needs to work on to heal” in Season 6, and “discover what she needs most, Whether in love, life or career.“

“She chose to stay in Virgin River,” Allen continued. “So I think you’ll see her next season still working through that conversation between head and heart, which maybe doesn’t always say the same things.”

He hopes

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

“She has a goal, she has a very specific thing to do, which is to bring people together to do this wedding,” she said exclusively. we. “Responsibility and deciding all of these things. She loves being the director and that’s what she gets to do. So for her, this is a very positive thing all the way around.”

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

Hope will also get some other great bonding moments with other characters. “I love the camaraderie with the sewing circle,” O’Toole said. “I think that’s the wonderful part of this show; how the women are really there for each other.

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Doc ended Season 5 with plans to start an experiment that could help his eyesight, and while Season 6 will address his health issues, Tim Matheson said That viewers will see a different and very “wonderful and moving” part of his journey in season six.

“He’s coming to terms with an intense hatred for someone that’s been going on for years, and he’s finally making peace with someone, and letting them go, which is an important thing for people to do,” he said exclusively. we“To give up their dislike, annoyance, or dislike for someone.”

It won’t be smooth sailing, and Doc’s career could be in the line of fire.

“Doctor, because of his commitment to taking care of people, it gets him into some trouble,” Matheson explained. “His commitment to not letting anything get in the way between him and his patients, and saving his patients, gets him into some trouble. That’s one element of his story line. It’s an interesting twist.”