A Virgin River Prequel Is In The Works & It's All About Mel's Parents

Virgin River fans have heard a lot of lore about Mel’s parents in recent episodes. Her mother Sarah Jensen died when Mel was young, this we know for sure, but before her death she lived quite a life of mystery. And it’s a life fans will get to know more about now that there is a Virgin River prequel in the works over at Netflix. The prequel is expected to focus on Sarah Jensen and Mel’s father, which will be pretty exciting since fans (and Mel) just learned his identity. Here’s everything we know so far.

Mel just met her father in Season 6 of Virgin River.

As luck would have it, Mel (Alexandra Breckenridge) found out her father’s identity in the holiday episodes of Season 5 of Virgin River, which aired last November, and found out that he actually lived in the town itself. After reading through some of her late mother’s old letters, Mel discovers that her father is a man named Everett Reid (John Allen Nelson), who her mother had an affair with years earlier. Everett was not exactly excited at first to meet his daughter, but he eventually came around, sharing letters Sarah had sent him years earlier. And now we should get the story behind those letters.

Netflix is expanding the Virgin River universe.

Virgin River showrunner Patrick Sean Smith told Deadline in a Q&A session that there are plans in the works at Netflix to dive deeper into the relationship between Mel’s parents. “What we’re exploring more in Season 6 is who Everett Reid is, what his backstory is, what his connection to Virgin River was when he met her mom and then also what it is today,” he said, adding that Season 6 will explore the “relationship of Everett with the town as well as Everett and Mel.”

Season 6 will also include important flashbacks at Sarah and Everett’s relationship, setting the stage for the Virgin River prequel, which is currently in the early stages of development, Variety reported.

We could meet some Virgin River faves in their earlier years.

Have you ever wondered about what Hope (Annette O’Toole) and Doc (Tim Matheson) were like in their younger years? According to Variety, this prequel, which will be set in the fabled town of Virgin River, should give us some insight into their lives in the ‘80s and ‘90s. We can only hope Doc has a mullet.

When will the Virgin River prequel premiere on Netflix?

As the Virgin River prequel is in the earliest stages of development at this point, no release date or casting information have been announced yet. Fortunately, a release date for Season 6 of Virgin River is coming, as production on the series has gotten back underway after the end of the writers’ strike.

So there’s plenty more Virgin River ahead of us. And apparently behind us.