Virgin River Season 6 Starts Filming, Prequel Series Announced, Recasting News

Fans of the heartwarming Netflix drama, "Virgin River," rejoice! Season 6 has officially begun production today, according to Deadline. But that's not all – a prequel series exploring the love story of Mel's parents, Sarah and Everett, is also in development. Casting for young Sarah and Everett is ongoing, and they may even appear in Season 6 through flashbacks.

Additionally, while many beloved characters will be returning, there's buzz that one might be recast.

Alexandra Breckenridge – RETURNING

Alexandra is returning to reprise her role as Mel.

Martin Henderson – RETURNING

Martin is reprising his role as Jack.

Tim Matheson – Seemingly returning!

Tim is seemingly returning as Doc.

Annette O’Toole – Seemingly Returning!

Annette is seemingly returning as Hope.

Sarah Dugdale – Seemingly returning!

Sarah is seemingly returning as Lizzie.

Zibby Allen – Seemingly returning!

Zibby is seemingly returning as Brie.

Marco Grazzini – Seemingly returning!

Marco is seemingly returning as Mike.

Kai Bradbury – Seemingly returning!

Kai is seemingly returning as Denny.

Mark Ghanimé – Seemingly returning!

Mark is seemingly returning as Cameron.

Jenny Cooper – Seemingly returning!

Jenny Cooper is seemingly returning as Joey Barnes

Lauren Hammersley – Seemingly returning!

Lauren Hammersley is seemingly returning as Charmaine Roberts

Kandyse McClure – Seemingly returning!

Kandyse McClure is seemingly returning as Kaia Bryant.

Pony the Puppy – Might be Recast?

In the festive Virgin River holiday episodes, Jack surprised Mel with an adorable puppy named Pony. Initially, showrunner Patrick Sean Smith planned to use the same puppy to play an older version of Pony, as season six will jump forward in time.

However, due to the Hollywood strikes and the subsequent delays in filming, Pony the puppy may now be too grown up to fit the role in season six.

Patrick shared with TVLine, "I had always expected there would be a time jump after the holidays when we start Season 6, so the dog would age naturally as we went back into production. But we didn't factor in the five-month strike. So I'm unsure where Pony is now in terms of their growth. I hope we don't have to find a new dog, but we might have to."

Stay tuned for updates about season six of Virgin River!