After Virgin River season 5 ended with the shocking news that Mel (Alexandra Breckenridge)

had another biological father, Everett (John Allen Nelson), who had been nearby the entire time,

we’ll learn more about the unexpected love story between Mel’s mother, Sarah, and Everett in season 6.

As first reported by Deadline, Jessica Rothe (Happy Death Day) and Callum Kerr (Monarch) will play Sarah and Everett in flashbacks set primarily in 1972. The new season will shed more light on Sarah, who has been largely overlooked in the story so far, and her desire to pursue a life of activism and distance herself from the more conventional options available to a woman of the time. When the free spirit meets Everett, a handsome musician, they instantly hit it off, and she wonders if she’s finally found her soul mate.

The two meet by chance when Everett offers Sarah a ride in the VW van he now calls home. The first images of Rothe and Kerr in character show the pair in Everett’s van, as well as in a crowded garage or workspace of some sort.

Earlier this year, Netflix shared plans to develop a prequel series about Mel’s parents, and their intention to introduce younger versions of these characters through flashbacks in season 6. Current Virgin River showrunner Patrick Sean Smith is writing the prequel, but no further information about a potential spinoff has been announced.

Related: Virgin River showrunner answers all our burning questions about the season 5 holiday episode After the season 5 Christmas special aired last December, Smith revealed that an older Everett would be returning in season 6. “He’s definitely going to play a big part in Mel’s storyline,” he previously told Entertainment Weekly.

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Indeed, they’re deliberately introducing Everett, rather than exploiting the mystery of his identity, with the goal of exploring that dynamic. “We’re looking forward to how we’re going to tell stories in season 6,” Smith said. “We’re more interested in exploring their relationship than having to go on a treasure hunt all season to figure out who he is.”

Related: Who is Jimmy, the man who called from the Virgin River jail?Season 6 doesn’t have a premiere date yet, but Netflix has shared a synopsis for the season: “Set against the backdrop of Mel and Jack’s romantic spring wedding season, this sixth season promises fresh twists, escalating love triangles, wedding romances, and secrets from Mel’s father’s past, taking us into the magic and mystery of the Virgin River in the 1970s.”