When “Virgin River” showrunner Patrick Sean Smith chose to expand to the universe with a prequel, he knew the casting had to be right. Luckily, he found Jessica Rothe and Callum Kerr to take on the roles of Mel’s parents, Sarah Jensen and Everett Reed.

“It was a search. It was always the plan that this could potentially be a back-door pilot, introducing this new timeline, so we cast with that in mind,” Smith tells Variety ahead of the Season 6 drop, during which Rothe and Kerr make their debut. “We did chemistry reads with them and a couple of other actors who were really incredible. But Jess and Callum had such a spark together, such a fire together that it felt like we had hit gold in casting them.”

The spinoff, he says, will focus “not just the romance of Sarah and Everett, but also the origins of Virgin River in the 1970s.”

While Mel’s (Alexandra Breckenridge) mother died when she was young, Mel’s biological father was introduced in the Christmas special as she went on a search for him only to realize he’d been in Virgin River all these years. John Allen Nelson portrays Everett in present day — and from the moment they cast him, they knew they wanted to dissect more of the relationship.

“He was in two scenes, and he was perfect,” Smith said. While Season 6 was always going to focus on the wedding between Mel and Jack (Martin Henderson), it also dives into Mel building a relationship with her father — while simultaneously trying to plan to walk down the aisle again.

“Virgin River” premiered in 2019 and has already been renewed for a seventh season. The drama is based on Robyn Carr’s novels; it was developed by Sue Tenney, who served as showrunner until Smith took over in Season 5.

“Virgin River” Season 6 drops on Netflix Thursday, December 19.