The show’s stars, Alexandra Breckenridge (Mel Monroe) and Martin Henderson (Jack Sheridan), dove into what fans can expect from the upcoming story.

“We jump ahead to get into the meat and potatoes of all these other characters,” Henderson revealed in an interview with Entertainment Tonight in December 2020. “And what I think is cool is this season opens up all the other storylines of the other relationships and new relationships are formed. Jack and Mel are still there dealing with love and unrequited love, and their obstacles but you see a lot of these other characters as well and jumps ahead where everyone’s in their own private dilemmas.”

Breckenridge added: “It becomes more of [an] ensemble I think.”

The show, based on Robyn Carr’s book series of the same name, will be coming back with 10 episodes on July 9. The series follows Breckenridge’s character Mel who moves to Virgin River in Northern California and the connections she forms with those in the small town.

One story line that won’t be making it into the new season though is the coronavirus pandemic.

“Not a lot of people are going to wanna watch a show about COVID having just gone through it, having COVID fatigue,” Breckenridge told ET. “In Virgin River, you want to escape your world and that’s what’s beautiful about the show [and] this beautiful small town.”

While that aspect of reality won’t be making its way into the romantic drama, Henderson did reveal the way COVID-19 played a role in Virgin River‘s streaming success.

“It was unusual to get a call about the third season of the show. I guess based off the performance of season 1, definitely indicated people were flocking to the show and we frankly also fortunate the show launched just prior to COVID, then the lockdowns so I think the show found an audience,” he explained at the time.

For the Grey’s Anatomy alum, the “fantasy” world that Virgin River has managed to create was a perfect escape to people during the pandemic.

“I think that has struck a cord, particularly with the fact that there’s so much heaviness out there in the world the show tends to offer comfort in a way that people seem to really appreciate and that feels great we’re able to provide a form of entertainment that’s nourishing and healing at a time where there’s just so much division and uncertainty,” the New Zealand native added.

The show, which also stars Tim Matheson (Doc Mullins), Annette O’Toole (who plays Hope McCrea), Lauren Hammersley (Charmaine Roberts), Benjamin Hollingsworth (Dan Brady) and Colin Lawrence (Preacher), ended its season 2 finale with Jack getting shot in his bar.

While the season 3 trailer for Virgin River teases that Jack does successfully make it through, there is still the question of who shot him.

“The show kind of sets it up so that you think maybe it was Jimmy. Some people think maybe it was Brady,” Breckenridge told ET in November 2020.

Meanwhile, Henderson has his own guess on who might have wanted to shoot Jack.

“It’s definitely Charmaine. I mean, do the math. I’m convinced,” he joked at the time.

Scroll down for everything to know so far about season 3 of Virgin River:

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This story originally appeared on: US Magazine - Author:Yana Grebenyuk