For Virgin River Fans, Here Are 7 Ways That Sullivan's Crossing Is Just Like It

For Virgin River fans looking for something to tide them over before season 7, the CW show Sullivan’s Crossing is incredibly similar to it in multiple ways. Virgin River season 6 was released in December of last year, and, with Virgin River season 7 not dropping on Netflix until sometime in 2026, it’s a very long time to wait between seasons. Fans are likely looking for something to sink their teeth – and their hearts – into while waiting on the romantic drama to return.

Luckily, the perfect Virgin River replacement is currently airing to fill the Mel and Jack-shaped hole in fans’ hearts. Sullivan’s Crossing season 3, currently airing on the CW, is the perfect companion show to the Netflix hit. So perfect, in fact, that I’ve put together a list touching upon the ways in which Sullivan’s Crossing overlaps with Virgin River, whether it be in tone or character backstories – and, of course, romance. Lots and lots of romance.

1

Both Sullivan’s Crossing & Virgin River Are Based On Books Written By Robyn Carr

She Has One Other Book Series In Development

Virgin River fans know it’s based on a book by Robyn Carr, but may not be aware that, like Virgin River, Sullivan’s Crossing is also based on a Robyn Carr book series, the second of her book series to receive an adaptation. Another shared connection is Roma Roth, the creator and executive producer of Virgin River, who also serves as the EP on Sullivan’s Crossing, ensuring continuity across both series.

Roth is also currently developing Carr’s third book series, Thunder Point, as a television series.

With Carr’s novels being bestsellers, she’s proven to be a go-to writer for TV adaptations, as her romantic dramas easily make the jump to the episodic format of television – or streaming, as is the case with Netflix’s Virgin River. With that show being such a huge hit for Netflix, it was only a matter of time before Carr’s next book series got greenlit and indeed, Sullivan’s Crossing premiered a few years later and is now on season 3. Roth and Carr make a great team, and they’re building a strong fanbase across the growing Robyn Carr book adaptation universe.

2

The Central Protagonists Of Both Shows Have Very Similar Backstories

Maggie & Mel Have A Lot In Common

It’s no secret that Robyn Carr recycles plotlines and characters in her books, but that’s what makes them comfort reads. To that end, the female protagonist of Sullivan’s Crossing, Maggie (Morgan Kohan) is very similar to Virgin River’s Mel (Alexandra Breckinridge) in several ways. Both women come from medical backgrounds and big cities; in Mel’s case, she’s a nurse working in Los Angeles, and in Maggie’s case, she’s a neurosurgeon working in Boston.

Jack Sheridan and Melinda Monroe in Virgin River

Virgin River & Sullivan’s Crossing Aren’t Enough, We’re Already Predicting The Next Big Show Based On Robyn Carr’s Books

Sullivan’s Crossing and Virgin River might be successful already, but the next Robyn Carr series could be the author’s biggest TV adaptation to date.

Both women flee their big-city lives for small, rural towns, Maggie to Timberlake in Nova Scotia, Canada (though in the books, it’s Colorado), and Mel to Virgin River in Northern California, after tragedy in their lives. For Mel, it’s after her husband, Mark, dies in a car accident. For Maggie, it’s after she gets pulled into a medical fraud investigation and then sued for malpractice after a patient dies. While in Mel’s case, it’s a fish out of water situation and in Maggie’s case, it’s a return home, their backstories share close DNA.

3

The Male Love Interests Also Have Similarities

They Are Rugged But Have Tragic Backstories

Of course, it wouldn’t be a romantic drama without romance and drama, and so both women eventually find love again in their new homes. In Virgin River, Mel is grieving the death of her husband. In Maggie’s case, in Sullivan’s Crossing, she’s in a relationship with fellow doctor, Andrew (Allan Hawco). It shouldn’t be surprising that the men they fall in love with also share some similarities. Both Virgin River‘s Jack (Martin Henderson) and Sullivan’s Crossing‘s Cal (Chad Michael Murray) are down-to-earth, rugged men.

Their love interests also have work to do, and it leads to each show’s delicious slow-burn central romance.

However, both of them are carrying around a load of grief and pain themselves that is slowly revealed throughout each show. Without giving anything away, both Cal and Jack have a lot of guilt about their past that they need to overcome. While Maggie and Mel also have their own emotional damage to sort through before they are capable of love, their love interests also have work to do, and it leads to each show’s delicious slow-burn central romance.

4

Both Shows Deal With Themes Of Healing From The Past

Growth Isn’t Always A Straight Line

Jed talking to Cal in Sullivan's Crossing

To that end, both Sullivan’s Crossing and Virgin River are as much about healing and moving on as they are about love. To be frank, there are very few healed and happy people in either show – otherwise, they wouldn’t be dramas. If most characters are stable and content, there’s not a lot of drama to go around. Thus, the characters on each show have a lot of growing to do, and that growth doesn’t always happen in a straight line.

Sullivan’s Crossing Season 3 Is Handling Its Mental Health Storyline In A Way I’ve Rarely Seen On TV

Sullivan’s Crossing season 3 is handling its mental health storyline in a sensitive, nuanced manner that I’ve rarely seen on TV before.

There are frustrating moments of backsliding, when a character seems to forget a lesson they previously learned, and plenty of times when their flaws are clear to the audience. The character growth they experience is earned as it doesn’t come easily or quickly for anyone, which makes it all the more satisfying when the characters of Sullivan’s Crossing and Virgin River have a breakthrough. Central to that is learning to let go of the past in order to heal, and it’s a journey that is repeated for several characters in each series.

5

They Also Both Deal With Themes Of Discovery & Rediscovery

One Is Finding Home, One Is Rediscovering Home

In an interesting contrast, though, the themes that intertwine with Maggie and Mel relocating to small towns differ. Mel has to adjust to living in a rural town surrounded by wilderness, and it takes her a while. As a big city girl who is used to Los Angeles, her move to Virgin River is a true fish out of water story for quite a while in the show. It’s a difficult transition for her, and it’s not immediately clear if she’ll stay in Virgin River or if she’ll ever learn to love the town.

In an interesting contrast, the themes that intertwine with Maggie and Mel relocating to small towns differ.

Maggie, on the other hand, is returning home in Sullivan’s Crossing. Timberlake – more specifically, her father’s campground, Sullivan’s Crossing – was her home as a child, so for her, it’s a homecoming that helps her return to her roots. Rather than the challenge for her stemming from not fitting in, like Mel, it stems from Maggie having to accept what her heart told her from the start: she no longer belongs in Boston or with Andrew, and instead, Timberlake is the true home of her heart.

6

Sullivan’s Crossing & Virgin River Both Utilize Their Rural Small Town Settings

It’s All About The Restorative Power Of Nature

Those small-town settings are utilized to great effect in both Sullivan’s Crossing and Virgin River. Natural beauty abounds in each series, with both shows making great work of the dramatic natural backdrops of their filming locations. While Virgin River is set in Northern California, the similar landscape of Vancouver, Canada serves as the filming location. Meanwhile, Sullivan’s Crossing is both set and filmed in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Each show makes a case for the restorative power of nature and the necessity of allowing that nature to reconnect with one’s soul.

7

The Romantic & Dramatic Storylines Of Everyone Intertwine

The Small Towns Have Many Secrets

Lastly, it’s not just Maggie and Cal in Sullivan’s Crossing or Mel and Jack in Virgin River around whom storylines revolve. Sullivan’s Crossing and Virgin River both have ensemble casts that have their own dramatic arcs and love stories. One of the nice things about a small-town setting is that the proximity of the residents of a town creates opportunities for romantic entanglements and the intertwining of dramatic storylines. And there is no shortage of romantic entanglements in these shows, making them a perfect complement to each other. If you’re missing Virgin River and waiting for season 7, you could do worse than check out Sullivan’s Crossing while you wait.

New episodes of Sullivan’s Crossing season 3 are released Wednesdays on the CW.

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