“There’s a lot more to go here with these characters,” says showrunner Patrick Sean Smith.

Here’s some extra-sweet news you won’t even hear at Paige’s Bakeaway: Virgin River has begun filming Season 7, and it’s welcoming two new faces.

Two photos from the set, which you can see below, show your favorite small-town Northern California residents as production starts on the new batch of episodes — which means finding out what’s next for the beloved Mel (Alexandra Breckenridge) and Jack (Martin Henderson) as they take the next steps in their relationship. “There’s a lot more to go here with these characters,” showrunner Patrick Sean Smith tells Tudum.

Who will star in Virgin River Season 7?

Sara Canning (The Vampire Diaries) joins the cast as ex-cop Victoria, who was shot in the line of duty and now works for the state medical board as an investigator. Victoria comes to Virgin River to look into Doc’s practice but runs into a friend she wouldn’t mind catching up with … or maybe even pursuing something more.

Cody Kearsley (Riverdale, Daybreak) will play the tough, athletic Clay. The kind of guy who gets noticed when he enters a room, Clay has experience working the rodeo circuit. He grew up in foster care with his younger sister, whom he hasn’t seen since he was a teenager. He’s been looking for her ever since.

The returning cast includes Breckenridge, Henderson, Tim Matheson, Annette O’Toole, Colin Lawrence, Benjamin Hollingsworth, Zibby Allen, Sarah Dugdale, Marco Grazzini, Kai Bradbury, and Kandyse McClure.

Alexandra Breckenridge and Martin Henderson behind the scenes of Virgin River Season 7.

What will happen in Virgin River Season 7?

Virgin River Season 6 followed the lead-up to Mel and Jack’s long-awaited nuptials — the royal wedding of their tight-knit community. “I think we’ve only just begun to see Mel and Jack function as a married couple, which is exciting,” says Smith. Season 7 will “explore the honeymoon phase for them as they’re building their lives on the farm, which can come with its own obstacles.”

Just because Mel and Jack are settling into married life doesn’t mean there won’t be problems they’ll have to face, but one thing’s for sure: We don’t need to worry about their relationship.

Virgin River Renewed for Season 7

“I can’t imagine creating a scenario where you think Mel and Jack are going to break up,” Smith says. “It forces you to dig a little bit deeper into, well, what other issues can they have in their relationship? Especially when you want to keep it through the romance lens. I think Alex and Martin play all of those [moments so well], it’s just resting on emotional stakes as opposed to ‘will they, won’t they.’ ”

Besides, there are plenty of other relationships to explore in the multiple generations of love stories being told on Virgin River. There’s Hope (O’Toole) and Doc (Matheson), who rekindled their own romance after a few years apart; Preacher (Lawrence) and Kaia (McClure), who came together during a major community disaster; and Lizzie (Dugdale) and Denny (Bradbury), who are expecting their first child.

“Especially with Hope and Doc, getting to tell love stories between two people at that age is something that television never does,” Smith says. “Or if they do, it’s for comic relief or something. So the more that we get to grow those characters and dig into them, it just feels special. It feels like nothing else anybody is doing on television.”

When will Virgin River Season 7 premiere?

Geez, Season 6 just ended! But stay tuned to Tudum for more updates, because we promise to alert the phone tree ASAP.

Let’s Unveil the Making of a Virgin River Wedding