How Is Netflix’s New Show ‘Sullivan’s Crossing’ Connected to ‘Virgin River’?

Sullivan’s Crossing might seem familiar to Netflix viewers because of its unexpected connection to Virgin River.

The CTV series, which premiered on The CW before being licensed to Netflix, follows neurosurgeon Maggie (Morgan Kohan), who must return to her hometown in rural Nova Scotia. As she spends more time in Sullivan’s Crossing, Maggie reconnects with estranged father Sully (Scott Patterson) and finds love with Cal (Chad Michael Murray).

In addition to Kohan, Patterson and Murray, Sullivan’s Crossing stars Tom Jackson, Andrea Menard, Dakota Taylor, Amalia Williamson and Lindura.

Meanwhile, Virgin River centers around the lives of residents living in a small town in Northern California, including Mel (Alexandra Breckenridge) and her love interest, Jack (Martin Henderson). The series also stars Colin Lawrence, Annette O’Toole, Tim Matheson, Benjamin Hollingsworth, Sarah Dugdale, Zibby Allen, Marco Grazzini, Mark Ghanimé and Kai Bradbury.

Sullivan’s Crossing and Virgin River don’t exist in the same place but they are both based on separate books from Robyn Carr. After watching several novels be adapted on the small screen, Carr opened up about watching her stories be brought to life.

“I love to set my stories in fully fleshed-out locations. When the setting of a story is vivid and realistic, the reader is transported to that place and time, and they want to get to know the people who live and love there,” she wrote for BookBub in 2020. “When I’m imagining the setting for a novel, I’m looking for a place so vibrant and dramatic, it plays almost as a character in the story. It lives and breathes.”

Carr reflected on finding enough material for her novels.

“I chose the mountains of Colorado for my Sullivan’s Crossing novels and the mountains and valleys of Northern California, nestled in the redwoods, for Virgin River,” she continued. “I chose small towns that were dwarfed by their surroundings. They were barely a wide space in the road, really.”

The author acknowledged the connections that existed between her shows — specifically Virgin River and Sullivan’s Crossing.

“Of course, in every town there must be houses, businesses, at least one church, medical and emergency facilities, and a gathering place — usually a diner, coffeehouse, or bar and grill,” she added. “There are always outlying farms and ranches.”

Carr continued: “But there are two things that bring a town to life for me. One is beauty. Rugged beauty. The towns I write about must not be cute — they must be places of majestic, rustic and remote beauty. And they must not be easy places to live.”

Virgin River and Sullivan’s Crossing are both streaming on Netflix.