On Wednesday, Netflix officially renewed its soap opera Virgin River – starring Alexandra Breckenridge and Martin Henderson – for a sixth season well ahead of season five premiering this fall.

Colin Lawrence – who plays chef John ‘Preacher’ Middleton – was the first cast member to react to the happy news in the midst of the worrying WGA strike.

‘Hey y’all, just wanted to share with you some exciting news. Just got word that we have been picked up for a season six,’ the 52-year-old English-Canadian gushed on Instagram.

‘Doing my happy dance! Doing my happy dance! Wanna thank y’all for so much love. Gonna bring some great stories your way. Oh, I’m excited! Season six, here we go!’

On November 21, showrunner Patrick Sean Smith – who replaced Sue Tenney – officially wrapped production on the 12-episode fifth season of the small-screen adaptation of Robyn Carr’s bestselling book series.

‘There were so many cliffhangers at the end of season four, that we pick up all of them,’ the Emmy-nominated producer told EW last July.

‘I didn’t want anything to feel a reset or reboot or any of that because everything was so juicy and so interesting. It was more how I wanted to pick it up. And then more importantly, where I wanted to go with it and determine where I wanted to go with it first before I knew how to handle the beginning, so it just didn’t feel like we were giving it service and then moving on to something else.’

Patrick could not confirm whether audiences will finally get to find out who the father is of Charmaine Roberts’ (Lauren Hammersley) long-gestating twins, who were not fathered by bar owner Jack Sheridan (Martin Henderson).

‘What’s the best way to use that big twist?’ Smith pondered.

‘But then also do what the show does so well, which is carry mysteries for multiple seasons and questions and keep the audience guessing. So, I can’t say it will be in 5, and I can’t say it won’t. But it’s definitely something that I would rather hold off on and not waste. Because it’s that good.’

Babydaddy drama aside, audiences might get a wedding next season as Jack and nurse practitioner Melinda ‘Mel’ Monroe (Alexandra Breckenridge) got engaged during the fourth season.

The talented ensemble also includes Tim Matheson, Annette O’Toole, Jenny Cooper, Benjamin Hollingsworth, Lauren Hammersley, Grayson Gurnsey, Sarah Dugdale, Zibby Allen, and Marco Grazzini, Mark Ghanimé, and Kai Bradbury.