Fall’s newest guilty pleasure, Sullivan’s Crossing, is generating buzz for its stellar cast and bold plot twists. The CW show stars Chad Michael Murray (Gilmore Girls), Morgan Kohan (When Hope Calls), Scott Patterson (Gilmore Girls), Reid Price, and others. Created by Roma Roth, the executive producer of Netlfix super hit Virgin River, the series is yet another adaptation from New York Times bestselling author Robyn Carr.

In just a few short episodes, the series has managed to ignite enough of a spark to have people wondering about another season. All this bodes well for Roth, who produced Sullivan’s Crossing and Virgin River through her Reel World Management (RWM), a production and distribution company she runs with husband Chris Perry, who is also an executive producer on the show. Roma Roth shared more about Sullivan’s Crossing and her creative path.

Creating Another Binge-Worthy Show After Virgin River
The CW

To be sure, Virgin River is one of the most successful, addictive soapy hits to hit streaming in some time. Roth herself may have been surprised by how well the show took off, even though the creator’s show business history paved the way to Virgin River, having executive produced more than 70 television movies — from Supercollider to Deadly Secrets by the Lake.

In addition to creating another inviting drama, she had other goals in mind with Sullivan’s Crossing. “I wanted to show that Virgin River wasn’t a fluke,” she said. “People honestly thought that, then I wanted to do it [a TV hit] again. Because a lot of people had told me after Virgin River that was just kind of like a one-off accident.

“But I believe in this genre of programming,” she adds, “and I believe in what an audience needs and wants. I wanted to show the industry that it isn’t a fluke. I had a relationship with Robyn Carr already from doing Virgin River with her, and with this particular adaptation I wanted to set in Canada. I’m a proud Canadian producer who lives in L.A. I wanted to show that you could do another hit show but this time as a Canadian-content show. It’s a very exciting, exciting journey for me.”

Related: Virgin River: Best Episodes of the Series (So Far), Ranked

Sullivan’s Crossing revolves around Maggie Sullivan (Morgan Kohan), who leaves her professional and personal life behind in the city and reconnects with her small-town past. Like the shows Gilmore Girls and Virgin River, it features an ensemble cast and plenty of moving story arcs. One recent episode involved the aftermath of a shooting which left the character of Frank (Tom Jackson) in bad bloody shape after several fraternity guys accidentally shot him, leaving him for dead. Runaway Chelsea (Perdida Brown) factored into the drama, and later Maggie and Cal (Chad Michael Murray) got to Frank just in time.

The Road to Sullivan’s Crossing
Sullivan’s Crossing Productions Inc.

In conversation, Roma Roth is a compelling subject. Long before she entered show business, she garnered a master’s degree in anthropology. “I worked with chimpanzees for four years,” she began.

I was a behavioral scientist, a primatologist. I didn’t go to film school. I didn’t do the traditional path to get to where I am today. And I think that helped give me more of global view of programming and an analytical view to kind of sense what people are looking for.

After landing in L.A., she started writing and producing television movies, mostly through Reel World Management. “We did a lot of shows with A&E Networks and what I learned on the ground there really helped in regard to developing the series because it gave me the insight on how to create programming that was binge-able and had cliffhangers, so that’s kind of where I cut my teeth.”

Sullivan’s Crosssing reunites Gilmore Girls alums Chad Michael Murray and Scott Patterson, which has, thus far, delighted viewers. Roth said that she and her team tried to cast in a way that was also, “additive with regards to eyeballs,” adding, “When casting Virgin River, I was looking around at whom those people would be. And I made conscious decisions when I bring in people onto a show. It was the same thing with Sullivan’s Crossing.”

Related: Virgin River: Most Shocking Plot Twists (So Far), Ranked

This time, she was looking for actors that had a footprint from the ’80s and ’90s. She had done a lot of research as to which actors would add that additive quality to the show. “That’s a very small pool of people,” she notes, “and it’s all just about eyeballs. It’s about the characters being cast correctly because you need to fall in love with those characters and they have to feel real to you.”

The CW

She said she was looking for the next Tim Matheson in Virgin River, noting that there was a very small group of people that fit for Sully Sullivan. “One day I was walking by the television, and my daughter at the time, I think she was 13 or 14, was watching Gilmore Girls and I looked over, and I saw Scott Patterson, who has that warmth, and somebody really magnetic for that particular role. Then Chad just stood out. He was at the top of my list for choices. And we met on a Zoom and had an hour-long conversation because I like to talk to my actors and get to know them a little bit and explain my vision for the show.” She added:

“And Morgan Kohan is a Canadian actress. We were looking specifically for a Canadian actress to play that role. I had done a couple auditions with her, and she knocked my socks off. I knew that she really embodied the character of Maggie Sullivan because she had a little bit of an edge to her but still a softness that we needed for the role.”

You won’t know you needed this series until you watch it. Sullivan’s Crossing airs on CW and streams on Hulu+, Sling TV and FuboTV.