'Gilmore Girls' star Scott Patterson talks new show from 'Virgin River' creators

Scott Patterson is known for starring in mega hits like "Gilmore Girls," but his favorite title these days is dad.

So when it came time to play a father estranged from his daughter in "Sullivan's Crossing," the actor experienced a mixed bag of emotions.

“I have a 9-year-old son, and we’re so in love that I can’t imagine there ever being any kind of sustained friction between us. The pain that that would cause me if that were to happen is immeasurable,” the star tells TODAY.com.

Patterson plays Harry "Sully" Sullivan in "Sullivan's Crossing," a series based on the bestselling book series by Robyn Carr (the author of "Virgin River").

The show first aired in Canada earlier this year and debuted in the U.S. on the CW Oct. 4.

The actor recommends sitting down with a “box of tissues” to watch the show, but says that it also “delivers hope in large quantities.”

“When they watch the show, (viewers are) gonna have some feelings. They’re gonna have some strong feelings. I think that’s what the best television does. It makes people think. It makes people feel. It’s relatable and gives people hope,” he says.

The concept of tense family relationships is universal, and Patterson thinks the show will “hit people right in the feels.”

“We’re doing a lot of deep work. It’s like we’re massage therapists for the soul,” he says.

Who is Sully of 'Sullivan's Crossing'? Ask Scott Patterson

Patterson's character Sully runs a remote campground called Sullivan's Crossing in a picturesque small town. Like many of the other leading men in Carr's other book-to-TV show adaptation "Virgin River," Sully has a “rough exterior,” but is "loved by the community."

“He’s got a heart of gold. He’s always lending a helping hand where needed,” Patterson says. “He’s a man of few words, but he connects with people across a broad spectrum of the town that he lives in. So he’s kind of the unofficial mayor of that place.”

Sullivan's Crossing campground has been in Sully's family since the 1800s. Patterson describes the spot as the "heartbeat of the community."

However, Sully has been missing a major piece of his heart — his daughter Maggie (Morgan Kohan), who hasn't returned home in the 15 years following her parents' divorce.

“We’ve been estranged for at least 15 years. We haven’t really spoken that much. And there’s a lot of hard feelings between the two of us, yet still a lot of love," Patterson explains.

After the divorce, Maggie and her mother relocated to Boston and Maggie went on to become a prominent neurosurgeon. In the pilot of "Sullivan's Crossing," an unfortunate series of work-related events leads Maggie to retreat to her father's campground for some much-needed time away.

“She comes back to Sullivan’s Crossing to get her bearings, to heal a little bit and think about what she’s gonna do with the rest of her life,” Patterson explains.

While there, Maggie catches up with old friends, works to rebuild her professional reputation and meets Cal (Chad Michael Murray), who Patterson describes as a "mysterious stranger who moved to the town to do a little healing of his own."

Of course, Maggie and Sully's strained relationship is also front and center in the series.

“I think what the show does very effectively is use flashbacks to remind an audience what it was like when times were good when Maggie was a small child and we were just so in love with each other and taking care of each other," Patterson says.

Losing contact with his daughter hasn't been easy on Sully, and Season One of "Sullivan's Crossing" will dive into this emotional backstory.

"Sully’s had his heart ripped out and there’s a void there. And he’s filling it in ways that aren’t necessarily good for him. So he’s got some demons and he’s got to deal with reality. He’s got to be honest with himself," Patterson says.

The appeal of small town shows

Roth and Christopher E. Perry, the team behind “Virgin River,” are executive producers on “Sullivan’s Crossing” and the shows certainly have their similarities since they're both set in picturesque small towns. So is Patterson's "Gilmore Girls": Stars Hollow, Connecticut is as comforting as the characters' warm relationships.

When asked why these types of shows have such mass appeal, Patterson offered the following insight.

"I think small town America, or small town anywhere on the planet, is really where people can get accountability and (it's where) your actions really reverberate throughout a community no matter what you do, positive or negative. And I think that gets lost in a big city. I think people really crave accountability over anonymity," he says.

"Sullivan's Crossing" Season One has already aired in Canada and the show is officially coming back for Season Two. With American viewers just getting introduced to the series, Patterson is excited to see if they respond in the same way as Canadian viewers.

"At the heart of it, people just want to keep their family safe and they want to come together and they want to heal old wounds and they want to love each other again. No matter how deep the wounds are, people want to forgive and they want to come together, so it’s a very, very positive message underneath it all," he says.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com