All is well in the world… Reba is almost back on TV.
In case you missed it (where have you been if you have?), everyone’s favorite red-headed country star is getting back into the sitcom game with a new show called Happy’s Place, which premieres on NBC Friday, October 18th. Reba’s new project will be different than her beloved show from the 2000’s (in which she played a fictitious version of herself), but it will share some similarities.
The biggest similarity will be that Happy’s Place will feature a reunion of former Reba co-stars in McEntire and Melissa Peterman. The incomparable “Barbra Jean” could not have been played by anyone else on the classic 2000’s TV show, and now Peterman will bring her patented energy to what I’m sure will become another iconic role alongside Reba in the new sitcom.
While Reba is set to play a character named Bobbie, who inherits a family restaurant and finds out she has a half-sister (Belissa Escobedo), Melissa will reportedly play a “needy and dramatic” character named Gabby who works at the inherited restaurant. Sounds like “Barbra Jean 2.0” to me, and I’m perfectly fine with that. I’m sure everyone else will be too.
And if mentioning Reba’s 2000s sitcom jogged your memory, you likely remember the iconic theme song of “I’m A Survivor” being attached to each and every episode. To be transparent, every time I watched Reba back in the day, I belted out “A SINGLE MOM WHO WORKS TWO JOBS.”
Well guess what? Reba got back in the studio and concocted another surefire hit to work as the theme song for her new show Happy’s Place. And to make matters even better, she surprised all of her co-stars with the news of the song – and the song itself – after a table read for the show, as she explained before the reveal video officially started:
“I’m Reba McEntire and I have a little surprise today. Carole King and I wrote a song – ‘The Theme of Happy’s Place’ – and we’ve got it finished and now we’re gonna play it for everybody after table read.”
As you’ll see in the clip, a number of cast members got emotional as they heard Reba’s special song for the new sitcom – including Belissa Escobedo, who plays Reba’s half-sister in the show. After the song played, Escobedo took a moment to talk about how incredible of a moment it was to hear the new song while sitting right next to the country music legend who brought it to life:
“We just heard the song of Happy’s Place, the theme song, and everyone was crying. Or maybe it was just me? No, everyone was crying. Absolutely amazing.”
And did you really think we’d get a special reveal video without hearing what Melissa Peterman had to think about the new track? She was also wiping away tears as she talked about the theme song that Reba and Carole King brought to life:
“I mean… if you can see it, my eyes are still a little bit teary-eyed. It was beautiful, and we had such a great, iconic theme song that first time around with ‘I’m A Survivor.’ But this is just… I feel like she did it again.
The lyrics are beautiful, I want to hear them again. And the story… ‘I don’t know, I just called my friend Carole King and we’ll work together.’ I want to hear it again. Play it again!”
we’d have the same reaction if @Reba surprised us with a theme song. 🥹 #HappysPlace pic.twitter.com/23kfHLDN98
— NBC Entertainment (@nbc) October 14, 2024