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A Happy Place have enjoyed keeping it in the television family by casting a number of stars from Reba McEntire‘s sitcom past Reba.
Rebawhich aired between 2001 and 2007, starring McEntire, Melissa Peterman, Christopher Rich, JoAnna Garcia Swisher a Steve Howey. Almost two decades later, McEntire and Peterman reunited and before Reba active producer Kevin Abbott forward A Happy Place.
“We are new characters. It’s a new time and it’s different. But those core things you loved about it are there. It feels very different (though),” Peterman said exclusively Us Weekly in October 2024. “As far as trying to harness the things that (Reba’s fans) love — like the chemistry we have — that’s there anyway. We are just new characters. And Barbra Jean (of Reba) was forced on Reba because she married her ex-husband. Gabby is there because she is his friend.”
Peterman praised A Happy Place for finding a way to “keep the magic” without copying the same sitcom structure.
“The other big difference is a real life family and the reality of blended families,” he noted. “A Happy Place related to finding a family at work, and Belissa (Escobedo’s) a character also finds and discovers a family she didn’t know existed. You’ll feel the same warm feeling but you’re going to be new.”
His costar Howey feel the same way when he joined for a possible multi-episode arc. “Kevin had this idea for this character ahead of time. And then he was like, ‘What if Hawy did it? That would be great to get a reunion going.’ I fit the description of the character, so he gave me a call,” Howey recalled Us two months later. “The planets just aligned on this one.”
He continued: “Now after 20 some years, I can bring different experiences to the characters I play. Also the character relationships – because A Happy Place is something new — different. Yes, it’s Reba and Melissa, but the characters are different. Bobbie is very different from Reba. Gabby is very different from Barbara Jean, and Danny is clearly different.”
Keep scrolling to see which one Reba alums have reunited on A Happy Place so far:
