It’s been nearly 20 years since Reba came to an end — but where would the characters be now?
Melissa Peterman exclusively told Us Weekly her theories on where each person — and couple — from the sitcom would be today.
“I would love to see where they all are now. I really would. I think it would be really interesting to see where they’re all at now. I think everyone’s still together,” Peterman, 53, shared. “Steve [Howey] and I, we have talked about it. Like, what would happen [to the characters]?”
Peterman started with her character Barbra Jean and onscreen husband Brock (played by Christopher Rich).
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“I think Barbra Jean and Brock would still be together. Van and Cheyenne would be. I think Reba would be either in a really committed relationship or married,” she reflected. “I honestly think Reba should absolutely have met the love of her life in her life.”
The actress then walked back one of her answers, saying, “Maybe Brock and Barbra Jean are struggling. But [Reba and Barbra Jean] would definitely be best friends. Or at least Barbra Jean would tell everyone that they were best friends.”
Reba, which aired from 2001 to 2007, followed “a single mom who worked too hard, who loved her kids and never stopped” a.k.a Reba played by Reba McEntire. After her husband, Brock, left her for his dental hygienist, Barbra Jean, Reba attempted to start fresh while raising her three kids — including her pregnant teen daughter (JoAnna Garcia Swisher) and her boyfriend (Howey). Reba and Barbra Jean formed a bond throughout the seasons while ultimately became one of our favorite TV friendships.
“I think funny is funny forever. I think if there’s great writing and characters that people want to spend time with, then those shows continue [even after they end],” Peterman told Us about Reba’s longevity. “We’ve been so lucky in syndication and with Netflix and that effect. So people have fallen in love with these characters [all over again]. Ultimately, I think it was great writing, cast chemistry and characters you wanted to spend time with.”
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The sitcom also paved the way for Peterman and McEntire, 69, to build a lifelong friendship. After Reba, McEntire and Peterman reunited on CMT’s Working Class, Freeform’s Baby Daddy and Lifetime’s The Hammer before joining NBC’s Happy’s Place. (Fans might have also noticed that McEntire and Peterman were both recurring cast members on CBS’ Young Sheldon but never acted alongside each other.)
“Sharing the screen with Reba is so easy. You can never explain why it happens, but we have this chemistry and comedic chemistry where I just trust her. She knows if I throw something up, she’s gonna hit it back. It is so easy that way,” Peterman told Us. “[When it comes to working together], Reba wants it to work for everybody. She always walked in wanting it to feel collaborative like an ensemble.”
Peterman and McEntire are now set to star on a new show: Happy’s Place. The NBC sitcom, which reunites McEntire and Peterman more than 17 years after Reba ended its run on The WB, follows Bobbie (McEntire) as she inherits her father’s restaurant and discovers a new business partner in the long-lost half-sister (Belissa Escobedo) she didn’t know she had. Peterman plays a bartender at the restaurant while McEntire’s boyfriend, Rex Linn, also appears as tavern cook Emmett.
In addition to McEntire and Peterman, Happy’s Place cast Howey in an upcoming role — and there may be more where that came from.
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“We’re hopeful that it will work for everyone and they can do it. We would love it. And having Steve, it was so much fun and he is another person that we have continued to still be in each other’s lives,” Peterman noted. “We have a history. We shared something that not everyone did. That was both of our first sort of big thing. We just have known each other forever. It was so much fun, and nobody makes me laugh harder than Steve Howey.”
Happy’s Place might have some similarities to Reba but, ultimately, it is its own show.
“We are new characters. It’s a new time and it’s different. But those core things that you loved about it are there. It does feel really different [though],” Peterman explained. “And what I’m loving is the interaction with the new cast members including Pablo [Castelblanco], Tokala [Black Elk] and Belissa.”
She added: “The other big difference is real life family and the reality of blended families. Happy’s Place is all about finding family at work, and Belissa’s character is also finding a family that she didn’t know existed and figuring that out. You’ll feel that same warm feeling, but you’re gonna [know] it’s new.”
Happy’s Place airs on NBC Fridays at 8 p.m. ET.
