Reba McEntire can’t wait for fans to see her new NBC comedy, Happy’s Place. The sitcom, which also includes McEntire’s former Reba co-star Melissa Peterman, as well as her boyfriend, Rex Linn, stars McEntire as a woman who inherits her late father’s tavern, unexpectedly making her business partners with her half-sister she didn’t know existed.
Although the Reba reboot that McEntire wanted has yet to come to fruition, the Grand Ole Opry member is thrilled to team up with not just Peterman, but other people from her beloved Reba TV show.
“It’s the same showrunners, same writers and same producers as the Reba show,” McEntire tells Entertainment Tonight. “So it’s going to be that heartfelt, fun, funny, laugh at our silliness, but also be touched by the heart in the show. That’s what I really loved about Reba. Remember when you would watch Andy Griffith, and he always would have a lesson, about how he dealt with something that Opie was going through? So that’s what we were really looking forward to doing every episode on the Reba show, and now Happy’s Place.”
No stranger to television and films, the 69-year-old admits that sitcoms are her favorite, both to star in and watch.
“I love all genres of entertainment,” McEntire says. “But the sitcoms are just so much fun because it’s a brand-new script every week, and you’re just having fun. It’s really hard memorizing all of the dialogue you have to do, but it ain’t my first rodeo. I do love it. And it’s just playtime. We have a blast with it.”
Linn didn’t star in Reba, but he did appear with McEntire in Young Sheldon, the show that was the start of their romance, after first meeting when they were both cast in Kenny Rogers‘ movie, The Gambler.
“Rex is the short-order cook, and he is kind of the patriarch, now that my daddy has died, because he’s been with the tavern the longest,” McEntire reveals.
McEntire has only shot the sitcom for Happy’s Place, but she’s eager to shoot more episodes. But fans won’t have to wait that long to see her on TV. The country music icon is currently enjoying her second season as a coach on The Voice. She will also return, for the 17th time, to host the upcoming ACM Awards, taking place on May 16.
“It’s fun,” McEntire says of being the ACM Awards host. “I love live television. Nothing like it, ’cause if you boo-boo, it’s there forever … and my fans, they love a boo-boo. They think it’s funny.”
The ACM Awards will air live on Amazon Prime from the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. Tickets for the general public to attend the ACM Awards are available now, via SeatGeek. More information is available at ACMCountry.com.
Keep track of updates on McEntire’s career at Reba.com.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of NBC / Trae Patton