Reba McEntire will be on not one but two TV shows this fall, and we now know when both will air. The Grand Ole Opry member is returning as a coach for Season 26 of The Voice, alongside Gwen Stefani, Snoop Dogg and Michael Bublé. The reality TV talent show will premiere on September 23 on NBC.
A little less than a month later, McEntire’s long-awaited sitcom, Happy’s Place, will premiere on October 18. The show stars her former Reba co-star, Melissa Peterman, as well as her boyfriend, Rex Linn.
“It’s lots of fun,” McEntire tells NBC, speaking of being part of Happy’s Place. “I love all genres of entertainment. But the sitcoms are so much fun, cause it’s a brand new script every week. And you’re just having fun. It’s really hard memorizing 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.”
“It’s gonna be that heartfelt, fun, funny, laugh at our silliness,” she adds. “But also, [you’ll] be touched with the heart in our show.”
While McEntire has been vocal about her hope for a Reba reboot one day, she is thrilled that she is brining some of her former co-workers, including Peterman, on her former TV show to Happy’s Place.
“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.”
The 69-year-old is also excited to work with Linn, whom she began dating in 2020. The two were friends for more than 30 years, ever since they both starred in the Kenny Rogers’ movie, The Gambler, together in 1991.
“We’ve gotten to do two other projects together, ABC‘s Big Sky, and then Lifetime, The Hammer movie,” McEntire tells Extra. “So we love working together. What’s really the best part about it is, he’s my coach, so when we’re home, he’s helping me with my lines, and to memorize. He’s wonderful. Helps me a lot.”
McEntire is heading into the upcoming season of The Voice as a winner. The Oklahoma native’s teammate Asher HaVon was crowned the Season 25 winner.
“It feels wonderful, especially that it’s Asher,” McEntire told Entertainment Tonight immediately after her inaugural win. “I’m just tickled to pieces. But I gotta say something about The Voice: look how Asher is dressed. Every time you got on stage, you looked regal. You presented yourself with regalness. I was so proud of him. But they do such a good job on this show. The sets tonight, the design — unbelievable.”
McEntire will not be part of Season 27 of The Voice in early 2025. The coaches for that season will be Kelsea Ballerini, Adam Levine, Snoop Dogg and Bublé. She recently released “I Can’t” from her forthcoming next project. Find all of her music and upcoming shows at Reba.com
Photo Credit: Courtesy of NBC