Nearly 25 years after hit sitcom Reba first aired, the first lady of country – and sitcom – Reba McEntire returns to the genre in Happy's Place, for 18 episodes starting on Saturday 20 September at 18:00 on M-Net.
When she inherits her late father's Knoxville, Tennessee tavern, Happy's Place, after running it for years, Bobbie McAllister (McEntire) is shocked to learn that she has a new co-owner in the form Isabella (Belissa Escobedo), a half-sister she never knew existed. Isabella is young and inexperienced but has plenty of new ideas about how to run the family business.
Happy’s Place is a throwback sitcom in all the best ways, showcasing the best of what viewers expected from half-hour comedies before mockumentaries became all the rage. Variety’s Aramide Tinubu calls Happy’s Place “… nostalgic, funny and heartfelt. In addition to an eclectic cast of characters and McEntire’s signature edge woven throughout the comedy, the Tennessee-set sitcom feels like a universal crowdpleaser about family, friendship, and generational divisions while paying homage to past TV shows’ rhythmic beats and tone.”
As for its star, Daniel Fienberg writes for The Hollywood Reporter that: “We, as a society, have not done anything to be worthy of somebody who was one of the all-time great country singers, then became one of the all-time great sitcom actors, then dabbled in being an all-time great award show host and reality show panelist.”
The newly-united half-sisters are joined by Gabby (Reba co-star Melissa Peterman), the bartender with a love of drama; Emmett (Better Call Saul’s Rex Linn), the cook and man of few words; Takoda (Tokala Black Elk, Yellowstone), the nicest waiter in Tennessee; and Steve (Pablo Castelblanco, Dear White People), their brilliant but eccentric germophobe accountant. Alongside their close-knit staff, Bobbie and Isabella will have to figure out this new chapter together.
Guest stars also include former Reba collaborators Steve Howey as Gabby’s friend Danny and tattoo artist Christopher Rich – with Happy’s Place also co-produced by Reba co-creator Kevin Abbott.
Tinubu says that although humour is at the heart of the show, “… the narrative highlights two very different women trying to reconcile their family lineage. Despite her close relationship with her dad, Bobbie now carries anger and frustration because of the secrets he kept. Isabella’s presence further triggers her irritation. Likewise, having never known her father, Isabella is desperate to find her stride and solidify her legacy at Happy’s Place, even if it means stepping on her sister’s toes. McEntire and Escobedo’s sharp, zingy chemistry mirrors siblings despite their four-decade-plus age difference”.
The show has already been commissioned for a second season, so there are plenty of reasons to get invested!
Don’t miss Happy’s Place on M-Net from Saturday 20 September at 18:00. The series is also available on DStv Stream and DStv Catch Up. Join the conversation on X, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.