LOS ANGELES 鈥 Look at a list of Reba McEntire鈥檚 gigs and you鈥檒l agree with her mother鈥檚 assessment: 鈥淪he has the attention span of a 2-year-old.鈥
Reba McEntire as Bobbie, Melissa Peterman as Gabby, Belissa Escobedo as Isabella.聽
In addition to hosting awards shows, serving as a judge on 鈥淭he Voice鈥 and starring in a drama on ABC, she鈥檚 now the lead in an NBC comedy, 鈥淗appy鈥檚 Place.鈥
鈥淚t鈥檚 something different,鈥 McEntire says when asked about the breadth of her career. 鈥淚鈥檓 a gypsy at heart.鈥
After she took a pause from touring and did a critically acclaimed stint in 鈥淎nnie Get Your Gun鈥 on Broadway, television producers came calling and offered her her own show, 鈥淩eba.鈥
That intrigued her, since she could stay in one place for a period of time.
鈥淵ou know your dressing room. You know your parking spot. Consistency is not something I鈥檝e had the first 30 years of my career,鈥 McEntire says. 鈥淪o to get to do that, I just fell in love with it.鈥
People are also reading…
After six seasons, the series ended. McEntire looked for another, thought she had an idea, then took a role in 鈥淏ig Sky鈥 that tested the boundaries of her likability. 鈥淭he Voice鈥 came calling and now she鈥檚 back where she wants to be. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like family,鈥 she says. 鈥淢y fans have always been very loyal and they followed me.鈥
From left, Tokala Black Elk, Belissa Escobedo, Melissa Peterman, Reba McEntire, Rex Linn and Pablo Castelblanco.聽
In the new NBC sitcom,聽McEntire inherits a tavern from her father. What she doesn鈥檛 know is there鈥檚 a half-sister who also has a stake in it. The two have different goals in mind for Happy鈥檚 Place and, naturally, clash.
Newcomer Belissa Escobedo plays the half-sister; 鈥淩eba鈥 co-star Melissa Peterman plays McEntire鈥檚 friend.
In the 20 years since 鈥淩eba,鈥 鈥渨e鈥檝e never really left each other,鈥 Peterman says, 鈥淚 got to go on tour with her and open the show and do standup. We vacation together. We hang out and we were just waiting for another project so we could work together again. It鈥檚 like riding a bike.鈥
When a first pilot didn鈥檛 quite capture what creator Kevin Abbott wanted, he asked the network if he could tweak the premise. They agreed and, now, 鈥淗appy鈥檚 Place鈥 has more opportunities for stories and characters.
The tavern, he says, 鈥渋s a way to bring in a diverse group of people that have different experiences in life.鈥
The place will have a stage 鈥 and likely a karaoke night 鈥 and a cast of regulars and employees who will bring out different aspects of McEntire鈥檚 character, Bobbie.
Melissa Peterman, left, and Reba McEntire聽 are reunited in "Happy's Place."
鈥淪he鈥檚 very devoted to the tavern and to her dad鈥檚 memory and she wants everything to stay the way it is,鈥 McEntire says. 鈥淪he works very hard and has a wonderful team of people she gets to work with. She solely depends on it because her husband has died and her daughter is deployed.鈥
The half-sister, played聽by Belissa Escobedo, wants to introduce new ideas 鈥 and that鈥檚 where the friction emerges.
Reba McEntire
While Escobedo was worried about playing opposite a music legend like McEntire, the Grammy winner quickly put her at ease. 鈥淩eba is Reba, in the biggest way, but when you walk in, it鈥檚 just Reba,鈥 Escobedo says. 鈥淪he鈥檚 so sweet鈥nd she made me feel so at home on the set.鈥
(The only rub? McEntire and her husband, actor Rex Linn, don鈥檛 think Escobedo should take public transportation to the set. The one time she got an Uber, she was late. 鈥淭raffic is unreliable,鈥 she says. 鈥淏ut the Metro is reliable.鈥)
Because she has sitcom experience, McEntire is able to be a willing resource for her co-star.
When she started on 鈥淩eba,鈥 there wasn鈥檛 a sitcom teacher. 鈥淚 would pull (co-star) Chris Rich into the kitchen and I鈥檇 say, 鈥榃hat do they mean when they say this?鈥欌 McEntire recalls. 鈥淚 went through Acting 101 class鈥nd thank god for Chris and other folks. Now, I鈥檓 familiar. I鈥檓 the old show dog and I can help teach anybody who hasn鈥檛 done a sitcom, four cameras, before. The tables are turned a little bit鈥nd I鈥檓 so thrilled, grateful and thankful to get to do this.鈥
