Reba McEntire, the Queen of Country Music, also teases the crossover with ‘The Voice’
Almost 50 years after laying down her first record, Reba McEntire is still making music, hosting award shows and taping her third consecutive season on The Voice – and after all her hits, the country music legend tells FIRST for Women that also getting to make her new sitcom Happy’s Place is a “dream come true.” At a bustling NBC party, we found a quiet spot to catch up with McEntire – who tells us all about her new comedy, shares what it’s like to work with real-life beau Rex Linn, and reflects on her epic career.
Plus, McIntire teases the Snoop Dogg and Michael Bublé The Voice/Happy’s Place crossover that has everyone buzzing!
Reba McEntire shares everything you need to know about sitcom ‘Happy’s Place’
Reba McEntire with Happy’s Place costars Pablo Castelblanco, Tokala Black Elk, Belissa Escobedo, Melissa Peterman and Rex LinnTrae Patton/NBC
Reba was supposed to get its last laugh when it went off the air in 2007, but thanks to syndication and now Netflix, McEntire’s original sitcom has found a whole new audience – and this fall, audiences will be introduced to a whole new McEntire character when Happy’s Place premieres!
“It’s a dream come true,” McEntire says of making her new sitcom. “We have been working on it…well, since they cancelled us!”
With Reba showrunner Kevin Abbott and costar Melissa Peterman back in the fold with McEntire, fans will see some similarities to the original sitcom – which saw her play an unexpectedly single mom who was trying to manage her family and the woman her husband knocked up.
In Happy’s Place, McEntire’s character Bobby is dealing with a whole different kind of family surprise. After her father passes away, she inherits the family tavern…along with a younger half-sister she never knew existed, played by Belissa Escobedo!
“Reba was a fighter: Bobby is a survivor,” McEntire teases. “She’s trying to hold things together and feels betrayed at first, but I think she handles it better than I would have. I’m really proud about that. Kevin comes up with the best ideas that not only are entertaining and funny but give heart. That’s important to me.”
Reba McEntire opens up about working with boyfriend Rex Linn in ‘Happy Place’
Rex Linn as Emmett, Reba McEntire as Bobbie in Happy’s PlaceCasey Durkin/NBC
Beyond reuniting with her old pals for some heartwarming fun, McEntire is thrilled to get to share this adventure with her boyfriend of over four years – CSI: Miami alum Rex Linn, who also worked with her on Big Sky and The Hammer.
“It’s just wonderful,” she raves. “Are there times when it’s a little too much together time? Not at all! Because he turns into my dialogue coach. I don’t like to rehearse, but he makes me and I’m a better actor because of it.”
That kind of camaraderie, along with the laughs and the stable job, are what makes McEntire appreciate working on sitcoms over everything else. But the truth is, this singer – who first appeared alongside Kevin Bacon in the 1989 horror comedy film Tremors – has always been an actress at heart.
“I always said I wanted to act because I want to be somebody else, not Reba McEntire,” she shares. “And when I’m Reba McEntire on stage, I am acting like the person that’s in the song I’m singing. When I’m doing ‘Somebody Should Leave,’ I can see me sitting in the living room and us not talking. When I’m doing ‘Fancy,’ I can see the whole story in my mind.”
Reba McEntire shares the secret to her epic success
While McEntire has been making music for decades, the Queen of Country wasn’t exactly an overnight success.
“It was baby steps all the way,” she recounts. “From my first recording in ‘76 till ’83, when I first had my first number one record, it was a learning session – because I didn’t know anything about the music business. Higher powers knew exactly what they were doing and navigated me to where I needed to be at the right time.”
Based on her own experience, her advice to young upstarts in the business is, unsurprisingly, not to rush it.
“Maybe I wanted it faster, but I didn’t need it faster,” she insists. “Because if you’re going to walk into a career you know absolutely nothing about, that’s suicide. Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson were thrown into stardom by American Idol. That was hard on them, and they told me that.”
As a mentor and coach on The Voice, McEntire is doing her part to take care of a new generation of stars the way her team has taken care of her.
“You have your team built around you,” she explains. “They’re surrounding you to teach you, guide you, keep you out of the chug holes and on the path, and groom you. If you’ve got a team like I did, when you have some success, it’s never that ‘I’ did it.”
Reba McEntire isn’t slowing down any time soon
Reba McEntire, 2024Trae Patton/NBC
With The Voice and Happy’s Place premiering this fall, McEntire is spending this sizzling hot Los Angeles summer on set, working hard – and she’s loving it.
“What I’m getting to do now, I give all the praise and glory to God,” she says. “He gave me the voice. He gave me the talent. So whatever he wants me to do, I’m there for him. I’m saying, ‘Coach, put me in!’”
While McEntire clearly isn’t looking to slow down at work, the one-time self-professed “gypsy at heart” admits she’s not as in love hitting the road – or even hitting the town – as she once was.
“I love to have a job and stay busy, but I also like to be quiet and relax,” she says. “Once in a while we’ll go out, but we love to stay at home. We love to cook and have friends over, sit and watch television. And we love the backyard.”
Reba reveals which ‘Voice’ coaches want to guest star on sitcom ‘Happy’s Place’
Reba on The VoiceTyler Golden/NBC
After flying between shooting The Voice on the West Coast and Big Sky on the East Coast for the 2022-23 TV season, McEntire is doing double duty once again – but this time, she’s cut out the commute.
“I’m doing The Voice in this building…and I walk across the alley and I’m doing Happy’s Place in this building,” McEntire shares with a laugh. “And I have a house here. This is a walk in the park compared to when I was doing Big Sky, so I’ve got my chops up and my endurance ready! It’s perfect.”
Even more perfect? Her The Voice costars can join her for a drink at the tavern…on her new sitcom! While she’s not making any promises about coach Gwen Stefani, we hear the guys could stop by.
“Snoop Dogg – that’s Mr. Snoop Dogg! – and Michael Bublé both want to come on Happy’s Place as guests,” teases McEntire, who may be recording her sitcom’s new theme song as you read this. “They’re so excited about it.”
With The Voice Season 26 set to return to NBC on Monday, September 23, at 8 pm ET/PT; McEntire’s new sitcom Happy’s Place will premiere Friday, October 18, at on NBC at 8 pm PT/ET and stream on Peacock.
