After Reba star Reba McEntire spent decades playing divorcees, the actor’s next project, Happy Place, sees her try something new. Reba McEntire is a country music icon, but that’s not all that made the star famous. McEntire starred in the sitcom Reba from 2001 until 2007, playing the title character. Set in Texas, Reba was a fun family sitcom about a hard-working mother whose life is thrown into disarray when her husband leaves her for a younger woman. 2012 saw McEntire return to the world of sitcoms with the short-lived Malibu Country, a show about a country music star.

Malibu Country’s heroine also discovered that her husband was cheating on her when the series began, setting a recurring thematic trend in stone for McEntire’s put-upon sitcom heroines. While Reba‘s iconic 23-year-old sitcom story remains fondly remembered, Malibu Country wasn’t able to recapture its magic. However, Reba McEntire’s new show Happy Place sounds like a better Reba replacement judging by its synopsis. This upcoming series will see McEntire’s character Bobbie inherit a restaurant from her father after his death. The only problem is that she shares ownership of the place with a half-sister she never knew existed.

Happy’s Place Ends Reba McEntire’s Bad Romance Sitcom Trend

Reba McEntire’s Earlier Sitcom Roles Saw Her Play Divorcees

While it sounds like Happy Place will have plenty of in-built tension, conflict, and drama, that doesn’t mean the show will be a retread of Reba or Malibu Country. Reba McEntire’s Happy Place heroine isn’t divorced, unlike the protagonists of Reba and Malibu Country. Instead, Bobbie has a love interest played by McEntire’s real-life partner, Rex Linn. This will be a welcome change after decades of McEntire portraying heartbroken sitcom heroines. Linn and McEntire first met when they worked together on a Kenny Rogers TV movie in the ‘90s, but the duo reconnected when they collaborated on Young Sheldon.

The real-life Reba McEntire’s net worth is pretty substantial thanks to her successful career, but Reba succeeded primarily because the show’s heroine was so down to earth. Unlike Malibu Country’s musician protagonist, Reba’s heroine faced many everyday problems familiar to working-class viewers. Happy Place can see McEntire’s Bobby come across similarly believable, relatable problems as she and her newfound half-sister attempt to run a restaurant together. From The Bear and The Conners, plenty of recent hit shows have proven that keeping a restaurant open is a stressful and occasionally hilarious business. Happy Place can continue this popular trend.

Who Reba McEntire’s Love Interest Is In Happy’s Place

McEntire’s Real-Life Partner Rex Linn Plays Her Boyfriend

Image via CBS/Paramount

Before Linn became McEntire’s love interest in Happy Place and real life, he was perhaps best known for his roles in CSI: Miami and Better Call Saul. However, these are not the star’s only earlier parts. Linn had a storied career that includes supporting roles in movies as diverse as Wyatt Earp, Cliffhanger, Rush Hour, Ghosts of Mars, Cheaper by the Dozen, Django Unchained, and Under the Silver Lake. On the small screen, Linn played Nathan Riggs in Lethal Weapon and Principal Petersen in Young Sheldon. Now, Linn is the perfectly primed to play Reba heroine Reba McEntire‘s Happy Place love interest.