Happy’s PlaceCreator Kevin Abbott Says New Series Will 'Recapture Some of That Old Feeling' from the OGRebaShow

Mar. 15, 2025

‘Happy’s Place’ cast.Photo:Trae Patton/NBC

Trae Patton/NBC

Kevin Abbott is revealing whetherHappy’s Placeis really a reboot of the iconic showReba.As the creator of bothHappy’s PlaceandReba,Abbott talked about what makes the two similar after the originalRebarevival was never made. Noting that he and starReba McEntirework well together, Abbott said he knew he wanted to do another show with her, and that’s where the idea for NBC’s new sitcomHappy’s Placecame to be.“Just in general, Reba and I gelled and clicked on the oldRebashow I think because we both like to tell the same kind of stories, and we have a very similar sense of humor, and thematically, we like positivity,” he said. “When people get done watching our shows, we want them to feel good. We want them to walk away having really enjoyed themselves and maybe gotten half an hour out of the tension of life.”“In this one, we wanted to recapture some of that feeling that we had on the oldRebashow, on the reboot,” he added. “I guess we were looking for that.”Reba McEntire on ‘Happy’s Place’.Casey Durkin/NBCThe themes of “family and forgiveness and responsibility to other people” follow both Abbott and McEntire, they said, so naturally, any show they create will embody the essence of one another. Still, they made sure to add some new elements toHappy’s Placeto set it apart from their past work — and they were not actually the originators of the sitcom’s plot.“That’s where I think, from an emotional place, that we’d like the shows to come from,” he explained. “Otherwise, the reboot, when that went away, it became, well, let’s do a totally different show. Let’s not do a family show in a family setting. We told a lot of those stories. Let’s find different stories to tell in a different venue.“He continued: “That’s when Julie, my wife, came up with the concept of havingHappy’s Placeand bringing in family in a different way so that we get to tell more adult stories, not necessarily from an R-rated perspective, but from an adult perspective that we found really interesting.”The cast of ‘Happy’s Place’.JSquared Photography/NBCUniversalWhile McEntire and Abbott have a history with other cast members likeMelissa Peterman, who played Barbra Jean inReba,andRex Linn, who is McEntire’s longtime boyfriend, the two wanted to bring in new actors who could deepen and diversify the show.“Just the times we’re in, and when you’re seeing different viewpoints on life, to be able to capture some of those and see how they kind of bounce off each other, and see where we can find commonalities that you wouldn’t necessarily think are there,” he said. “I mean, we tend to want to bring people together and find the things that people share rather than the things that people apart. And that’s why we brought inBelissa [Escobedo]and Pablo [Castelblanco] and Tokala [Black Elk].”“We wanted to get some different perspectives on life so that we could honor those and show how, yeah, we might be different, but we’re also more similar than you think,” he concluded.The cast of ‘Happy’s Place’ from left: Rex Linn, Belissa Escobedo, Pablo Castelblanco, Reba McEntire, Tokala Black Elk, and Melissa Peterman.Todd Williamson/NBCUniversalStill, Abbott saidReba’sSteve Howeymade a guest appearance and he hopes to bring on more of the iconic show’s old cast to incorporate that sense of nostalgia intoHappy’s Placein the future. McEntire agreed.“I absolutely love it,” she said of filming forHappy’s Place. “Our group, our cast with theRebashow was magnificent, but with this cast and [writers] Mindy [Schultheis] and Michael [Hanel], Kevin said it at the very beginning, it [felt] like a second season on the first episode instead of a pilot. I don’t know why, but this show was meant to be at this time.”Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Happy’s Placepremieres Friday, Oct. 18 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.

Kevin Abbott is revealing whetherHappy’s Placeis really a reboot of the iconic showReba.

As the creator of bothHappy’s PlaceandReba,Abbott talked about what makes the two similar after the originalRebarevival was never made. Noting that he and starReba McEntirework well together, Abbott said he knew he wanted to do another show with her, and that’s where the idea for NBC’s new sitcomHappy’s Placecame to be.

“Just in general, Reba and I gelled and clicked on the oldRebashow I think because we both like to tell the same kind of stories, and we have a very similar sense of humor, and thematically, we like positivity,” he said. “When people get done watching our shows, we want them to feel good. We want them to walk away having really enjoyed themselves and maybe gotten half an hour out of the tension of life.”

“In this one, we wanted to recapture some of that feeling that we had on the oldRebashow, on the reboot,” he added. “I guess we were looking for that.”

Reba McEntire on ‘Happy’s Place’.Casey Durkin/NBC

Casey Durkin/NBC

The themes of “family and forgiveness and responsibility to other people” follow both Abbott and McEntire, they said, so naturally, any show they create will embody the essence of one another. Still, they made sure to add some new elements toHappy’s Placeto set it apart from their past work — and they were not actually the originators of the sitcom’s plot.

“That’s where I think, from an emotional place, that we’d like the shows to come from,” he explained. “Otherwise, the reboot, when that went away, it became, well, let’s do a totally different show. Let’s not do a family show in a family setting. We told a lot of those stories. Let’s find different stories to tell in a different venue.”

He continued: “That’s when Julie, my wife, came up with the concept of havingHappy’s Placeand bringing in family in a different way so that we get to tell more adult stories, not necessarily from an R-rated perspective, but from an adult perspective that we found really interesting.”

The cast of ‘Happy’s Place’.JSquared Photography/NBCUniversal

JSquared Photography/NBCUniversal

While McEntire and Abbott have a history with other cast members likeMelissa Peterman, who played Barbra Jean inReba,andRex Linn, who is McEntire’s longtime boyfriend, the two wanted to bring in new actors who could deepen and diversify the show.

“Just the times we’re in, and when you’re seeing different viewpoints on life, to be able to capture some of those and see how they kind of bounce off each other, and see where we can find commonalities that you wouldn’t necessarily think are there,” he said. “I mean, we tend to want to bring people together and find the things that people share rather than the things that people apart. And that’s why we brought inBelissa [Escobedo]and Pablo [Castelblanco] and Tokala [Black Elk].”

“We wanted to get some different perspectives on life so that we could honor those and show how, yeah, we might be different, but we’re also more similar than you think,” he concluded.

The cast of ‘Happy’s Place’ from left: Rex Linn, Belissa Escobedo, Pablo Castelblanco, Reba McEntire, Tokala Black Elk, and Melissa Peterman.Todd Williamson/NBCUniversal

Todd Williamson/NBCUniversal

Still, Abbott saidReba’sSteve Howeymade a guest appearance and he hopes to bring on more of the iconic show’s old cast to incorporate that sense of nostalgia intoHappy’s Placein the future. McEntire agreed.

“I absolutely love it,” she said of filming forHappy’s Place. “Our group, our cast with theRebashow was magnificent, but with this cast and [writers] Mindy [Schultheis] and Michael [Hanel], Kevin said it at the very beginning, it [felt] like a second season on the first episode instead of a pilot. I don’t know why, but this show was meant to be at this time.”

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Happy’s Placepremieres Friday, Oct. 18 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.

source: people.com