'Happy's Place' Brings Plenty of Nostalgia to 'Reba' Fans — Is It a Spin-Off?

While most people know Reba McEntire from her Grammy-winning country music songs and albums, she stamped her place as a bonafide television star with Reba. Airing on the WB (throwback!) and later CW, the show named after the singer followed her as a single mom who works too hard and… well…you better know the rest!

In February 2007, Reba ended its six-year run and marked the end of the star of the show’s primetime TV run. However, over a decade later, after working on other projects like The Voice.

Reba returned to the small screen and continued her and NBC’s relationship with a sitcom, Happy’s Place.

The sitcom, starring Reba as Bobbie, a woman who inherits her father’s diner and must run it with a half-sister she never knew about, played by Belissa Escobedo, is giving Reba fans all of the nostalgia we didn’t think we needed, especially with it also starring Melissa Peterman, who played Barbra Jean during Reba’s run.

As more Easter Eggs from the series roll in, some wonder if the comedy is a new series or one of the revolving spin-offs we’ve witnessed in recent years. So, is Happy’s Place a Reba spin-off? Let’s find out!

While Happy’s Place isn’t technically a Reba spin-off, that was the show’s co-creator Kevin Abbott’s original plan. The showrunner said he and Reba were initially working on a spin-off, and executives were “very excited” to see it through. Unfortunately, he told The Wrap in October 2024 that the plans for a spin-off were “for various financial reasons and rights reasons.”

Kevin said that his wife, Julie Abbott, ultimately came up with Happy’s Place’s plot moments after their phone call.

“I’d spent six months doing this thing and been working on it, and Reba was like, ‘Well, let’s just do another one … we’ll do something else,’” Kevin recalled. “I was like, ‘I don’t have another one in my back pocket.’”

“So I called my wife to complain because I’m a real whiner,” he added. “And she gave me some comforting, and she hung up, and she called me back in five minutes, like ‘I have an idea.’ it wound up being this idea.”

While Happy’s Place sadly isn’t a Reba spin-off, fans of the show have been pleased to see some moments from the successful sitcom play out on the NBC sitcom. Through the show, fans see Melissa and Reba reunite, though their characters don’t share a husband. Melissa starred in her breakout role as Barbra Jean, a dental hygienist who stole Reba’s husband, Brock (Christopher Rich), is on Happy’s Place as the tavern’s bartender, Gabby.

Despite Melissa’s character not being Barbra Jean 2.0, she still loves being around Reba’s character, Bobbie and wishes she was her long-lost sister instead of Belissa’s character, Isabella.

Happy’s Place also included a guest role from Steve Howey, who played Reba’s son-in-law, Van. And, much like Reba, the real Reba offered her singing talents to Happy’s Place’s theme song. Kevin also said that the series, which aired its first season on Oct. 18, 2024, could include more Reba alums like JoAnna Garcia Swisher in the future.

“Because I pitched the reboot to all of them, they’re on board for it,” he confirmed. “We’ve already started kicking around some notions of it, just because they’re both great actors … you could probably look forward to seeing one or both of them on at some point in time.”

Watch Happy’s Place on Fridays at 8 p.m. EST on NBC.