Melissa Peterman reveals where each Reba character would be now

Almost 20 years have passed since then Reba ended, but where would the characters be now?

Melissa Peterman explained exclusively Us Weekly their theories about where each person—and couple—of the sitcom would be today.

“I would like to see where everyone is now. I really would. I think it would be really interesting to see where everyone is now. I think everyone is still together,” Peterman, 53, shared. “Steve (Howey) and I, we talked about it. Like, what would happen (to the characters)?”

Peterman began with her character Barbra Jean and her on-screen husband Brock (played by Christopher Rich).

Related: ‘Reba’ cast: where are they now?

Reba McEntire proved she’s more than just a country superstar when she hosted her own TV show, aptly named Reba. The sitcom ran for six seasons from October 2001 to February 2007. McEntire played a single mother raising her three children, played by JoAnna Garcia Swisher, Scarlett Pomers and Mitch Holleman (…)

“I think Barbra Jean and Brock would still be together. Van and Cheyenne would be. I think Reba would be in a very committed relationship or married,” he mused. “Honestly, I think Reba should have met the love of her life in her life.”

The actress then backtracked on one of her responses, saying: “Maybe Brock and Barbra Jean are fighting. But (Reba and Barbra Jean) would definitely be best friends. Or at least Barbra Jean would tell everyone they were best friends”.

Reba, which aired from 2001 to 2007, followed “a single mom who worked too hard, loved her kids and never stopped,” aka Reba played by Reba McEntire. After her husband, Brock, left her for his dental hygienist, Barbra Jean, Reba tried to start over while raising her three children, including her pregnant teenage daughter. (JoAnna Garcia Swisher) and her boyfriend (Howey). Reba and Barbra Jean bonded over the seasons and eventually became one of our favorite TV friendships.

“I think funny is funny forever. I think if there’s great writing and characters that people want to spend time with, those shows go on (even after they end),” Peterman said. we about Reba’s longevity. “We’ve been very lucky with syndication and with Netflix and that effect. So people have fallen in love with these characters (again). All in all, I think it was great writing, the chemistry of the cast and the characters you wanted to spend time with.”

Related: Fall 2024 Preview: Inside must-have new and returning shows

It’s the busiest time of the TV year with shows like Grotesquerie and The Perfect Couple kicking off the fall season. The Perfect Couple, which is based on Elin Hilderbrand’s novel of the same name, centers on a wedding weekend in Nantucket that doesn’t go exactly as planned. Most of the details have been (…)

The sitcom also paved the way for Peterman and McEntire, 69, to form a lifelong friendship. After Reba, McEntire and Peterman reunited on CMT’s Working ClassFreeform’s baby daddy and of all life The Hammer before joining NBC’s Happy’s Place. (Fans may also have noticed that McEntire and Peterman were recurring cast members on CBS Young Sheldon but they never acted alongside each other.)

“Sharing the screen with Reba is so easy. You can never explain why it happens, but we have this chemistry and a comedic chemistry where I just trust her. She knows if I take something away, it’s going to hit her back. It’s so easy like that.” Peterman said we. “(When it comes to working together), Reba wants to make it work for everyone. She always came in wanting it to feel collaborative as a whole.”

Peterman and McEntire will now star in a new show: Happy’s place. The NBC sitcom, which reunites McEntire and Peterman more than 17 years later Reba ended her run on The WB, follows Bobbie (McEntire) as she inherits her father’s restaurant and discovers a new business partner in her long-lost half-sister (Belissa Escobedo) she didn’t know she had. Peterman plays a waiter at the restaurant while McEntire’s boyfriend, Rex Lynnalso appears as tavern cook Emmett.

In addition to McEntire and Peterman, Happy’s place cast Howey in an upcoming role, and there may be more where that came from.

Related: Celebrities who became best friends with their costars

Everyone loves a couple on set, and these duos are no exception! Mindy Kaling, BJ Novak, Hilarie Burton and Sophia Bush are just a few of the stars who went from co-stars to best friends in real life. Michelle Williams and Busy Philipps, for example, met while filming Dawson’s Creek. The Oscar nominee played Jen (…)

“We’re hoping that it works for everyone and that they can do it. We’d love to. And having Steve, it’s been a lot of fun and he’s another person that we’ve still continued to be in each other’s lives,” noted Peterman. “We have a history. We shared something that not everyone did. That was our first kind of big thing. We’ve only known each other forever. It was a lot of fun and nobody makes me laugh more than Steve Howey.”

Happy’s Place may have some similarities to Reba, but it’s ultimately its own show.

“We are new characters. It’s a new time and it’s different. But the core things you loved about him are there. It feels very different (though),” explained Peterman. “And what I love is the interaction with the new cast members, including Pablo (Castelblanco), Tokala (Black Elk) and Belissa.”

He added: “The other big difference is the real-life family and the reality of blended families. Happy’s place it’s about finding family at work, and Belissa’s character is also about finding a family she didn’t know existed and discovering it. You’ll feel the same warm feeling, but you’ll know it’s new.”

Happy’s place airs Fridays on NBC at 8 pm ET.