Oklahoma star Reba McEntire talks new sitcom, new music, her home-state restaurant and more

Since Reba McEntire celebrated the grand opening of her namesake restaurant last year in downtown Atoka, Reba's Place been busily dishing up shrimp and grits and fried green tomatoes, along with country charm and celebrity glamour.

"We're in our sophomore year now. It's doing well: We, of course, have to make changes, adjust, and we're learning. But it's still the best chicken fried steak I've ever had in my life. And I had the meatloaf night before last night, and it was really good," said Reba, who grew up on an Atoka County ranch in nearby Chockie.

The Oklahoma native's newfound knowledge as a restaurateur — the multitalented entertainer is a 50/50 partner with the Choctaw Nation in the ownership of the home-state restaurant bearing her name — will come in handy if her new television sitcom gets a series order.

A Golden Globe-nominated actress and Country Music Hall of Fame singer, Reba confirmed to The Oklahoman that filming was completed in April for the pilot episode of what she hopes will be her new sitcom, titled "Happy's Place."

She said the pilot co-stars her boyfriend, actor and fellow Oklahoman Rex Linn, whom she described as the "love of my life."

"My good friend Melissa Peterman is joining me again on, (as) I call it, the TV box, and it's a fun story," Reba said.

How is the Oklahoma native's newly planned sitcom a reunion for her popular former series 'Reba?'

Reba and Peterman became friends when they co-starred in the still-beloved 2001-2007 TV series "Reba."

But theirs isn't the only "Reba" reunion happening on the potential new sitcom. "Reba" executive producers Kevin Abbott, Michael Hanel and Mindy Schultheis are back together for the new project alongside a new addition to the creative team, Julie Abbott.

"My crew, my producers and my showrunner, we've been working for a long time. Ever since 2006, when 'Reba' got canceled, we've been trying to find another story," Reba told The Oklahoman in an one-on-one interview behind the scenes at April's Western Heritage Awards in Oklahoma City.

"My showrunner Kevin Abbott, his wife, Julie, was the one that came up with this idea — and we ran with it. And NBC loved it enough to for us to do a pilot, and we hope to find out real soon if we get to run forward a little further with it."

The "Reba" reunion on the new pilot comes as McEntire's eponymous series, for which was she was nominated for a 2004 Golden Globe for best actress in a musical or comedy TV series, remains a hot title. All episodes of the six-season show are now streaming on Hulu, and the series will debut May 6 on Netflix.

What is Reba's new planned TV series 'Happy's Place' about?

The new pilot stars Reba as Bobbie, who inherits her father’s restaurant and tavern, Happy's Place, when he dies. According to Deadline, her character is less than thrilled when she learns she has a new business partner: the younger half-sister she never knew she had, played by "Blue Beetle" star Belissa Escobedo.

Peterman co-stars as Gabby, a longtime bartender at the tavern who wishes she was Bobbie’s sister, while Linn plays a taciturn cook named Emmett.

Deadline reports that "Yellowstone" actor Tokala Black Elk, a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and a direct descendant of the Lakota holy man Black Elk, has been cast as a kindly waiter with handyman skills named Takoda.

Pablo Castelblanco ("Alaska Daily") plays Steve, the restaurant's accountant who does his work at the bar and dislikes change.

If the pilot gets picked up for a series, Reba told The Oklahoman her experiences with Reba's Place should help her add flavor to "Happy's Place."

"I have a lot more knowledge about running a restaurant and a tavern than before, so, yeah, I think it'll help," she said.

Reba says 'music will always be there' in her multifaceted career

Over the past five decades, Reba has forged a multifaceted career, beyond even just country music, television series and her restaurant.

"I wanted to be Annie Oakley, and thank God I got to be her for six months (on Broadway). I wanted to be in the movies; I got to do that," Reba said as she accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Western Heritage Awards.

Her current projects also include working as a coach on the NBC singing competition series "The Voice" Season 25 and hosting the upcoming Academy of Country Music Awards for the 17th time.

When the 59th ACM Awards stream live May 16 from Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, exclusively on Prime Video, the three-time Grammy Award winner also will take the stage for a special performance featuring her new music.

"I'm taking a break (from) touring for 2024. We probably won't do anything until the end of '25. But I do have music coming out, and that hopefully will be aired on 'The Voice.' Then, we're going to shoot a video for it," she told The Oklahoman.

The Oklahoma native announced Monday on social media that she will perform her new song "I Can't" on the Tuesday, May 7 live episode of "The Voice." Fans can pre-save the new track, which is set to be released at 9 p.m. May 7, at https://strm.to/ICant.

The country music superstar, whose "Reba" theme song "I'm a Survivor" remains a familiar and relatable anthem, said she hopes to incorporate her music into the new sitcom, too.

"Music will always be there," she said.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Reba McEntire planned new sitcom co-stars Rex Linn and Melissa Peterman