KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A Queen of Country is making Knoxville the setting of her new sitcom series, "Happy's Place." Reba McEntire said in an interview that she had been to Knoxville "lots of times" and has a friend who lives in the city.
"I've been to Knoxville performing lots of times, too. So, visiting and even little vacations down there. That's a beautiful part of the country," Reba said. "It's just a new, fresh idea and we're going down a different road."
The new show is slated to premiere on Oct. 18 at 8 p.m. Screeners showed Reba off surrounded by University of Tennessee logos, such as a "Power T" hanging in a restaurant scene.
NBC said the show follows Bobbie, played by Reba, after she inherits her father's restaurant. While reading her father's will, Bobbie finds out that her business partner will be Isabella, the half-sister she never knew she had. She will be played by Belissa Escobedo, who appeared in Hocus Pocus 2 and Blue Beetle.
"It's like you're walking into a space already filled with so much love, and stories and companionship," said Escobedo. "And Reba over here makes everything better on set, so it's really good."
In an interview, Reba told NBC that the show is, "Gonna be that heartfelt, fun, funny, laugh at our silliness. But also, [you'll] be touched with the heart in our show."
Melissa Peterman rejoins Reba on Happy's Place as a bartender close to Bobbie. Peterman and Reba shared screen time on the early-2000s eponymous sitcom that catapulted Reba's career. On that show, Peterman placed a dental hygienist who had an affair with Reba's on-screen husband.
The two also worked together on projects like Young Sheldon, Working Class and The Hammer. Reba also said the showrunner from a previously planned reboot of her sitcom was working on Happy's Place.
NBC also reported that Reba's off-screen boyfriend will play a short-order cook on Happy's Place, described as a patriarchal character who may act in place of the previous owner of the restaurant.
Anyone who wants to watch Happy's Place will be able to find it on NBC on Oct. 18 and streaming on Peacock TV on Oct. 19.