Reba McEntire Reunites With 'Reba' Star Christopher Rich Years After Stroke

Reba McEntire and Melissa Peterman are reuniting with another former Reba star on an upcoming episode of Happy’s Place.

Christopher Rich, who played Peterman’s husband and McEntire’s ex-husband on Reba, plays a tattoo artist named Maverick in the episode of Happy’s Place that’s set to premiere on Friday (February 21). The trio of former Reba stars appear in behind-the-scenes photos shared by NBC on Instagram on Wednesday (February 19).

The group also caught up with Entertainment Tonight’s Cassie DiLaura about reuniting on the new comedy series, and Rich’s return to acting after surviving a stroke in 2018. Rich said after taking nearly a decade off, there’s no one else that would bring him back to acting — and “feel safe” doing so — than McEntire and Peterman. McEntire said the Reba cast was first in mind when they started talking about guest casting, noting that Steve Howey, who played her son-in-law on the early 2000s sitcom, has already made an appearance. Peterman told ET, “we always knew that we wanted to have as many reunions as we could have on this show.”

Reba premiered in October 2001. McEntire starred as Reba Hart on the show, alongside her character’s ex-husband, played by Rich, and her character’s unlikely friend, played by Peterman. McEntire’s onscreen children were played by JoAnna Garcia Swisher, Scarlett Pomers and Mitch Holleman, plus onscreen son-in-law Howey. McEntire recently shared an emotional clip from the series finale to mark 18 years since the last episode aired on February 18, 2007. She said at that time: “Today in 2007, we said goodbye to the Hart family in the same place where it all started. We became a family, on and off screen, and I will always love the time we had together!”

Happy’s Place premiered in October. The show follows McEntire’s character, Bobbie, who “inherits a restaurant from her late father, then learns she must share ownership with a newly discovered half-sister, creating awkward tension between the two.” Peterman also stars in the show, along with McEntire’s real-life boyfriend Rex Linn, Belissa Escobedo, Pablo Castelblanco, Tokala Black Elk and more.

McEntire announced on Thursday (February 20) that Happy's Place will return for a second season. The show airs on NBC on Friday at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT, and streams on Peacock.