Reba’s Melissa Peterman Shares Celebs Who Want to Cameo on Happy’s Place

Happy’s Place has a wide range of fans, from people who loved the original Reba sitcom to celebrities asking to make guest appearances.

During an exclusive interview with Us Weekly, Melissa Peterman revealed that multiple stars have pitched ideas on how they could join the NBC series — even just in a cameo capacity.

“Cheyenne Jackson has reached out, and his pitch was hilarious. It was that he’s hired as a weekend bartender that [my character] Gabby is training and he’s just so good-looking. But he’s a horrible bartender,” Peterman, 53, quipped. “But nobody cares [about that] except Gabby. And Reba McEntire‘s Bobbie is like, ‘It doesn’t matter. He’s so good-looking.’”

John Lithgow, meanwhile, contacted Peterman’s costar Rex Linn about the show. “John Lithgow reached out to Rex, which would be amazing,” she added. “People want to work. Right now we all want to be working and also to work on a show where there’s a lot of fun to be had. I think Lance Barber from Young Sheldon would be great too. I know that he’d want to — and I would just love to get a bunch of different people over.”

Happy’s Place, which premiered in October 2024, follows Bobbie (McEntire) as she inherits her father’s restaurant and discovers a new business partner in the half-sister (Belissa Escobedo) she didn’t know she had. Peterman — who costarred with McEntire, 69, on Reba — plays a bartender at the restaurant, while McEntire’s boyfriend, Linn, appears as a cook at the tavern.

“I really wanted to be clear about Gabby being completely different [from my Reba character, Barbara Jean]. She can be a little odd and she’s got flaws. But her flaws are a lot darker than Barbara,” Peterman told Us. “She’s definitely a little bit broken and wants connection. I love the challenge of being able to create her.”

Peterman specifically praised cocreator Kevin Abbott, who worked on Reba before reuniting with the cast on Happy’s Place.

“He’s been so great about answering and helping me put together this backstory of this person. I’m getting new information all the time,” she teased. “I just found out something new about Gabby in this last episode that’s going to air. It’s almost more challenging [working with the same people] because they know you so well. So I love being pushed to do something completely different for this audience.”

While Peterman is thrilled by the number of Reba fans tuning into Happy’s Place, she’s also glad that the show earned new viewers as well. (NBC has already renewed Happy’s Place for a second season.)

“Everyone was really trying to be respectful of the past but also making sure that they know it is different. The great thing is the chemistry that Reba and I had that cannot be denied is something we are going to build on,” she shared. “But we know we have that, obviously Rex and her have a chemistry and I’ve gotten to hang out with him. Then we invite Belissa, Pablo Castelblanco and Tokala Black Elk Pablo, who are amazing actors and make such great choices. It feels like I’m getting to play in the same playground with new friends in a way.”

Peterman went on to note that it was “really important” for Happy’s Place not feel like a Reba revival.

“Some fans probably wanted a complete reboot. Maybe it took them a minute to adjust. But I think the great thing about Happy’s Place is that it feels familiar with the new twist,” Peterman continued. “So I hope that we keep our old viewers and bring in more and more new ones. I’m excited about season 2 because that’s when things really open up for a show. When you can start going, ‘We’ve established that and we’ve got this.’ Now we can go, ‘Who is Takoda’s wife? Who is Gabby’s mom?’ There’s so many fun things that we are allowed to now do in a season 2 that you can’t always do in season 1.”

The good news? Peterman already has ideas about how Gabby’s family could grow — starting with her mother.

“It’s been cast in my head since the minute I heard the first information they would give me about her. [I would love] Jean Smart,” she revealed. “There’s so many funny and amazing women in Hollywood. I just think that Gabby’s mom, she’s formidable and she’s probably very charming.”

Just because Happy’s Place stands on its own doesn’t mean there won’t be more Reba nods. Steve Howey and Christopher Rich have already reunited with Peterman and McEntire, and the plan is to keep bringing more of their former costars to the show.

“Scarlett [Pomers] as Kyra was just incredibly and comedically gifted. I know we would love to see JoAnna Garcia [Swisher] and I think she just saw Reba recently. So I hope Reba was like, ‘When you are available … ‘ It would be fun to have any and all Reba participants — whether they’re a cast member or a guest,” Peterman said. “It would be so much fun, and we would love to have all of them.”

Happy’s Place airs on NBC Fridays at 8 p.m. ET.