Reba McEntire To Executive Produce And Star In New Comedy Sitcom Pilot On NBC

It has been over 20 years since Reba McEntire’s beloved Reba series premiered and now, she’s getting the chance to star in a brand-new sitcom on NBC.

New Sitcom

While the still-untitled multi-cam project will have no relation to 2000’s sitcom, it will find the country music icon reuniting with Kevin Abbott, Michael Hanel and Mindy Schultheis, who all worked as executive producers on her hit series that ran for six seasons. In addition to the former Reba teammates, Julie Abbott will also serve as executive producer. 

NBCUniversal made the announcement on Monday (Jan. 29), revealing that the storyline of the new comedy pilot centers around Reba McEntire who inherits her father’s restaurant and, much to her dismay, discovers that this handed-down venture also comes with a new business partner in the form of a half-sister she never knew existed.

Deadline reported that this marks the first official pilot order for the 2024 broadcast pilot season, which was impacted by the dual WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.

The Voice

The “Seven Minutes in Heaven” singer has gotten well-acquainted with the NBC family from her time as a coach on Season 24 of The Voice. She will return to the iconic red chair for her second season on the singing competition show alongside the newest set of coaches, Dan + Shay who will take on the Double Chair for the very first time. Season 25 is set to premiere on February 26 on NBC. 

Prior to her time on The Voice, McEntire honed in on her acting skills while playing a leading character in the third season of Big Sky, a Montana-based series on ABC. She played Sunny Barnes alongside her boyfriend Rex Linn, who starred as her husband, Buck. The lovebirds also got to work together on set of 2023’s Lifetime movie Reba McEntire’s The Hammer, which cast Linn as “a mysterious cowboy with unknown motives,” and McEntire as the Nevada traveling judge Kimberly Wanker. Her former Reba co-star Melissa Peterman also starred.

Previously Starred In Several Sitcoms

McEntire should feel right at home on the set of her new show as she is no stranger to acting in sitcoms. In addition to starring in her very own series, she later appeared in shows like Malibu Country, Baby Daddy, Last Man Standing, and Young Sheldon. Even though she and Peterman have been behind the camera together on a number of occasions and appear to still be close friends, there have been no indications that Peterman will make an appearance on the new NBC sitcom.

Last year in April, several cast members of Reba including Peterman, JoAnna García Swisher, and Steve Howey reunited to cheer McEntire on during her concert at the Hollywood Bowl. A few months later, they found themselves back in L.A. at the same time and got together again to catch up over dinner. Recounting the evening, McEntire made it seem like no time had passed between these former co-stars. 

“We had other friends with us and JoAnna would say, ‘I’m so sorry, we’re boring y’all’ and they were like, ‘Oh, no, we love every minute of it. Continue on.’ We could have stayed there for three days talking and getting reacquainted,” McEntire told Country Now and other outlets.

“It’s no wonder that show lasted for six years and people love to see it because that’s who we are,” she continued. “We’re crazy, kooky, funny, and we’re just entertaining off-screen. So to have great writers like we did and directors, it enhanced all of that. And I just love them. It’s just so much fun to be with them. They’re good people.”

Singing The National Anthem At The Super Bowl

Before Season 25 of The Voice launches, the country star will appear at Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas to sing the national anthem. Her performance will take place at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday, Feb. 11 and will air on CBS. In addition to Reba, the pre-game lineup for the Super Bowl features performances by Post Malone and Andra Day. Usher is set to take the stage during the halftime show.