Casey Durkin / NBC via Getty Images

Reba McEntire’s Former TV Husband Guest Stars In Her New Sitcom On NBC

Christopher Rich, who previously starred in Reba McEntire‘s namesake sitcom, has joined the cast of her brand-new show, Happy’s Place.

Happy’s Place, which just got renewed for a second season, debuted on NBC on October 18, 2024. The show stars McEntire as Bobbie, a strong-willed woman running her late father’s tavern. But her world gets flipped upside down when she learns she has a younger half-sister, Isabella (played by Belissa Escobedo), who is also her new business partner.

The show also stars Melissa Peterman, McEntire’s former Reba sitcom co-star and real-life best friend, as a bartender named Gabby. McEntire’s boyfriend, Rex Linn, plays the tavern’s cook, Emmett.

Happy’s Place staged a mini Reba reunion when Steve Howey appeared in a guest role in one episode. Howey played McEntire’s son-in-law, Van Montgomery, on Reba, which ran from 2001 to 2007.

Another Reba star recently joined the cast of Happy’s Place. Christopher Rich, who played McEntire’s ex-husband Brock Hart on Reba, will appear in the new sitcom’s 15th episode, airing on February 21.

Variety shared the first known details about Rich’s Happy’s Place character, who’s named Maverick. The publication described Maverick as:

“…a local tattoo artist that is very good at his job … as long as he’s using his right hand. Turns out Maverick has had a stroke and likes to tease new clients about which hand he’s going to use when he starts doing their tattoos.”

The story detail about Maverick being a stroke survivor comes from Rich’s own life. The actor suffered a stroke and subsequent brain injury several years ago (in 2018), which kept him from acting.

“Then I threw a bunch of blood clots and ended up in the hospital with lung embolisms and debris on my heart,” Rich told Us Weekly in a recent interview. “After surviving all of that crap, I’m feeling really, really good.”

As someone with a disability, Rich says, “It’s great” to play a disabled character upon his return to TV.

“It’s great to be able to be a disabled person and play a disabled person,” he said. “I’m hoping that when some of this gets out there, that people that I’ve worked with in the past are going to say, ‘OK, let’s bring him back. We can work with him.’”

See The First Photos Of Christopher Rich As His Character On Happy’s Place

On Thursday (February 19), Happy’s Place released the first photos of Christopher Rich on set and in character as Maverick. NBC shared some of those photos on Instagram, captioning them, “Counting down the days until this reunion…Christopher Rich guest stars in #HappysPlace Friday 8/7c on nbc and streaming on @peacock.”

TV Insider obtained additional photos of Rich on the Happy’s Place set.

Fans rejoiced after seeing Rich reunite with McEntire and Peterman (Peterman played his wife, Barbara Jean, on Reba). Some of the comments on NBC’s Instagram post about his upcoming guest role included:

“Yay!!! Another Reba reunion! I can’t wait!”

“Heck yeah!!!”

“This trio is hilarious !!”

“So fun to see them all back together.”

“Wow Reba Barbra Jean and Brock back together again.”

“YAY!!!! I’ve been hoping for this reunion!”

“These reunions are the best thing ever!”

“Love these mini reunions!!!!!”

You can catch Christopher Rich on Happy’s Place on Friday, February 21 at 8/7c on NBC. The episode will also be available to stream on NBC’s streaming service, Peacock.

Watch the video below to hear Rich speak more about his acting return and reuniting with McEntire and Peterman on Happy’s Place.