“A single mom who works two jobs, who loves her kids, and never stops” just reunited with her long-lost TV daughter.
Nineteen years since Reba went off the air, Reba McEntire is once again sharing the small screen with JoAnna Garcia Swisher, who played her eldest child Cheyenne for six seasons on the popular sitcom.
The 46-year-old actress guest stars on the March 13 episode of McEntire’s NBC comedy Happy’s Place as Kenzie, an influencer hired to promote the eponymous Tennessee bar on social media — and their first scene together playfully nods at their TV family bond.
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“Whoa, you could be my daughter,” remarks McEntire’s character Bobbie, the owner of Happy’s Place, when she meets Kenzie.
The guest role reunites Garcia Swisher not only with McEntire but also Reba‘s Melissa Peterman, who plays Gabby, a bartender at Happy’s Place. And the trio picked up right where they left off nearly two decades ago.
“It’s like riding a bicycle, we just fell right back into it,” McEntire gushed to Entertainment Tonight. “We just had such a great time on the Reba show, and for Jo to join Mel and me again here on Happy’s Place is just icing on the cake.”
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Garcia Swisher, who stars on her own show, Netflix’s Sweet Magnolias, got emotional talking about what it was like reconnecting with McEntire and Peterman.
“It’s been beautiful,” she said in the same interview. “It’s really been very heartwarming … coming back, it’s family.”
And it wouldn’t be complete without her TV husband, Steve Howey, Reba‘s affable goof Van Montgomery.
“We might have crank called [him],” Peterman admitted. “We’ve annoyed Steve Howey so much these last few days,” added Garcia Swisher. “He’s like, ‘I never want you guys to spend this much time together.’”
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Howey also guest starred on Happy’s Place in its first season, playing Danny, a wealthy businessman who Gabby meets at a dog park. Hilarity ensued when she pretended to be Bobbie in an effort to impress him — until Danny shows up at the bar.
Happy’s Place may not be the last place Reba fans see the three actresses together on screen.
Garcia Swisher hopes McEntire and Peterman will one day appear on Sweet Magnolias. “We’d love to,” McEntire agreed.
