Sitcoms might end, but family is eternal.
On Sept. 27, Melissa Peterman shared sweet photos on Instagram of a Reba cast reunion. Peterman, 54, posted for photos with her fellow Reba stars Reba McEntire, JoAnna Garcia Swisher and Christopher Rich in a parking lot after dinner. They were also joined by McIntire’s fiance Rex Linn and Rich’s wife Eva Halina Rich.
Peterman wrote in the caption, “Dinner with friends is always good. Dinner with these friends is everything. #familyforever ❤️.” Garcia Swisher commented on the gallery of photos, “Goodness, i love you all so much ❤️.”
Reba ran for six seasons from 2001 to 2007. McEntire played Reba Hart, a divorced mom who tries to keep her family together after her husband divorces her for his dental hygienist. Rich, 72, played her ex Brock, while Peterman played Barbra Jean, his new wife who eventually becomes Reba’s friend. Garcia Swisher played Cheyenne, Reba and Brock’s eldest child who gets pregnant during her senior year of high school.
The Reba cast also included Steve Howey as Van Montgomery, Cheyenne’s boyfriend, and Scarlett Pomers and Mitch Holleman as Reba and Brock’s other two children, Kyra and Jake, respectively.
The Reba reunion comes weeks after McEntire’s stepson Brandon Blackstock passed away from cancer at the age of 48. McEntire was married to Brandon’s father Narvel Blackstock for 26 years, until 2015. In an Aug. 12 tribute to Brandon on Instagram, McEntire wrote in part, “There is no one else like him, and I’m thankful for the time we had together. His legacy and laughter will be carried on through his family. “
McEntire and Peterman reunited on a more permanent basis in 2024 when their new sitcom Happy’s Place premiered on NBC. McEntire plays Bobbie, who inherits a bar from her father, and Peterman plays a bartender there. Linn, 68, also stars on the show with them as a cook at the bar. Rich and Howey, 48, have also appeared as guest stars on the show.
“The first time we went into a table read, it was very nostalgic,” McEntire told PEOPLE in May about working with so many former collaborators from Reba. “It was very emotional. I mean, see, I’m getting choked up right now. That’s the way it was for all of us to be so blessed. If you get one really good sitcom that lasts for six seasons, you think, ‘Man, I’ve got the golden ring. That’ll be it. Probably never do it again, because that’s magic in a bottle.’ We got it again and we realize it.”
She added, “It’s real easy to step in back into that with the crew. You love people you get to work together with that you’ve worked with before. It’s just so much easier than starting over.”
Will other Reba stars appear on Happy’s Place, which returns for season two on Nov. 7? “A hundred percent, I would do the show,” Garcia Swisher, 46, told PEOPLE in July 2024. “But more importantly, I’m just excited to go watch the show because I am really excited for all of them. It’s going to be great.”
She said McEntire and Peterman are “just gold” together and added, “I know what the warmth of that set being led by Reba feels like. It’s just going to be a great experience. It’s such a gift. It was the perfect opportunity.”
