Heavy/NBC "The Voice" coaches John Legend, Niall Horan, Reba McEntire, Chance the Rapper, and Gwen Stefani
NBCUniversal has confirmed that a new comedy starring country superstar Reba McEntire is in the works, Deadline reported on January 30, 2024. Fresh off her first season as a coach on NBC’s “The Voice,” McEntire is ready to film the pilot for a new sitcom alongside producers from her first comedy series, which premiered over 20 years ago. It will be one of multiple TV projects the megastar has planned for 2024.
Here’s what you need to know:
Reba McEntire Has Wanted to Reboot Her Old ‘Reba’ Series
GettyReba McEntire at the CMA Awards in November 2022
NBC has ordered a pilot of an untitled, multi-camera sitcom starring McEntire, 68, marking the network’s first sitcom order of the 2024 season, according to the Hollywood Reporter (THR). The show will be overseen by showrunner Kevin Abbott, who was the showrunner on McEntire’s first sitcom, “Reba,” which aired on the WB and later on the CW between 2001 and 2007.
Abbott, who will also write the pilot, has an impressive track record when it comes to successful sitcoms. His credits include comedy juggernauts “The Golden Girls,” “Last Man Standing” and “Roseanne.” He also helmed McEntire’s other sitcom, “Mailbu Country,” which aired on ABC from 2012 to 2013.
In addition to starring in the show, McEntire will serve as an executive producer, per People, alongside Abbott, Michael Hanel and Mindy Schultheis, who also served as producers on “Reba.”
In July 2022, she said on “The Bobby Jones Show” that she wanted to do another show and work with many of the people who were behind-the-scenes on “Reba.”
“We’ve really been trying hard to do a reboot of the ‘Reba’ show,” she said. “I really want to work with the people that I got to work with during that six and a half years.”
If the pilot does well with test audiences, NBC will likely turn it into a full-fledged series. The potential sitcom will star McEntire as a woman “who inherits her father’s restaurant and is less than thrilled to discover she has a new business partner in the half-sister she never knew she had,” per THR.
Late in the day on January 30, McEntire shared a link to Deadline’s report in her Instagram Stories and wrote, “Very excited!”
Though McEntire is one of the country music’s most successful female artists, she also loves acting. Since her two comedy series ended, she’s made multiple guest TV appearances, from a recurring guest role on the series “Young Sheldon” to starring in a Christmas movie on Lifetime. In 2022, she starred in the third season of ABC’s drama “Big Sky,” playing the role of Sunny Barnes alongside her boyfriend, Rex Linn, who plays Sunny’s husband Buck.
Reba McEntire Has Multiple TV Appearances in Her Future
McEntire will be on TV a lot in the coming weeks. For starters, it was recently announced that she’ll perform at Super Bowl LVIII for the first time in her career, singing the national anthem.
She’ll also return to “The Voice” as a coach for its 25th season, which kicks off on February 26.
After the first season, during which she took over former coach Blake Shelton’s chair and two of her team members made it to the Finals, she told People she loved the experience.
“Working with the contestants, hanging out with the coaches, I’ve had so much fun,” she said. “And the crew is wonderful. I’ve gotten to meet so many people that I’ll never forget.”
As she looked ahead to her busy 2024, she told the outlet her goal was to do only the things she enjoys.
“Professional (goals) would be to continue doing what I love to do,” she said. “Say no to the things that won’t be fun. Say yes to the things that will be. Personal is to have fun — just continue being happy and healthy. That’s what I pray for daily.”