Reba McEntire on her return to sitcoms and working with her boyfriend on Happy’s Place

The country legend shares the advice she gave bf Rex Linn and what she loves about being back in a multi-cam.

When Reba McEntire first took the plunge into the uncertain waters of primetime sitcoms, she had no idea what she was doing.

But with six seasons, which included the transition from The WB to The CW, and an unforgettable theme song, Reba became a hit and continued to air in syndication years after it ended its run in 2007.

Now, McEntire — in between her music career, her gig on The Voice, and rescuing small towns — has returned to the sitcom with NBC’s Happy’s Place, premiering Oct. 18.  And, yes, Reba will be singing its theme song.

Belissa Escobedo, Reba McEntire on ‘Happy’s Place’.Casey Durkin/NBC

No longer a single mom who works two jobs, who loves her kids, and never stops, McEntire plays Bobbie, the fiery owner of the titular bar, left to her by her dearly departed father, Happy. However, Happy was perhaps a bit too overjoyed in life and Bobbie finds out she has a half-sister, Isabella (Belissa Escobedo), who was left half the bar in Happy’s will.

“Bobbie’s been running the tavern for the last 10 years,” McEntire tells Entertainment Weekly. “She was married, but her husband passed away. She has one daughter that is deployed in the Army, so she’s pretty much by herself and her life is spent in the tavern.”

The “very down-to-earth, no nonsense” Bobbie is surrounded by a motley crew of employees: Pablo Castelblanco as the finicky accountant Steve; Tokala Black Elk as the far-too-affable waiter Takoda; McEntire’s real-life boyfriend Rex Linn as short-tempered short order cook Emmett; and a familiar face from Reba, Melissa Peterman as the clingy bartender Gabby.

Melissa Peterman, Reba McEntire on ‘Happy’s Place’.Casey Durkin/NBC

Peterman and McEntire are friends off-camera, as well, so getting back into a comedic groove with her was “just like riding a bicycle.”

“We get to play off each other, which is wonderful,” McEntire says of Peterman. “We have so much fun together and it’s just putting Bobbie in certain circumstances that she has to find a way out of.”

For newbie Linn, however, McEntire used what she had learned from her early TV days to give her beau a bit of advice.

‘Happy’s Place’.Casey Durkin/NBC

“Oh my gosh, I learned everything from [Reba], how to rehearse, how to flow with things,” McEntire says. “This is Rex’s first sitcom and I kind of told him that. I said, ‘Don’t memorize everything off the first draft because they’ll change it and they do every day just to improve it. What doesn’t get a big laugh, they change it. And so you just learn to get familiar with the blocking and everything, but don’t nail everything down on the dialogue until the third, fourth day.’”

While McEntire and the cast love show night and filming in front of a live studio audience, the “Fancy” singer has a special place in her heart for rehearsals.

“What I love is the camaraderie between all of the actors and the crew, the writers, everybody. We just have fun creating what we’re going to be filming on show night,” she says. “And the writers are great. Kevin Abbott wrote for me on Reba, [her second sitcom] Malibu Country, and he is a genius. He knows my voice and I just totally love being Bobbie.”

Happy’s Place premieres Friday, Oct. 18, at 8 p.m. ET/PT, on NBC.