Happy’s Place Season 2 Script Unveiled: Bemmett Romance, an Anticipated Origin Story, and More

Happy’s Place EP Reveals Season 2 Game Plan: #Bemmett Romance, a Sought-After Origin Story and More

Though he didn’t give #Bemmett fans everything they’ve been asking for, series co-creator Kevin Abbott is hopeful that they’ll want to keep a tab open at Happy’s Place.

Friday’s Season 1 finale stopped short of having head chef Emmett ask tavern owner Bobbie out on a proper date, but it did set the stage for their inevitable Season 2 romance. That’s one of several storylines already on tap for the NBC sitcom’s 18-episode sophomore run, which also promises to pick up the pace on Gabby’s journey into motherhood… and maybe even introduce her wackadoo parents.

Additionally, in the following Q&A, Abbott explains why Season 1 avoided telling the origin story of Happy’s relationship with Isabella’s mother, and how he intends for that inevitable family drama to play out in the next batch of episodes, presumably airing this fall.
Rex Linn as Emmett & Reba McEntire as Bobbie Photo by Casey Durkin/NBC
TVLINE | Bobbie and Emmett entering a relationship would have been a natural bookend to Season 1. Why did you decide to hold off?
That was the original intent — to actually have them a little bit further along than we did. That was an idea that I had from before we wrote the pilot, actually, but we didn’t go as far as that because of the scheduling. We only had 13 episodes originally ordered. We were putting some pieces in place just in case, but we didn’t know if we were going to get a back order, or how many [episodes] it was going to be if we did. I don’t like to just jump into these things out of nowhere. I want to build to them so that, when they happen, it feels right. Ultimately, we got the pickup — a back five — after we’d wrapped the first 13. I just didn’t feel like I could successfully build the relationship to the point where I wanted it to be by the finale, so this is going to be something we’re going to get into next season. We can give the audience something to look forward to without taking it too quickly. When we get there, I want the audience to feel really satisfied.

TVLINE | We never got to see Reba Hart in a committed relationship after her divorce from Brock. I imagine there are plenty of stories you’re looking forward to telling on Happy’s Place with Bobbie and Emmett that you never got to tell on Reba….
You have nailed it on the head. Absolutely nailed it. We always talked about that — the one type of story [on Reba] we just did not do well. We could not do it. I mean, Reba is brilliant. She has so many gifts that it’s insane, and she’s a marvelous person, as well… but she could never quite fake chemistry. That was one of my only regrets on the old Reba show. When we set this show up, we cast [Reba’s real-life sweetheart] Rex [Linn] as Emmett, and we set him up as a potential love interest because I never got to tell those stories on Reba, and I think it works. The two of them together at the arcade is just lovely. That moment just tickles me pink.
Photo by Greg Schwartz/Fox Television/Everett Collection
TVLINE | You say you never made it work on Reba, but I recall enjoying those James Denton episodes.
That one kind of worked. I cast James in a pilot I did so long ago, way before Desperate Housewives, and he’s just got a great chemistry with people. It was great for an episode or two, but I don’t think it would have worked long term. It played for me as an attraction, not as a relationship.

TVLINE | So much story on Reba was mined from that initial premise that there was this other woman (Barbra Jean) who ultimately forced her way into Reba’s life. You started this show off with another heavy premise: Bobbie found out that her father had an affair 20-plus years ago, and it resulted in a secret half-sister, Isabella. I bring this up because Season 1 sidestepped any drama that audiences might’ve expected. Even when you introduced Isabella’s mother, Bobbie made it a point to say that what happened between Happy and Maritza was none of her business. Do you still intend to reveal that backstory at some point?
You’ve done your homework. It’s a really good question! The writers were leading up to that moment [in Episode 13] and then we decided that we’d like this moment to [eventually] be between Isabella and Bobbie. Ultimately, I want to tell that origin story. We will know what happened. That’s why, at the end of that episode, Isabella and her mom are talking. We have an episode in mind for when this all comes out. We did not have time to build to that one, either. It would have been Episode 21 if we’d gone 22, let’s put it that way.

 
Belissa Escobedo as Isabella & Justina Machado as Maritza Photo by Casey Durkin/NBC
We’ve gotten Bobbie and Isabella to a really great place, but this is the honeymoon. This is the period where they want this relationship to work, and they’ve been working really hard at it. Next season is the marriage. Next season is when all the little things start to bug me. So we’ll rekindle some of this [drama], work our way back into it. We just wanted to make certain that the audience knew there was something solid to root for before we start causing problems. Reba is beloved, and justifiably so, and it’s hard to be the person that the character of Bobbie is up against. The audience famously hated Barbra Jean for a while because she stole Reba’s husband, so we wanted to make certain that the audience could fall in love with Isabella before we started getting into some more complicated emotional areas.

TVLINE | Will Maritza resurface as that story is told?
We love Maritza. [Justina Machado] is absolutely somebody that is going to come back. She was phenomenal. My general rule is that, for the first season, there is only so much real estate, and I don’t want to give that to outside characters. I want the audience to get to know and love our people the way we do, which is why we only had, I think, four outside characters in Season 1, but they were all important for our characters’ stories — and, you know, I just love Steve Howey and Christopher Rich and wanted them on.
Melissa Peterman as Gabby Photo by Casey Durkin/NBC
TVLINE | Another unresolved storyline in Season 1 was Gabby’s desire to be a mom. Do you intend to see that one through?
Yeah. We had a few episodes about that, but I do like to take it a little slow and keep all those stories in play. When it was a back-five order — you know, 18 is the new 22 — I just didn’t have time to lay any of those pieces down, so I opted out. All these things are just going to be in Season 2 now. We went back and forth on the season finale — either doing something with Bobbie and Emmett, or Gabby or Isabella. We ultimately went this way because everything else felt a little too quick and too big. We wanted something that felt like a season finale that promised something for Season 2, without it feeling too out of the blue, or like too much of a leap forward. Next season, we already have 18, so I can plan it out much better.

As we move forward, I [also] want to meet Gabby’s parents. I’ve got [archetypes] for Gabby’s parents — her mother is like Jean Smart, and her father is this small guy who is kind of wimpy and clearly handpicked and whatnot. And then we meet his best friend, who is like Dauber, the big blond dude from Coach, and clearly there was an affair there, and that’s where all this resentment is coming from for Gabby.

What did you think of the Happy’s Place finale — and Season 1 overall? Weigh in via the following polls, then leave a review in the comments.