Reba’s ‘Happy’s Place’ Drops ‘The Voice’ Joke: ‘Don’t Know Anything About Judging a Talent Contest’

Reba McEntire as Bobbie, Reba McEntire on The Voice. Casey Durkin/NBC;Griffin Nagel/NBC
Happy’s Place found a way to joke about Reba McEntire‘s coaching gig on fellow NBC series The Voice.

During the Friday, January 3, episode of the hit sitcom, Bobbie (McEntire) and Gabby (Melissa Peterman) compete to see who will emcee for the Tavern’s anniversary party. Bobbie asked Emmett (Rex Linn, McEntire’s real-life boyfriend) for help, prompting a surprising, hilarious response.

“I realize you don’t know anything about judging a talent contest,” Emmett quipped. “But decisions should be made on talent and talent alone.”

He added: “That is what America expects and that is what America deserves.”

Before McEntire, 69, joined Happy’s Place, she was briefly a judge on America’s Got Talent in 2016. She later served as a coach on The Voice after Blake Shelton‘s exit in 2023. The country music star enjoyed some success during her seasons 24 to 26 tenure, and ended up winning with Asher HaVon in 2024.

McEntire’s new series, which premiered in October, has made some not-so-subtle references to her other onscreen roles. The show follows Bobbie as she inherits her father’s restaurant and discovers a new business partner in the half-sister (Belissa Escobedo), who she didn’t know she had.

Rex Linn as Emmett, Reba McEntire as Bobbie in ‘Happy’s Place.’ Casey Durkin/NBC
In addition to series creator Kevin Abbott‘s past involvement with McEntire’s Reba sitcom, Peterman, 53, also starred on the show. Their former Reba costar Steve Howey recently scored a guest role on Happy’s Place.

“Kevin had this idea for this character ahead of time. And then he was like, ‘What if Howey would do it? That would be really great to get a reunion going.’ I fit the character description so he gave me a call,” Howey, 47, recalled during an interview with Us Weekly in December 2024. “The planets just aligned on this one.”

Howey’s appearance as Danny featured several Easter eggs referencing his time playing Van on Reba.

Steve Howey as Danny, Reba McEntire as Bobbie, Melissa Peterman as Gabby in ‘Happy’s Place.’ Casey Durkin/NBC
“Those little wink and nods are really cool for the audience,” he shared. “The line that I did give was the first time I walked in when Reba was drawing on Melissa’s picture and she made a mustache. I say, ‘Hey, nice mustache.’ She turns around and says, ‘Wish I could say the same about yours.’ But that was my line to Reba — and that’s how cool Reba is. I can pitch something and she’s like, ‘I’ll try it.’”

The actor said he was glad Danny didn’t become a copy and paste version of Van.

“Van is obviously different because I was so different. I was a lot younger, a lot more naive and a lot more fresh. It was my first series regular job so it was very new. Now after 20 some years, I can bring different experiences to the characters that I play,” he explained. “Also the character relationships — because Happy’s Place is a new thing — are different. Yes, it’s Reba Melissa, but the characters are different. Bobbie is a lot different than Reba. Gabby is a lot different than Barbara Jean and Danny’s obviously different.”

He continued: “This guy owns his own business. He has money and he’s playing this game. Like you said, Danny was onto them the whole time. … They have something special [with Happy’s Place] that just makes sense and Reba has another lightning in the bottle show.”

Happy’s Place airs Fridays at 8 pm on NBC.