‘Happy’s Place’ Will See Reba McEntire Reunite With Steve Howey

It has been announced that Reba McEntire will reunite with Steve Howey on her new sitcom Happy’s Place. The actor had previously been her co-star on her namesake sitcom, Reba. Howey isn’t the only actor to reunite with McEntire on the new show and more might be planned.

Some Fans Know Him As Van, Others As Kevin

Howey got his first starring role on McEntire’s self-titled sitcom, Reba. On the show, he played Van Montgomery, the ditzy boyfriend and eventual husband of Reba’s daughter Cheyenne. After getting Cheyenne pregnant while still in high school at the start of the series, Van’s parents throw him out, causing him to move into Reba’s household.

First appearing in 2001, Howey remained on the show until its end in 2007. He and Cheyenne’s actress, JoAnna García-Swisher, also appeared in the music video for McEntire’s “Every Other Weekend.”

Since then, he became known for playing Kevin Ball on Shameless. In the series, he is the owner of the local bar, The Alibi, as well as a friend and neighbor to the Gallaghers.

Howey is set to reunite with McEntire on an upcoming episode of her new sitcom, Happy’s Place, in which her character, Bobbie, inherits her late father’s bar. This won’t be the only Reba reunion on the show.

Reba fans will also recognize another cast-member, Melissa Peterman, who played Barbra Jean on the older show, as Gabby in Happy’s Place. Kevin Abbott, who was an executive producer on Reba, is also a series creator on Happy’s Place.

There Might Be More Reunions In The Works

In fact, it’s been revealed that Howey’s character will have a storyline with Peterman’s character. In a conversation with TV Line, Abbott revealed that, “One of the arcs for [Peterman’s] character Gabby is that she thinks she wants to have a baby… and the Steve Howey character [Danny] becomes a potential sperm donor.”

For the time being, unlike Peterman, Howey is only set to make the one appearance on the show, which will take place on the show’s Christmas episode. However, there is some interest in expanding on Howey’s role. As Abbott explained, “We’re hoping that Steve’s character can come back” — but as of now, he’s only slated to appear in the Happy’s Place Christmas episode, aptly titled ‘Ho-Ho-Howey.'”

The showrunners hope to have quite a few more reunions on the show, with another already in the works. As Abbott explained, “We absolutely want to bring some of the old cast members on.” However, he added the actors might be “in very different roles than what they played on Reba.”

“Steve’s our first one up, and we’re trying to figure out how to bring JoAnna [Garcia-Swisher] in. We only want to have the old cast in if we can really utilize them in a fun, impactful way.”

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