‘Happy’s Place’ Creator Kevin Abbott Wants More ‘Reba’ Reunions in Season 2 (Exclusive)

There’s no last call at Happy’s Place! As the NBC sitcom nears its Season 1 finale, airing on Friday, March 21, showrunner Kevin Abbott is already looking toward Season 2, which he hopes will include more Reba reunions.

After NBC announced late last month that the Reba McEntire-led sitcom had been renewed for a sophomore season, Abbott told PopCulture.com, “It’s a real blessing and a real sign of the faith that [NBC] has in us, which is lovely.”

Happy’s Place follows Bobbie (McEntire) as she inherits her father’s restaurant and discovers a new business partner in her previously unknown half-sister Isabella (Belissa Escobedo). McEntire’s former Reba castmate Melissa Peterman plays bartender Gabby, and there have been plenty of other Easter eggs for fans of the 2000s sitcom, including guest appearances from Steve Howey and Christopher Rich.

Abbott told PopCulture he’s looking forward to having more throwback moments for Reba fans in Season 2. “We really want to have JoAnna [García Swisher] on there. I just want to make certain that we get something that makes that character … fun for JoAnna to be playing it,” he explained. “You know, we wanted to make certain for both Chris and Steve that they had something great to play.” Abbott promised, “I guarantee she’ll be on this next season if she’s available.”

Abbott said he’s been “really blessed” with such a “marvelous” group of people to work with on both Reba and Happy’s Place, which makes the crossover opportunities fun for everyone. “They’re not only great talents, they’re just great people,” he said. “So to have them on the set was really phenomenal.”

Wrapping up Season 1 was “a bit more complicated than it is normally,” Abbott said, as he wasn’t initially sure if the show how many other episodes the show would get on back order in addition to its original 13.

“We just didn’t have time to get where I wanted to be with a number of things like Gabby and her possible motherhood,” he explained. “You know, there’s more that we have in the bank [with] that storyline and that arc that we just couldn’t get to.”

The showrunner continued, “I didn’t want to promise too much and jump too far ahead.” After getting the five episode back order, Abbott said he thinks the show was able to come to a place at the end of Season 1 where the audience would still feel satisfied without the writers “blowing any other stories or try or moving [the show] too quickly ahead.”

Happy’s Place airs its Season 1 finale on Friday, March 21 at 8 p.m. on NBC.