‘Happy’s Place’ Director and EP Pamela Fryman Talks Favorite Episodes and Best Part of Working on NBC Sitcom (Exclusive)

As Happy Place’s second season continues, executive producer and director Pamela Fryman spoke to PopCulture.com about working on the series.

New episodes of the Reba McEntire-led sitcom air on Fridays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.

Fryman is directing 16 of the 18 episodes this season, meaning there are a lot of storylines to get through. And because there are so many, when asked if there was a favorite episode she’s done, Fryman simply could not give a straight answer.

“It’s just so good. I’m just really having too much fun,” she said. “There are so many great episodes this season. It’s like one after the other. And truly, even when we don’t have any guest stars, and it’s just our core group, it’s so joyful. The scripts have been so wonderful. They’ve done such a good job that it sounds like a cop out, but I don’t think I can pick one. But the way the season moves and where we end up at the end is so satisfying. So maybe I’d say the end, but I’ve kind of cheated. They’re all worth the watch.”

Meanwhile, Fryman is no stranger to directing. Other credits include the Night Court reboot, How I Met Your Father, Pretty Smart, One Day at a Time, Live in Front of a Studio Audience: ‘All in the Family’ and ‘Good Times,’ Man with a Plan, The Odd Couple, How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men, Frasier, The King of Queens, Friends, and much, much more. But when it comes to Happy’s Place, there’s just one big difference that it has that others don’t.

“I can say that, first of all, doing an audience show is so much fun. And I’ve never worked with Reba before,” Fryman shared. “And that is an extraordinary experience, not only the day-to-day professionalism. She leads with her heart. She knows everybody’s name. She knows who their kids are. She knows if somebody’s mother is sick when she’s on it. But when she comes out and that audience is there, and you hear the reaction that she gets, and every time it happens, you can see how grateful she is. She never takes any of it for granted. And she talks to the audience, and she means what she says. That to me has made the biggest impact. That’s unlike anything I’ve ever done.”

It’s certainly a testament to McEntire’s character that everyone has a great experience whenever they work with her. And even with all of the projects Fryman has worked on, it seemed like Happy’s Place is truly one that sticks out, all because of the country superstar. And there will be plenty more moments to come. Due to the Winter Olympics, Happy’s Place will return on Friday, Feb. 27 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC, streaming the next day on Peacock.