Happy's Place

Well I was excited when I found out about the new show. I just watched the pilot, and I enjoyed it with my 15-year-old daughter (she loves Reba). I don't understand the comparison to Cheers or Friends, I loved both of those shows but this is a different time. It's not supposed to be anything like either of those. Reba has her own style and her shows can be watched by young and old. Watch it and see what you think. By the way the sitcom Reba was hilarious! We still watch the reruns and laugh out loud! I'm looking forward to Happys Place getting better with each episode. We will be watching every week.

I waited until Ep-3 to write this, hoping that the show would improve.

In my opinion ...

The Emmett character is the most awesome and authentic actor on the show, such a grounding force. Reminds a bit of Mel from Alice's Diner, rough on the outside, soft and cuddly on the inside. Emmett is always insightful, truthful, and wise - all without raising his voice.

Melissa Peterman needs to focus more on her comedy and her funny little phobias, and less on "I wanna be Reba's sister". We've seen Barbra Jean and we loved her, but Melissa is a top-notch comedian and she deserves better roles.

Bobbie is, as much as I love Reba, Bobbie is just more of the same as Reba Hart, she's such a Bully. It is always "do everything her way or take the highway". There is never a negotiation. It was the same way on her other show, granted on that show she kind of needed to be a bully to raise good kids and keep her ex-husband in-check. But it really is exhausting to have her yelling throughout the entire show.

The younger sister, Isabella, waltzes in and immediately starts pushing her millennial entitled b*s* onto everyone else. Not a funny character at all. This is supposed to be a comedy show, right? The age difference makes the entire premise of the main story line too far-fetched.

Takoda and Steve have so much promise. They need more screen time. If you cannot tone down Bobbie's yelling, then at least enhance and give us more of these two to offset the negative Reba.

Having worked in a bar, many of the background things that are going on are just disgusting ... wiping her face with the same towel that she just wiped Bar Glasses with; putting the white wine on the shelf instead of in the refrigerator; just the way they make drinks - it all needs to be more believable. At least on Cheers, it looked realistic, like they were really serving drinks - not just moving props around.

I will stick it out a few more episodes to see if they can develop these characters. But right now, even after three episodes, I still don't care about any of the characters - and that saddens me, I really wanted to love this show.

My entire family wanted so much for this to be excellent. We love sitcoms and we love Reba, so had high hopes. Most of the characters are interesting and entertaining. Unfortunately, we find the little sister character to be unlikeable to the point of not wanting to watch the show. Our recommendation is for Bobbie to buy her out and send her off to the Peace Corps or something, and change the direction of the show to focus on Bobbie moving forward from her father's death and his betrayal with the support of the remaining zany cast of characters. We doubt Happy's Place will survive to see a second season in its current iteration. (We suspect the producers are trying to draw in Gen Z with the little sister character. We don't see them watching this show with or without her.)

As a fan of the original Reba (currently rewatching), this falls short. Aside from Reba and the half-sister, there was nothing here to make me care about the other characters - unlike the first episode of Reba where you got a feel for the dynamic of all the characters right away - the writing made the large cast work in a good way. This didn't happen here with a smaller cast.

I love the interaction between Melissa Peterman and Reba and I wish one of the networks or streaming services would give her a show like the old variety shows in the 70s, Carol Burnett, for example. She could sing, act and there's be a place for Melissa to let her comedic talent shine.

I wish them luck with the show but it's a half hour of my week I'm not going to waste.

I adore Reba and loved the shows Reba and Malibu Country. I was very much looking forward to the new show. Happy's Place falls very short. The biggest problem for me is the character of the newly discovered sister. She waltzes in like an entitled brat and insists on doing things her way. The bar has been run for years without her and before demanding changes, perhaps lay low, get to know everyone slowely and learn the ins and outs. Then perhaps discuss ideas with Bobby. I'm not sure if it's the character I don't like or the actress; maybe a bit of both. I like all the other actors a lot. Unfortunately, it's the writing that is holding the show back. There's really not a character I want to know more about or even care about. The three men, cook, bookkeeper and the tall guy (I'm not sure of his job) are my favorites.

The show however, is missing something. It's just doesn't come together as an enjoyable show that I want to sit down and watch. As much as I love Reba, I'm removing the show from "my list" and record area.