The 'Sweet Magnolias' actress is the third 'Reba' alum to join Reba McEntire and Melissa Peterman on the NBC comedy
Credit: Casey Durkin/NBC
NEED TO KNOW
- JoAnna García Swisher reunited with Reba McEntire and Melissa Peterman on the set of NBC’s Happy’s Place
- Former Reba cast member Christopher Rich visited the set, while Steve Howey was unable to join due to work
- García Swisher says the Reba cast remains close and cherishes opportunities to reconnect after the show ended in 2007
The Hart family is still showing up for one another.
In an interview with PEOPLE, JoAnna García Swisher revealed that there was a fourth Reba cast member present on the Happy's Place set while she was filming her season 2 episode, "Social Discontent." Happy's Place already stars Reba McEntire and Melissa Peterman, and the show has been playing host to mini Reba reunions since it premiered in 2024.
In March, García Swisher, 46, appeared on the show as actress and local influencer Kenzie, who stepped in to play Bobbie (McEntire) in the bar's social media campaign when Bobbie couldn't figure out how to act natural for the camera. The Sweet Magnolias star tells PEOPLE that joining her old costars on the set of their NBC comedy was a "joyful" experience.
"It was the best," she says. "It honestly didn't feel like a day had passed. We were… I mean, the only thing that was different is that we were incessantly talking, because we were just trying to catch up with each other just to be back in the same room together."
Credit: Casey Durkin/NBC
But García Swisher, McEntire and Peterman weren't the only Reba alums on set during filming. The actress reveals that her former TV dad and Happy's Place season 1 guest star Christopher Rich dropped by for a visit as well.
"Chris actually came," she says, adding that she and Peterman called Steve Howey, who played García Swisher's Reba character Cheyenne's husband Van, too, but he "was working" on High Potential at the time.
She adds, "We were incessantly texting him about when he was getting off work, to come over to set. But Chris Rich was able to come to the team night, him and his wife. So, that was really special."
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García Swisher says the Reba cast never misses an opportunity to see each other, despite The WB series (and later The CW series) ending in 2007. "We really don't miss a chance to get together and be together. When we're able to do that, we make it a priority," she shares.
For the Reba alum, seeing not only McEntire, 71, and Peterman, 54, thriving on Happy's Place, but also so many members of the Reba crew, made her guest appearance all the more special.
"I'm just really happy for them. It's so rare to be able to stay on the air," she says. "To be able to do a show for six years like we did with Reba was really, really special. And it far surpassed any job. It was a family."
García Swisher explains, "These are people that have meant so much to me in my life. And then to be able to go back, and get to observe, and be a part of… That they've been able to create this beautiful work environment again, and have a show that's once again celebrated, and they're having fun and everyone's so lovely, to me, that's just a dream come true, and it made me just so happy for all of them."
Credit: Andrew Eccles / Fox Television / Courtesy Everett Collection
The Once Upon a Time actress is the third Reba alum to join McEntire and Peterman on Happy's Place for a guest appearance. In season 1, both Rich, 72, and Howey, 48, appeared in episodes. In 2025, Rich, like his TV daughter, told PEOPLE that appearing on Happy's Place was a "joyous" experience.
"It's so much fun, you know, Mel is just a genius, and those two women together make me feel so loved and comfortable," he said at the time, adding, "It's just a blast to be on set with them."
As for whether or not Scarlett Pomers, who played Kyra Hart on Reba, or Mitch Holleman, who played Jake, will ever appear on Happy's Place, García Swisher laughs, "I have no control over this. I was just happy to be able to do it and so excited. I think it would be really fun for everyone to get their shot, but there's a lot of moving parts to all of it … I was just really grateful to get my opportunity."
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New episodes of Happy's Place air Fridays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and stream the next day on Peacock. All six seasons of Reba are streaming on Hulu.
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