Steve Howey breaks down every nod to the ‘Reba’ sitcom from his ‘Happy’s Place’ debut episode

Steve Howeys guest spot on Happy’s Place featured some nods to his days playing Van Reba — but did you catch every Easter egg?

During the Friday, December 6 episode of Happy’s PlaceHowey, 47, finally shared the screen with Reba McEntire and Melissa Peterman two decades after they appeared on Reba. The trio played completely different characters on NBC’s current series, but the show still found a way to acknowledge Howey’s past by having his character Danny deliver a line about a group of people he knew in Houston 20 years ago.

“It was already in the script that I really liked. It was a little wink and nod to the old TV show audience,” Howey exclusively shared. Us Weekly about the tongue-in-cheek reference. “That’s why it was so cool.”

The actor praised Happy’s Place to find a way to tease much expected Reba reunion.

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“I grew up on classic sitcoms, so I’ve always wanted to do a sitcom (as an actor). I was lucky enough to be on one that’s a classic. Fans have told me over the years that the show was the only thing. that they could bond with their family because it was appropriate for all ages,” Howey noted. “And it’s still playing and people are still finding it now.”

Howey called the subtle nods a “classic sitcom trait,” adding, “The little winks and nods are really cool for the audience. It was cool for us to do that, and it was already written by one of the writers. “

Happy’s Place follows Bobbie (McEntire) as she inherits her father’s restaurant and discovers a new business partner in her long-lost half-sister (Belissa Escobedo) she didn’t know she had. Peterman, 53, plays bartender at the restaurant while McEntire’s girlfriend, Rex Lynnalso appears as Tavern Chef Emmett.

The sitcom reunited McEntire, 69, and Peterman more than 17 years later their hit series Reba completed its six-year term on WB. In addition to McEntire, Peterman and Howey also starred in the beloved show Christopher Rich and JoAnna Garcia Swisher.

While filming his scenes as Danny, Howey found ways to honor his Reba character.

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“The line that I gave was the first time I walked in when Reba was drawing on Melissa’s picture and she was doing a mustache. I’m like, ‘Hey, nice mustache.'” She turns around and says, ‘I wish I could say the same about yours’,” he said of how Danny’s appearance differs from Van’s. “But that was my line to Reba — and that’s how cool Reba is. I can pitch something and she’s like, ‘I’ll try.’ Place.”

Happy’s Place don’t just have Reba alums in front of the camera. Showrunner Kevin Abbottthere was an executive producer on Reba when it aired on The WB between 2001 and 2007, was instrumental in using McEntire and Peterman’s new NBC sitcom as a way to work with their former co-stars.

“Kevin had this idea for this character beforehand. And then he thought, ‘What if Howey wanted to do it? It would be really great to do a reunion.’ I fit the character description, so he called me,” Howey recalled Us. “The planets just aligned on this one.”

As viewers have already realized, Happy’s Place may contain some similarities to Reba but ultimately it’s its own show. Howey’s character Danny is a perfect example Happy’s Place capitalize on nostalgia without mirroring every single detail Reba.

“Van is obviously different because I was so different. I was much younger, much more naive and much fresher. It was my first series job, so it was very new. Now after 20 some years, I can bring different experiences to the characters I play,” Howey explained. “Also the character relationships – because Happy’s Place is a new thing – is different. Yes, it’s Reba Melissa, but the characters are different. Bobbie is very different from Reba. Gabby is very different from Barbara Jean and Danny is obviously different.”

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He continued: “This guy owns his own business. He’s got money and he’s playing this game. Like you said, Danny was on them all the time… They got something special (with Happy’s Place) it just makes sense and Reba has another lightning in the bottle show.”

Howey is expected to appear in additional episodes, but that doesn’t mean he’ll interact with anyone else in the past Reba costs at the show. After Abbott previously confirmed their attempt to get Howey’s former love interest on screen JoAnna Garcia Swisher to make a guest appearance, Howey said Us he would prefer that they not share the screen.

“I like this idea of ​​us all coming back in different forms. I had my single guest star episode and JoAnna was going to have her single guest star episode,” he noted. “I think JoAnna would have fun. She’s a great person and it’s one of the beautiful things about the show that we’re all still in communication. I just talked to JoAnna the other day.”

Howey too have no plans to become a regular series on Happy’s Placeand said, “I haven’t done a sitcom in years. It’s been a long time since I got back on the horse, and it wasn’t easy. It was a little difficult because of the timing and the volume and the live studio audience. I thought, ‘This is no joke.’ I got used to single camera. I got used to Shameless and then True Lies with a single camera. This is fun.'”

Happy’s Place airs Fridays at 8 p.m. on NBC.