At times, multi-camera sitcom acting can feel like a lost artform. The format often floats in and out of style, but there are some performers whose proven mastery of the genre will always stand the test of time. Lucille Ball, John Ritter, and Julia-Louis Dreyfus, for example, all excelled in that very specific, and often complex, style of performance. And right there amongst those ranks is Melissa Peterman, who has an innate ability to balance broad comedic swings and brilliant physical comedy with heart — a blend that wins over any live studio audience.
For six seasons, Peterman played Barbra Jean on The WB’s Reba — where she masterfully managed to turn the mistress who broke up the protagonist’s marriage into a lovable foil who the audience soon adored. It’s hard to imagine anybody else pulling off that feat, and it’s the crux of why the show worked so brilliantly. Even almost two decades later, Reba’s impact still looms. Peterman and Reba McEntire were met with fanfare while presenting at this year’s Emmys, where Ayo Edebiri rightfully freaked out upon seeing the pair on the red carpet. Viewers at home followed suit.
Prior to Reba, Peterman made her screen debut playing “Hooker #2” in Fargo, and since the show ended in 2006 has remained booked and busy. She starred on the ABC Family sitcom Baby Daddy, recurred on Young Sheldon, hosts the game show Person, Place or Thing, and kept working with McEntire throughout the years — joining her on tour as her opening act and co-hosting their podcast Living & Learning.
Now, Peterman and McEntire are back together in front of a live studio audience, starring in the new NBC sitcom Happy’s Place. In it, McEntire plays Bonnie, who inherits her late father’s bar, but struggles when she finds out she has to run it with a half-sister she didn’t know existed (Belissa Escobedo). Peterman stars as Bonnie’s bartender Gabby, who can’t help but be jealous of this new sister, wanting a closer relationship with Bonnie herself—a dynamic not all that unlike the one between Reba and Barbra Jean. Their reunion takes advantage of their built-in chemistry, but with new twists. “It’s like repertory theater,” Peterman says. “Actors who work well off each other, but we’re just gonna put those actors in a new play.”
It’s been 17 years since Reba ended, but this show feels like you’re picking up right where you left off. Was there a particular moment early on with Happy’s Place where you realized that magic was still there?
It was probably shooting the first scene together. It just felt so easy and like we’d never really left, but it also felt so new and different. That moment was really special. And the table read, sitting down and having your name there. It felt like, here we go, buckle up. There were so many people in the room, lots of familiar faces, lots of new faces, and I was excited but had a little bit of nerves. But as soon as we read that first exchange between us, I was like, alright, this feels good.
That chemistry could be attributed to how long you two have been working together, but the thing is, if you look back at the Reba pilot, it was really there from the very beginning. What do you make of that bond?
In the first show, it did kind of happen immediately. It really sort of solidified…I think it was the wedding episode when she was following the train with Barbra Jean, that it felt like, okay, this is it, this is what the show is. But really from day one, I just knew that I really loved working with her. I think if you’d told me in the very beginning of wanting to be an actor, “Your perfect comedic partner is going to be Reba McEntire,” I would’ve been like, “What?” But she really is, and it’s because we just get each other. I know that I don’t have to explain things, and if I throw something up in the air she’ll hit it back. And it’s just that timing thing where she can play off me perfectly and I can play off her perfectly, you can’t explain it. In that first season, I knew that working with her just felt different than anyone else.
Happy’s Place was also created by Kevin Abbott, who worked on Reba. What was the biggest advantage of having someone behind the scenes who was so well-versed in both of your voices and abilities as performers?
It’s a huge gift to have somebody that’s known you for that long, and not only knows you as an actor but knows you as a person and knows your quirks. Kevin understands me and how I work, and that sometimes I just need to ask questions and that I love to play with moments—and he lets me do that. He’s such a great writer and he gives us such great stuff to do, but he also is okay if I want to try something. He’s always been, from day one, really collaborative that way, which was a lovely thing to have my first time out and a great gift to have again.
Was differentiating Gabby from Barbra Jean something you were consciously trying to do? And how would you compare those two characters?
I was very conscious about it, because that show is beloved and I’m so grateful for that and that it still lives on, so people are gonna be excited and have expectations. And I talked to Kevin about it too, we talked about how the chemistry we have is there and that dynamic works, but how do we not just go back to that. We want to keep the chemistry, keep the dynamic, and make it feel new. So we did talk about it and I asked a lot of questions about Gabby. I think the difference is Barbra Jean was forced on [Reba], like at the beginning, whether you like it or not she’s in your life. And the difference with Gabby is, she’s a friend and she knows her. I think Gabby would like to be closer, but they are friends and you get to see in the first season, they love each other already and it’s not a forced situation. And another difference here is the new surprise element, which is Isabella and figuring that out. So I wanted to keep that original magic, but I wanted it to feel fresh and I think so far, so good.
Everybody loved seeing Ayo Edebiri fan out over you and Reba at the Emmys, plus you got a great reception when you walked out on stage to present. What did it feel like to be so embraced like that?
I almost will tear up now, it was just so special. It felt really amazing. I wasn’t sure what would happen and I was nervous, but the minute we were standing next to each other about to walk out, I was like, “Alright, we got this.” When I’m standing next to her, I know it’s gonna be okay, but it felt really overwhelming. I mean, Meryl Streep was 20 feet away, Martin Short, Steve Martin. It was a room full of people that I absolutely adore. I’ve loved TV my whole life, so to be in that room and be received in that way, it was pretty great.
What’s your favorite part about working on a multi-cam show?
Well, the live audience, there’s nothing like having a live audience and that energy you get from them. And you know right away if a joke is working. I loved Young Sheldon, that was such a wonderful experience, but in single cam, I sometimes wouldn’t see half the cast. What I love about this format is we’re together all day. We work five days a week and we’re rehearsing, we’re hanging out, we’re figuring out how to block something; so there’s a camaraderie that you get in a four-camera that’s unlike a lot of other things. We’re doing a one-act play in front of an audience, and that’s so much fun. It’s my favorite, and Reba, you know that’s her thing. She’s a show pony. The minute the audience comes in we all just sort of stand up straight, we can’t wait to do it.
You’ve always been a master at physical comedy, and this show is no exception. I’m curious about what that process is like — how do you choreograph those bits and figure out what those performances are going to look like?
In one episode, I think one of the stage directions was just, “The camera pans and Melissa’s doing something.” And they didn’t tell me what the something was, but Kevin trusted me enough to just come up with a bit. We play around with it. I love physical comedy. It’s funny to me, sometimes the things that seem so simple take the longest to work on. Like, it’s gotta be specific for this to look like it just happened. I love tinkering around with them, and some of them don’t work until day four when we finally figure it out, but yeah it’s really just putting it on its feet. And sometimes I change it in front of the audience. Again, that’s the trust that Kevin and the writers have in me to sometimes go, “This is what I think I’m gonna do, but I might do something different.” And I love knowing that they’ll be ready for it.
I saw that another Reba alum, Steve Howey, will be showing up as a potential sperm donor for your character. What else in Gabby’s arc this season are you excited for?
I’m really hoping that Steve gets to come back and play [more]. What we set up so far is that he does get to reoccur, so I’m looking forward to that. I’m actually looking forward to knowing what happens in that [storyline], I don’t really know yet exactly what happens there. That’s the beauty of a first season, I get more information every week about Gabby and her family and all of that. I’ve gotten so many clues about Gabby’s mom in the last few episodes, she’s really done a number on Gabby. And what we’ve described about this woman…I cannot wait til the episode, if and when we ever meet Gabby’s mom, I am really excited about that.
Who would you want to play your mom?
Jean Smart. She’s genius, and the way Gabby’s mom is described, I feel like Jean Smart would have a field day and absolutely be brilliant. It would be really fun.
And lastly, being that Gabby’s a bartender, have you had to pick up any bartending skills for the role?
Well, I know that there’s gonna be some bartenders watching like, “What is she doing?” But I will tell you this, I’ve worked in restaurants, I’ve waited tables, and I’ve worked with bartenders—so I understand etiquette, I know how to pour. But my hope is that if we get picked up, I wanna go do a bootcamp and get some bar flair. I wanna be Tom Cruise in Cocktail. But I think I’m doing okay, ‘cause I’ve worked in it long enough. And I sat at a lot of bars, so that’s come in handy.
