[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Happy’s Place Season 1, Episode 7, “Ho-Ho-Howey.”]
Happy’s Place made manner for a really particular visitor star within the newest episode, appropriately titled, “Ho-Ho-Howey,” which noticed Steve Howey reunite together with his Reba costars as Danny, a enterprise proprietor seeking a vacation occasion venue.
An acquaintance of Gabby’s (Melissa Peterman) from the canine park (regardless of her not having a pup), Danny drops in to take a look at the house, which Bobbie (Reba McEntire) is determined to hire out after a last-minute dropout that was going to cowl the workers’s medical health insurance charges. The solely catch? Gabby lied to Danny about who she was, claiming she was Bobby, which ends up in a reasonably fascinating sport of faux because the workers performs totally different roles within the ruse.
Ultimately, Danny is aware of they’re mendacity however nonetheless desires to maneuver ahead with internet hosting his firm’s occasion there. As followers of Reba know, Howey performed alongside McEntire and Peterman for years as Van on the comedy. Below, Howey opens up in regards to the mini Reba reunion, reveals what it was prefer to play a bar patron as an alternative of the bartender as he did for years as Kevin Ball on Shameless, and far more.
Casey Durkin / NBC
How did this visitor position and mini Reba reunion come about?
Steve Howey: Kevin Abbott, the showrunner for Reba, who’s now doing Happy’s Place, reached out to me and mentioned, “I’ve this concept for this character and wish to know if you wish to come play with us.” And I used to be like, “Are you kidding? Absolutely.” It simply made sense. It wasn’t something that made me really feel uncomfortable or bizarre, and it wasn’t Van, [my character from Reba].
I appreciated that. This was a chance to reacquaint with some folks that I am keen on that I grew up with, Reba McEntire and Melissa Peterman. I’ve all the time mentioned that Reba has the Midas contact. [She’s] an incredible particular person, and a mentor for me. So [when] Kevin requested me to come back on, I used to be like, “Dude, are you kidding? Tell me when.”
Did it really feel further particular and festive because it was the vacation episode?
It was. I imply, they embellished the set. It’s the Christmas vacation episode and likewise we didn’t know this on the time, however once we shot [the episode], on the very finish we sang “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and NBC’s airing Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer as a lead-in to Happy’s Place. So what sort of superb Christmas kismet.
Danny mentions that the crew of Happy’s Place reminds him of a household from Houston. Is it enjoyable so as to add little nods to Reba followers like that?
I liked it after I learn that within the script. It was within the first draft and went straight into tape evening, and I really like that wink and nod as a result of clearly, individuals are new and have by no means seen Reba. But some individuals have heard of the present or have seen it a couple of times. Then there’s the diehard followers who love the star Reba after which love the present. There’s lots of people who’ve grown up with us. The solid will get lots of fan mail and requests and we discuss to individuals who inform us that was the one present that obtained me via some powerful occasions or it was the one present that my complete household would get collectively and we by no means obtained to spend time collectively. We all have these tales. So yeah, coming again and giving that nod to the followers was particular for me. Hopefully, it’ll be particular for them, too.
Did you’ve gotten any say in Danny as a personality?
Everybody was very responsive. I got here up with the joke at first about Reba form of digging on me in regards to the mustache. So she appreciated that, she stored that. [But] no, I used to be simply looking for the groove and the fact within the man of, how do you present that he is aware of what’s happening and on the similar time, not giving it away? I didn’t wish to point out that he knew Gabby was mendacity, Bobbie was mendacity, and the remainder of the workers had been mendacity. I needed it to appear to be it was an natural discovery. I used to be extra centered on the subtleties and displaying the internal life in refined methods of what my character was pondering.
But there are some moments there which might be Van [from Reba] as a result of Van is loads like me. That’s inevitable. Every actor performs themselves in lots of alternative ways. Danny’s totally different in the place he comes from and the way he’s a enterprise proprietor that owns a enterprise [that manufactures and] distributes the cone of disgrace for canines and the connection that he has with Gabby. So I needed him to be humorous but in addition honest.
Did it really feel unusual enjoying a patron after being the bartender for thus a few years on Shameless?
No. The Alibi is a very totally different vibe. I appear to all the time be in bars, don’t I?
Happy’s Place, Fridays, 8/7c, NBC
