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Melissa Peterman remembered a key character choice she made while auditioning for the beloved Reba sitcom in the early 2000s. Soon afterward, she’d landed the role.
Peterman played Barbara Jean Hart on the series, an unlikely friend to Reba McEntire’s title character, Reba Hart. McEntire played a single mother of three in Houston, Texas, who unexpectedly becomes close with her ex-husband’s new wife. The series also starred Christopher Rich, Steve Howey, JoAnna Garcia Swisher, Scarlett Pomers and Mitch Holleman. It premiered in 2001, and the finale aired in 2007.
Peterman reflected on the show and its legacy with iHeartRadio’s Bobby Bones on a recent episode of The BobbyCast. She said of a character choice she made during the audition process, “I remember sitting in the parking lot about to go in, and I just went, ‘oh, I got it. I have to play her that she has no idea that they are not best friends. I have to play that I have no idea that whatever insult or anything she throws, it’s like, it doesn’t register with her. Because I have to think that, of course we’re going to be best friends. We have so much in common. You know, we like the same guys.’ So, I go back to, I think a network callback, and then it was studio. I did the final test, which is nerve-wracking. And when I was driving out, I got a call from my agent that I booked it.”
During the conversation, Peterman also told Bobby Bones about the moment she met McEntire, why a Reba reboot hasn’t happened, and more. She also spoke about working with McEntire again on Happy’s Place, an NBC sitcom that premiered in October 2024 and was recently renewed for a third season. McEntire and Peterman star in the comedy with McEntire’s real-life fiancé Rex Linn, plus Belissa Escobedo, Pablo Castelblanco and Tokala Black Elk. Last year, McEntire spoke with iHeartCountry about her love of sitcoms, including working with close-knit cast mates who “love each other. We respect each other’s opinion on things, their individual lifestyle, their background, their heritage. It’s a fun family.”
Listen to the full BobbyCast episode on iHeartRadio, or watch on Netflix.