Country legend Reba McEntire helmed the popular show from 2001 to 2007
Back in 2001, Reba McEntire went from singing on our radios to making us laugh on TV screens weekly as the lead of her own sitcom.
Reba followed the ups and downs of single mom Reba Hart — “who works two jobs, who loves her kids and never stops” — as she navigated her chaotic family through the ever-changing dynamics. Between co-parenting with her ex-husband, making nice with his new wife, managing her daughter’s teen pregnancy and everything in between, the show was an easy hub for laughs and became an instant hit.
However, it was canceled in 2007, following The WB’s merger with UPN, which formed The CW.
Over the years, fans of the show have often asked the country singer about a reboot — and she has revealed she’d be open to doing it again.
“We’ve really been trying hard,” McEntire said while on The Bobby Bones Show in September 2022, Billboard reported. “I really want to work with the people that I got to work with during that six-and-a-half years. It was fun, the cast, the crew, everybody we got to work with and play with, they were wonderful people. We wanted to get back together like a reunion and have fun. So, hopefully, that will happen one day.”
Now, as new audiences are being introduced to the show via various streaming platforms, find out what the main cast of Reba has been up to since the show went off air.
Reba McEntire as Reba Hart
Leading the show was Reba McEntire, who had long been a country musician before the series premiered in 2001. And while she was at ease playing sold-out arenas, she admitted while on The Ellen DeGeneres Show that acting was a bit of a learning curve.
“The memorization is hard for me because it’s a new script every week. When I was singing, it rhymed, had a melody to it and none of these [lines] do,” she joked.
After the show went off air, McEntire went back to her music career. She released albums Love Revival, Keep on Loving You, and All the Women That I Am in 2008, 2009, and 2010, respectively, and continued to tour.
The country legend, now 69, shows no signs of slowing down. Earlier this month, she hosted the Academy of Country Music Awards for the 17th time and continued her work as a mentor on The Voice. It was also announced that she would be heading back to the small screen sometime this year, playing the lead in an NBC sitcom titled Happy Place.
McEntire has also found happiness in her personal life and has been happily in love with fellow actor Rex Linn since 2020. She has one grown son, Shelby, with ex-husband Narvel Blackstock.
Christopher Rich as Brock Hart
Playing Reba’s ex-husband in the show was Christopher Rich, who also had a steady career before landing the role of Brock Hart.
His last acting credit was in 2021’s Spiked.
According to IMDb, he has been married to his wife Eva Halina Rich since June 2000 and they have two daughters together. He is also dad to another daughter from his previous marriage.
Melissa Peterman as Barbra Jean Booker Hart
These days, people might recognize Melissa Peterman as Brenda Sparks from Young Sheldon. However, before she lent her comedic chops to the hit CBS show, she played Brock’s dim-witted, albeit big-hearted new wife, Barbra Jean Hart, on Reba.
In the years that followed, she starred in Pretty the Series, Baby Daddy, and made several appearances on other shows. Peterman will also be reuniting with McEntire in Happy Place.
In real life, Peterman has been married to her husband John Brady since 1999. The couple has a son named Riley David, whom they welcomed in 2005.
JoAnna Garcia Swisher as Cheyenne Hart-Montgomery
You may have seen JoAnna Garcia Swisher in shows such as Freaks and Geeks, Party of Five and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, but the actress truly broke through as Cheyenne Hart, Reba’s eldest daughter who ultimately raised a baby with her high school boyfriend turned husband, Van Montgomery.
After Reba, Garcia Swisher continued working, landing roles on Privileged, Gossip Girl, Better with You, The Mindy Project, The Astronauts Wives Club, and many more. She is currently starring as Maddie Townsend on Netflix’s Sweet Magnolias.
The actress married her husband, former New York Yankees player Nick Swisher, in 2010. They welcomed their first daughter Emerson Jay Swisher on May 21, 2013, and followed up with their second girl, Sailor Stevie Swisher, on June 28, 2016.
Steve Howey as Van Montgomery
Steve Howey stole the hearts of many as Reba’s well-meaning, less-than-bright son-in-law and Cheyenne’s husband, Van Montgomery.
After the show wrapped in 2007, Howey continued his acting career, landing roles in Ctrl, Love Bites, Sons of Anarchy, and many others. In 2011, he came back to the small screen full-time, starring as Kevin Ball in Showtime’s hit Shameless.
Howey married fellow actor Sarah Shahi in 2009. The couple welcomed three kids — son William Wolf, now 14, and twins Violet Moon and Knox Blue, now 9 — before calling it quits in 2020.
Scarlett Pomers as Kyra Hart
Scarlett Pomers had a solid résumé before she joined the cast of Reba as Kyra Hart, the sarcastic middle daughter. Among her most notable credits were roles in Erin Brockovich and Star Trek: Voyager.
Following her tenure on the show — which she left for a time to seek treatment for an eating disorder — Pomers pursued a music career and released an EP called Insane in 2010.
Mitch Holleman as Jake Hart
Playing Reba’s young son, Mitch Holleman got the role of Jake Hart at only 7 years old. Like Pomers, the now 29-year-old has largely stayed out of the limelight since Reba went off the air in 2007; the last credit listed under Holleman’s name was in 2018’s Guadalajara.
