McEntire, Peterman remain close long after end of ‘Reba’
Cast members on hit sitcoms will often swear they are one big, happy family — then delete one another’s cellphone numbers halfway through the wrap party.
Not Reba McEntire and Melissa Peterman.
Nearly 16 years after “Reba” went off the air, the country music legend and the actor from Minnesota remain tight. Their latest collaboration, “Reba McEntire’s The Hammer,” recently premiered on Lifetime and is also available for streaming through various services.
“If I texted her right now, she’d call me in two minutes,” Peterman said recently. “We’ve got each other’s back.”
Before becoming a sitcom regular, Peterman made her mark in the Minneapolis theater scene. She also played a chatty sex worker in the 1996 movie “Fargo,” an opportunity that helped her make the decision to try her luck in Los Angeles.
By 2001, she was cast in WB’s “Reba” as Barbara Jean, the eager-to-please girlfriend of the title character’s ex. The show’s biggest laughs came from McEntire recoiling from Barbara Jean’s attempts to win her over.
In real life, they quickly bonded, so much so that McEntire asked her to be her opening act when she went on tour, an invitation that started Peterman’s stand-up career.
They also discovered they were good traveling companions. During joint family vacations, the two will play backgammon or card games. They recently watched “The Godfather” together.
“We’re both very easygoing, except we both always need to know where lunch
is and where,” said Peterman, who gave a heartwarming tribute on stage in 2018 when McEntire received a Kennedy Center Honor.
The two have continually popped up in each other’s projects, with McEntire guest starring on several of Peterman’s sitcoms, including “Baby Daddy.” The two both have recurring guest star roles on CBS’ “Young Sheldon,” although they have yet to share a scene together.
But they have plenty of interaction in “The Hammer.” McEntire plays Kim Wheeler, a rural Nevada judge juggling several high-profile cases at once, including a murder in which her sister (Peterman) is a chief suspect.
“(Kim) is quite the character,” McEntire said last year during a virtual news conference. “She’s a littlebitty gal. But what she does and how she stands up to people who have done other people wrong, she makes it all fair. You listen to her, and go, ‘Well, that makes sense. Why don’t more people do it like that?’ ”
When she’s not laying
down the law, Wheeler spews out Reba-isms like “awesome possum” and “I’m sweating like a whore in church.”
Peterman has gotten used to Reba-speak. Well, for the most part.
“One time she said, ‘We’re so excited, we’re tossing babies in the air,’ ” said Peterman, who will also appear on an upcoming episode of “Celebrity Name That Tune.” “And I’m like, ‘Where did that come from?’ ”
The reunion that everyone is hoping for is a reboot of “Reba.” Both stars have said they are open to the idea.
In the meantime, there’s “The Hammer,” with the potential for more movies down the road.
“You know, it could have been a limited series. It could be a series. It could be movies, because Kim does have so many great stories to tell,” said McEntire, who also got the chance to act alongside real-life boyfriend Rex Linn, who plays the judge’s possible love interest. “Melissa said several times, ‘Oh, my gosh, we could do this again.’ ”