Contents
Synopsis
The show is set in the suburbs of Houston, Texas, and stars Reba McEntire as a wisecracking single mother Reba Nell Hart, whose dentist ex-husband Brock (Christopher Rich) has left her to marry young, ditzy Barbra Jean (Melissa Peterman) his dental hygienist after an affair with her, when it is revealed in the pilot episode that Barbra Jean is pregnant. Ironically, though Reba sees "B.J." (Barbra Jean's nickname) as her nemesis, Barbra Jean considers Reba her best (and perhaps only) friend. As the show progresses Reba slowly and painfully comes to the conclusion that despite all her efforts to hate her, she likes Barbra Jean and considers her a friend. In the pilot episode it was revealed that Reba's oldest daughter, then high school senior Cheyenne (JoAnna Garcia), is pregnant.Cheyenne married her baby's father, fellow high-schooler Van Montgomery (Steve Howey), a dim-witted but well-meaning football player. Van moves in with them, as his own parents kicked him out for standing by Cheyenne and Van comes to view Reba as a surrogate parent (something Reba is very comfortable with). Reba's other two children are Kyra (Scarlett Pomers), an intelligent and rebellious teenager who shares Reba's sarcastic streak, and Jake (Mitch Holleman), a young boy just trying to sort through the mess of his family. Since the fifth season, Van and Reba have been real estate partners.
The show was cancelled when The WB Television Network and UPN merged into The CW Television Network. However, in an 11th hour move on May 17, 2006, The CW renewed Reba with a 13-episode order,[1] reportedly to fulfill a syndication contract worth $20 million.[2] In November 2006, The CW announced that the show would be paired with 7th Heaven, Sundays at 7 p.m., beginning later that month.[3] Reba encores were scheduled for Sundays at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT, with a new episode at 7:30 p.m. Reba became the top-rated sitcom on the CW, also surpassing the dramas Supernatural, One Tree Hill, and Veronica Mars.[4] The final episode aired on February 18, 2007.
Series' end
Midway through season 6, word began circulating that the CW had ordered "the back nine," or the remaining episodes that would have given Reba a full-season order. But on January 19, 2007, during the network's TCA Press Tour, it was revealed that the series had been canceled, with no "back nine" on order.[5]The series finale garnered 4.44 million viewers in its final half-hour. Rumors continued to float on the CW's message boards and Reba fan sites that the series might still have a chance at renewal, citing the possible removal of programming chief Dawn Ostroff, or that Lifetime may option to a Van/Cheyenne spinoff series.[6] It was soon announced that Garcia and Howey had each been signed to new shows for CBS and FOX respectively.[7]
An interview Reba McEntire gave as part of the press coverage of her then upcoming duets album revealed that the show was not being shopped around and that the series was indeed finished. In an interview with Variety on May 29, 2007, 20th Century Fox TV president Gary Newman said that he regretted The WB's handling of the show in later years, saying that he was sure the series would have been a hit for CBS or ABC.[8]
Cast and characters
| Character | Actor | Description | Relatives |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reba Nell Hart (née McKinney) | Reba McEntire | Reba is a single mom who struggles with taking care of everyone in her house after her husband divorces her for his dental hygienist. She is temperamental and prone to sarcastic remarks. But Reba can also be kind and caring, and is usually the sensible one. In the first couple seasons she worked as a secretary for her ex-husband's dental rival, Eugene. Later on in the series she becomes a real estate agent. | J.V. McKinney (father, Barry Corbin) Helen McKinney (mother, Dorothy Lyman) |
| Brock Enroll Hart | Christopher Rich | Reba's ex-husband, a dentist and golfer, who leaves her for his much younger, pregnant, dental hygienist, Barbra Jean. He is vain, addicted to tanning, and tries to convince everyone that he is still young. Brock sometimes shows regret for his divorce from Reba because of all the chaos it caused for his children. His marriage with Barbra Jean is rocky, due to his selfishness and impetuousness, but he is in love with her. His name is a play on "rock and roll." | Father- John D. Hart (died in season 1), Mother- Elizabeth "Liz" Hart (Jenny O'Hara) |
| Cheyenne Montgomery (née Hart) | Joanna García | Brock and Reba's oldest daughter, who initially is looking forward to her senior year of high school before learning that she is pregnant. She marries her boyfriend, Van Montgomery, who moves into Reba's house after his parents disown him. Cheyenne gives birth to their daughter, Elizabeth, after going into labor on graduation day. She can be somewhat air-headed and self-centered, but she can also be thoughtful and kind-hearted. She is very sensitive, especially when she is insulted (mainly by Kyra, her younger sister). Her work ethic and sense of responsibility improves as she raises her daughter and studies dentistry in college. Cheyenne also begins volunteering at a homeless shelter, improving her shallowness greatly. When she comes to the realization that she is an alcoholic, she's inspired to discontinue doing dentistry for her major, and, instead of that, decides to study counseling for those affected by alcohol and drugs. She is truly her mother's daughter and cares greatly for her entire family. | |
| Van Montgomery | Steve Howey | The star cornerback of his high school's football team, Van was kicked out of the house when his parents found out that he planned to marry his pregnant girlfriend, Cheyenne. He consequently moves in with Cheyenne at Reba's house, and his future in professional sports looks bright until an injury to his tailbone reveals that he has narrowing of the spine. He works to recover his life after the loss of his football dream, and eventually becomes a successful realtor in a partnership with Reba. Van is portrayed as a big goof and is not good with words, especially when it comes to Cheyenne. Kyra especially loves making fun of him. He is a great father to his daughter, Elizabeth. He cares deeply for his in-laws, especially Reba, for taking him in and caring for him in his darkest hours. His relationship with his parents remains strained throughout the series, and they never truly make up. | Father- Dan Montgomery (Sam McMurray, Mark Tymchyshyn), Mother- Sue Montgomery (Carolyn Hennesy, Robin Riker) |
| Kyra Eleanor Hart | Scarlett Pomers | The middle child, Kyra has the fewest emotional issues of the family. Many of her traits and looks come from Reba, including her sharp wit and knack for sarcasm, although she's known to be more manipulative and difficult. In the final season, she decided not to go to college and focus on her music. Kyra also likes teasing Van. During season 5, she appeared in only two episodes towards the beginning of the season, due to Pomers' real-life battle with anorexia. She returned at the beginning of Season 6. | |
| Jacob "Jake" Mitchell Hart | Mitch Holleman | The youngest of the Hart children, Jake is often teased by his sister Kyra. In the earlier seasons, Jake sometimes is only seen for one scene where he would crack a joke or just mention something that involves the current topic. Jake is pretty oblivious of what goes on around him and has a habit of saying the first thing that comes to his mind without thinking. He acts like a normal boy for his age, although in earlier seasons he displays feminine characteristics that worry his father, Brock. | |
| Barbra Jean Hart (née Booker) | Melissa Peterman | "BJ" was Brock's dental hygienist
and had an affair with him as his marriage to Reba was deteriorating.
She gets pregnant even though Brock and Reba were not divorced yet. Her
comically religious behavior was phased out over the course of the first
season. Barbra Jean is more intelligent than Van, but is more oblivious
than Jake and is often an easy target for Reba's sarcasm. While noisy
and annoying, she is a kind-hearted person with good intentions. Her
tendency to tell "over-the-top" tales results in her sharing many random
and often bizarre facts about her childhood and past.
The most that can be understood is that she was born in Friendly,
Texas, and was known as "the biggest baby in Juno County." She had a
sister, currently married, a brother named "Buzzard" (played by Bryan Callen of MADtv
fame) and a father ("Big Daddy") who enjoys drinking and hunting. Brock
is afraid of both Buzzard and Big Daddy because he knows they don't
like him. She also claims to have an aunt who spits professionally. In
the last season, she lost a considerable amount of weight and became a
weather girl (with the stage name "Stormy Clearweather") with a public-access television
cable station. Her meteorological expertise came from the fact her
"butt-rometer" could accurately predict rain ever since she was struck
by lightning in her Be-dazzler-studded backside in 1982. In the last
episode, she traded up to her station's roving news reporter, calling
her segment "Babs Janson: Street Walker." |
|
| Elizabeth Montgomery | Alena & Gabrielle Leberger | Elizabeth is the daughter of Van and Cheyenne. Elizabeth rarely speaks (although in the ninth episode in Season 5 she said her first line), but will sometimes be shown in a family member's arm or running around. She's a happy child who is often shown giggling. | |
| Henry Charles Jesus Hart | Alexander & Jackson McClellan | Brock and Barbra Jean's son and is also Cheyenne's, Kyra's, and Jake's younger half-brother. He sometimes displays bad behavior which leads Reba to believe that Barbra Jean is a bad parent. |
Episodes
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | Network | |||
| 1 | 22 | October 5, 2001 | May 10, 2002 | The WB | |
| 2 | 25 | September 20, 2002 | May 9, 2003 | ||
| 3 | 23 | September 12, 2003 | May 14, 2004 | ||
| 4 | 22 | September 17, 2004 | May 20, 2005 | ||
| 5 | 22 | September 16, 2005 | May 5, 2006 | ||
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