Trivia / Reba

• Actor Allusion: in the series finale, Reba grumps, "Why couldn't I be Dolly Parton??" Reba McEntire, of course, is one of Country Music's biggest stars and is also an actress - exactly like Dolly Parton.
  • An even bigger one: "I always thought I'd be a singer." Hi there, Queen of Country...
  • Yet another example:
  Jake: Wouldn't it be cool to be on TV?
  Reba: Nah. I think it would be cool to be a singer.
  • Yet another, when Reba is planning Van and Cheyenne's vow renewals, Cheyenne comments how she's making everything so fancy. Reba turns and say, "Well, Fancy is my name." "Fancy" was one of McEntire's most popular songs (and some would say her signature).
  • Reba's statement towards the minor character played by Kelly Clarkson: "If she goes on TV, America's going to love her." Just about anyone who knows how the first season of American Idol ended would understand the humor from that line.
• The Cast Showoff: Surprisingly averted for a sitcom based around one of country music's most famous stars - Reba did sing, but it was rarely a big production. (On the other hand, she did sing the theme song and some of the soundtrack.)
  • To the same extent, Scarlett Pomers is also a good musician, but her band is mostly offscreen, and most of the time she's seen doing something musical, she's just strumming her guitar and making snarky comments.
• Celebrity Star / Stunt Casting: Done twice:
  • One time with Dolly Parton and the other with Kelly Clarkson. Both also appear as special guests.
  • Overlapping with Casting Gag. Twice during the show, Cheyenne and Van's marriage was tested by another woman. The first time was Kate, a business associate of Van's that Cheyenne was insanely jealous of. The second was a woman named Bridget, who was a former classmate of theirs (and enemy of Cheyenne) who made a pass at Van to torment Cheyenne. Both characters were played by Sarah Shahi, who was Steve Howey's wife (although they were only dating/engaged at the time.)
• Channel Hop: From The WB (Seasons 1-5) to The CW (Season 6). An odd example, as the latter network is a direct successor to the former.
• The Danza:
  • Reba McEntire as Reba Hart.
  • Jake's middle name is "Mitchell". He's played by Mitch Holleman.
  • Dolly Parton as real estate agent Dolly Majors.
  • Kelly Clarkson as Kelly the weather girl.
  • Dot Marie Jones as the Brawn Hilda personal trainer Dot in "Let's Get Physical".
• Dawson Casting: JoAnna Garcia Swisher was 22 years old and Steve Howey was 24 when they were cast as Cheyenne and Van, respectively. When the series began, both characters were high school seniors.
• Directed by Cast Member: Christopher Rich, who plays Brock, directed several episodes.
• Friday Night Death Slot: Averted; it was not only The WB's highest rated show on Friday nights, it was usually their highest rated sitcom each week, period.
• Hey, It's That Place!: From even the beginning of the pilot and through out the whole series, although some changes were made, the set that was used on "Reba" was also the same set that was used on The Hughleys (1998).
• Hide Your Pregnancy: Barbra Jean had gained a noticeable amount of weight in season 5 due to the fact that Melissa Peterman was pregnant at the time, and her weight gain was made into a plot point in the episode, "Have Your Cake."
• I Want You to Meet an Old Friend of Mine: By the time Kelly Clarkson guest-starred on the show, she had already forged a great friendship with McEntire, as the former had requested to sing with the latter on the American Idol Season 1 finale, and following Clarkson's win on that show, the two toured/sang together frequently. Also becomes a retroactive case of Real-Life Relative, as Clarkson would go on to marry Reba's stepson in 2013.
• The Other Darrin: Van's parents were recast after their first appearance. The second actor to play Van's father (Mark Tymchyshyn) looked younger and less intimidating.
• Reality Subtext: Melissa Peterman's weight gain/loss and Scarlett Pomers' eating disorder are both written into the script.
• Screwed by the Network:
  • Reba was the highest rated show on the WB, but when it merged with UPN to form CW, they were going for a different demographic, and it wasn't sure if the show would make it through the merge. Due to financial penalties (see Un-Cancelled below), The CW ordered 13 episodes for a sixth season.
  • Despite a promising performance in its sixth season (the show was the highest rated sitcom on the new network and increased the ratings from the shows previously slotted there), the show was cancelled since it was felt that it didn't hit the right demographics.
  • And such moves seemed to have not gone unnoticed, if the following exchange was of any indication:
  Van: If you take away loyalty and ethics from business, do you know what you got?
  Reba: Television network?
• Un-Canceled: The show was effectively (though not officially) cancelled after its 5th season upon the merger of UPN and The WB into The CW. However, finances saved the show - The WB had renewed the show for two seasons the previous year, and the new network would be on the hook to the producers if a sixth season was not ordered.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Reba's character was originally named "Sally" until Reba McEntire was cast in the role.
  • This episode was re-shot following the decision to change the main character's name from Sally to Reba. As shown in the Season One DVD's special features, footage exists from the first filming of this episode with the other characters referring to Reba as Sally. McEntire suggested the name change to make the character more relatable to her well-established fan base.
  • There were rumors that Lifetime, (who aired reruns of the show for a while) was planning to produce a spinoff series that focused on Van and Cheyenne. However, Steve Howey and JoAnna Garcia Swisher were unable to reprise their roles due to being cast to different series.
  • The series was originally set to debut in September of 2001, but was delayed to October because of 9/11.
• You Look Familiar:
  • The minor character who was Mistaken for Gay by Van and a sales clerk in a jewelry store are played by the same guy. In fact, they probably are the same character, making this a retroactive Early-Bird Cameo. In the episode "For Sale, Cheap," where Van mistakes the man (Terry) for being gay (and vice-versa), Terry explains that he runs a jewelry store along with his wife and another business partner. In fact, his previous reference to him as his "partner" is one of the reasons why he was Mistaken for Gay in the first place.
  • As mentioned above, one-shot characters Kate and Bridget were both portrayed by Sarah Shahi, who is the wife of Steve Howey.