Reba (TV series)

Reba
File:Reba title card.jpg Reba title card
Created by	Allison M. Gibson
Developed by	20th Century Fox Television/ACME Productions
Starring	Reba McEntire Christopher Rich Joanna García Steve Howey Scarlett Pomers Mitch Holleman Melissa Peterman
Opening theme	"I'm a Survivor" by Reba McEntire
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	6
No. of episodes	125 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Allison M. Gibson (2001-2002) Michael Hanel (2002-2007) Kevin Abbott (2002-2007) Mindy Schultheis (2002-2007)
Producers	Chris Alberghini Mike Chessler Jason Shubb
Running time	30 minutes (with commercials) 21 minutes (without commercials)
Original release
Network	The WB (2001-2006) The CW (2006-2007)
Release	October 5 2001 – February 18, 2007

Reba was an American sitcom starring country music singer Reba McEntire. It premiered on The WB Television Network (The WB) network in 2001, where it ran for five seasons before The WB merged with UPN to form The CW Television Network (The CW), and it ran on The CW for its final season. When it premiered on The CW, the show became the top rated sitcom on the network, as it was on The WB. Reba set a new all-time viewership record for any program on the WB's Friday night (best-ever Friday in women 18-49).Reba's premiere on The CW Sunday averaged 4.02 million viewers, including 1.64 million viewers and 40 percent among adults 18-49 more than when Everybody Hates Chris and All of Us premiered in the same time slot, thus making Reba the highest rated sitcom on the network. With Reba as a lead in, 7th Heaven saw a season high of 4.51 million viewers.

Despite being one of The CW Network's leading shows the long-running series ended rather abruptly, with its finale airing on Sunday, February 18, 2007.

Synopsis

The show is set in the suburbs of Houston, Texas, and stars Reba McEntire as a wisecracking single mother Reba Hart, whose ex-husband Brock (Christopher Rich) has left her to marry the young, ditzy dental hygienist Barbra Jean (Melissa Peterman). Ironically, though Reba sees "B.J." 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. During the show's first season, Reba's oldest daughter, then-high school senior Cheyenne (Joanna García), became pregnant. In the pilot episode, 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 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 strives to comically but realistically portray the trials and tribulations of family life in modern society.

The show was canceled 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, reportedly to fulfill a syndication contract worth $20 million. In November 2006, The CW announced that the show would be paired with 7th Heaven, Sundays at 7 p.m., beginning later that month. Reba encores are 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. The final episode aired on February 18, 2007.

Reruns of the show are a part of The CW Daytime and Lifetime TV.

Soon after making the decision to cancel the sitcom, the shows ratings sky rocketed. The CW showed strong regrets for having cancelled "Reba", but by the time the last season came out they had already decided to cancel it.

Characters

Character	Actor	Description
Reba Nell Hart (née McKinney)	Reba McEntire	Reba is a single mother 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. Relatives: Father- J.V., Mother- Helen
Brock Enroll Hart	Christopher Rich	Reba's ex-husband, a dentist and golfer, who leaves her for his much younger (and pregnant) dental hygenist, Barbra Jean. He is vain, and tries to convince everyone (including himself) that he is still young. Relatives: Father- John D, Mother- Liz
Cheyenne Montgomery (née Hart)	Joanna García	Reba's 17-year-old daughter is looking forward to her senior year of high school, only to find out that she is pregnant. She marries her boyfriend, Van Montgomery, and they move in with Cheyenne's mom, Reba. Cheyenne gives birth to their daughter, Elizabeth, after going into labor on graduation day. She can be somewhat air-headed and self-centered (the latter sometimes by requirement).
Van Montgomery	Steve Howey	The star cornerback of his school's football team, Van is kicked out of the house when his parents find out that he plans to marry his pregnant girlfriend. He moves in with Reba, but his future as a professional career looks bright until an accident leaves him unable to play football. Later in the series he works as a realtor with Reba. Van is a big goof and is not good with his words, especially when it has to do with his wife. Relatives: Father- Dan, Mother- Sue
Kyra Eleanor Hart	Scarlett Pomers	The sarcastic middle child, Kyra is often ignored because she has the least issues of the family. Many of her traits and looks come from Reba, although she's known to be more manipulative and difficult. She moves in to Brock's house in season 3.
Jake Mitchell Hart	Mitch Holleman	The youngest of the Hart children, Jake is often teased by his sister Kyra. Jake is pretty oblivious of what goes around behind him. He acts like normal boy for his age, although he does show many feminine interests that Brock does not approve of.
Barbra Jean Hart (née Booker)	Melissa Peterman	"BJ" was Brock's dental hygienist and had an affair with him. The result was her getting pregnant, and marrying him after he divorced Reba. Barbra Jean is even more of a goofball than Van, and is an easy target for being the butt of jokes. She is noisy and annoying, but she has good intentions, even if they get on everyone's nerves.
Elizabeth Montgomery	Alena & Gabrielle Leberger	Van and Cheyenne's daughter
Henry Charles Jesus Hart	Alexander & Jackson McClellan	Brock and Barbra Jean's son

Reba McEntire, Joanna García, Steve Howey and Christopher Rich are the only cast members to appear in every episode. Melissa Peterman was not in a few episodes in Season 1, as well as on episode of season 2, because she was not written in, because her character wasn't as big then. She also missed one episode of Season 5 for the birth of her child. Mitch Holleman was not written into a few episodes of some seasons. Scarlett Pomers was not written into two episodes, one in Season 3 and one in Season 4. She also missed 20 out of 22 episodes in Season 5 for her anorexia. She returned in the sixth season premiere to wild applause from the audience. In her first scene, Reba asks where she's been. Her response was, "I went to get something to eat." At the end of the same episode, she heads to the kitchen, and when Van asks where she's going, and she responds, "Getting something to eat," he replies with "Okay, see you next year", a reference to her long absence.

Critical reception

Reviews for Reba were somewhat mixed. Entertainment Weekly gave the show a grade of "C-", saying that "only [Reba] McEntire... avoids looking furtively desperate in this seamy enterprise". Michael Abernethy of PopMatters.com was more forgiving in his review, calling the show "generally humorous, although far from perfect", and praising how the series "caters to its star's abilities and image" and "spreads the jokes and storylines equally among all its cast members".

Episodes

Main article: List of Reba episodes

Opening sequences

The show's theme song, "I'm a Survivor," was written by Shelby Kennedy and Phillip White and performed by Reba McEntire. The song comes from Reba's album Greatest Hits Vol. 3: I'm a Survivor. Though the first part of the TV version's lyrics appear elsewhere in the song, the album version has a different chorus: "The baby girl without a chance / a victim of circumstance / the one who ought to give up / but she's just too hard-headed / a single mom who works two jobs / who loves her kids and never stops / with gentle hands and the heart of a fighter / I'm a survivor. The show's lyrics are as follows:

My roots are planted in the past,

Though my life is changing fast,

Who I am is who I want to be.

A single mom, who works too hard,

Who loves her kids and never stops.

With gentle hands and the heart of a fighter.

I'm a survivor.

In season one, the opening credits were black-and-white photos of cast members interspersed with clips of each cast member from the show, along with color video shots of Reba on a soundstage. The theme song, "I'm a Survivor", was slower and softer, very similar to the original album version. The first eleven episodes of season two featured a truncated opening sequence: Cast and crew names were shown during the first and second segments of the show. The song was re-recorded at a faster, more energetic pace, but only two lines of the chorus ("Who I am is who I want to be / I'm a survivor") were sung. New video inserts of McEntire were shot and played with a color photo of the entire cast at the end.

From the second half of season two onwards, a full opening sequence was returned to the show. The fast-paced song played among the new shots of McEntire plus clips of cast members from previous episodes as their names scroll past the screen horizontally. In seasons five and six, the song was re-mixed again, with more accompanying instruments.

The series finale of Reba ended with a family photo just like episode 1-Pilot and the same in season five "Reba's Heart". This marks the only time that Reba ended back to back seasons using the family photo of season one.

The title of the show's theme song is referenced several times by the characters. For example, in a season-2 episode when Barbra Jean is taking care of Reba's household while Reba is working, at one point she is seen singing the words "I'm a Survivor" while vacuuming. Also, in the season-5 finale after Van and Cheyenne learn that Reba may have to have surgery, Van says, "She'll be okay; she's a survivor."

Notes

There are several points in the series where Barbra Jean is compared to a "chimp". For example, during the intro for the season 3 episode "Fight for Flight," Reba and Kyra are talking while Reba is unloading groceries and when she makes that comparison, she pulls out a group of bananas. Also, in the episode when the entire family (except for Barbra Jean) sees a psychiatrist, Reba says she never told Barbra Jean to come, however she is able to find where they are and when she enters she says "You didn't invite me to psychatry? That's like not taking a chimp to a banana factory!"

Awards

• Emmy Awards
  • 2006 - Outstanding Cinematography for a Multi-Camera Series - Bryan Hays for "The Goodbye Guy" Nominated
  • 2005 - Outstanding Cinematography for a Multi-Camera Series - Bryan Hays for "Flowers for Van" Nominated

• Golden Globe Awards
  • 2004 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy - Reba McEntire Nominated

• People's Choice Awards
  • 2002 - Favorite Female Performer in a New Television Series - Reba McEntire Won

• Family Television Awards
  • 2005 - Best Actress - Reba McEntire Won

DVD releases

Seasons 1-4 have been released by Fox Home Entertainment.

DVD releases dates for the USA:

Cover Art
Title	Season One	Season Two	Season Three	Season Four	Season Five	Season Six
United States (Region 1)	December 14, 2004	December 13, 2005	April 25, 2006	November 14, 2006	TBA	TBA
Episodes	22 Episodes	24 Episodes	22 Episodes	22 Episodes	22 Episodes	13 Episodes
Discs	3-Disc Set	3-Disc Set	3-Disc Set	3-Disc Set	3-Disc Set	3-Disc Set
Box Color	Orange	Green	Blue	Pink	TBA	TBA
Format	NTSC	NTSC	NTSC	NTSC	NTSC	NTSC
Website	Season 1 DVD Website	Season 2 DVD Website	Season 3 DVD Website	Season 4 DVD Website

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, during the network's TCA Press Tour, it was revealed that the series had been canceled, with no "back nine" on order.

The series finale garnered 4.44 million viewers in its final half hour. Rumors continued to float on the CW's message boards (but Reba fans said they want the show back) 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 create a Van/Cheyenne spinoff series. It was soon announced that Garcia and Howey had each been signed to new shows for CBS and FOX respectively. Ironically, neither show was picked up for production.

An interview Reba McEntire gave as part of the press coverage of her upcoming duets album revealed that the show is not being shopped around and that the series was indeed finished. In an interview with Variety Magazine 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.

"Reba" airings

All 125 episodes of Reba can currently be seen on Lifetime Television from 6-7 PM and 8-9 PM every Monday-Friday. The series is also aired on The CW Daytime every Monday-Friday from 4-5 PM in all timezones. "Reba" also airs Monday-Friday on CMT in Canada at 9:00 PM, 12:00 AM and 3:00 AM ET, and Saturday at 9-10 PM and Midnight-1 AM ET and will also air on CTV's Secondary Network A-channel as of the fall of 2008.

Ratings for the 6th season

Reba was averaging 3,630,000 viewers since the beginning of its sixth season[1], making it the seventh most-watched show and the most-watched sitcom on The CW. The new Reba episodes vary as being either sixth or seventh most-watched program on the network, sometimes ranking as high as #3 for the week.

To date, no other program has had higher viewer turnout for repeat airing than Reba. As a result of the lackluster ratings for encores of the summer drama Hidden Palms, repeats of Reba have returned to the CW's schedule after being absent for three months, and they immediately became the most-watched program of the night. Later in the summer, repeats of Reba were the most-viewed program on the CW network.

Episode	Premiere Date	Rating
Let's Get Physical	November 19, 2006	3.69
Just Business	November 19, 2006	4.34
Trading Spaces	November 26, 2006	3.89
Roll With It	December 3, 2006	3.40
The Break-Up	December 10, 2006	3.91
Sweet Child O' Mine	December 17, 2006	3.47
Locked and Loaded	January 7, 2007	3.06
As We Forgive Those...	January 14, 2007	3.50
Bullets Over Brock	January 21, 2007	3.32
Cheyenne's Rival	January 28, 2007	3.53
She's With The Band	February 11, 2007	3.24
The Housewarming	February 18, 2007	3.40
The Kids Are Alright	February 18, 2007	4.44

Season Ratings

2001-2002 4.230 million viewers Network Rank: #4

2002-2003 4.480 million viewers Network Rank: #5

2003-2004 3.960 million viewers Network Rank: #6

2004-2005 4.294 million viewers Network Rank: #5

2005-2006 3.416 million viewers Network Rank: #8

2006-2007 3.630 million viewers Network Rank: #6

See also

Reba McEntire

External links

• Reba at IMDb
• Template:Tv.com show
• Lifetime's Reba Webpage
• TV Series Finale - details of cancellation and possible spin-off