Reba’s showrunner has defined why the revival sequence by no means occurred and what it will have been about. Reba was a sitcom that initially aired from 2001 to 2007. The present starred Reba McEntire as Reba Hart, a mom whose life was thrown into turmoil after she divorced her dishonest husband, and her daughter, Cheyenne, turned pregnant.
There have not too long ago been a slew of sitcom revival sequence, together with Frasier, which bought stable opinions earlier than it was canceled. Nonetheless, for the reason that authentic model of Reba had beloved characters and felt not like different sitcoms, it actually may have stood out. With that in thoughts, it’s fascinating to study what Reba’s showrunner revealed concerning the deserted revival.
After Kevin Abbott served as Reba’s showrunner from its second season on, he spoke to TVLine in August 2025. Throughout the ensuing dialog, Abbott defined how a lot work was put into the Reba revival sequence and when the proposed mission fell aside. Try Abbott’s feedback under:
We had moved fairly far on the reboot. There was not [a script yet]. We’d gotten to the purpose the place we had pitched it to [20th Century] Fox, who wished to take it out [and pitch it to networks]. The stall got here after they have been presupposed to signal the actors to [holding] offers.
We have been proper as much as the purpose of being able to take it out and promote it when phrase got here again [that it would not be moving forward]. It was unlucky timing due to the Disney-Fox merger [in 2019], and there was lots of uncertainty as to who really must be making these calls.
Abbott went on to elucidate what the Reba revival sequence would have been about. In the end, Abbott stopped himself from revealing an excessive amount of concerning the revival’s proposed story and said that he’s open to the thought of turning the deliberate plot right into a revival film as a substitute. Try Abbott’s feedback under:
We had the story. We had every thing however me really placing the pen to paper. I used to be fairly disenchanted. It had been a yr and a half price of labor going into that, and it appeared so promising… We have been going to be choosing up in actual time. The characters had all aged to their [real] ages. We have been going to start out with Reba probably transferring out of Houston, however realizing that [she needed to stay put for the family].
Someplace behind my mattress, [I think] possibly we will do a film or one thing with it. There was sufficient materials generated to cowl not less than a pair hours.
What This Means For The Probabilities Of A Reba Revival
Regardless of not transferring ahead with a Reba reboot, McEntire and Abbott moved to a distinct sitcom, Glad’s Place. Sadly for followers of the long-gone sitcom, Abbott’s feedback make it seem to be Glad’s Place often is the closest factor there might be to a Reba revival sequence.
Throughout his feedback, Abbott made it clear that there was sufficient curiosity in a Reba revival for lots of labor to happen on the potential present’s story. Nonetheless, the TV present’s prospects fell aside when it got here time to get Reba’s stars concerned. That makes it appear very probably that the Reba revival will not occur, not less than anytime quickly.
Abbott’s feedback don’t make it totally clear the place the breakdown in getting the solid to return occurred. Perhaps Reba’s solid members have been busy with different tasks or did not just like the proposed story. Abbott does state that the Disney/Fox merger on the time difficult this course of as “there was lots of uncertainty as to who really must be making these calls.”
Whereas a Reba revival sequence appears unlikely, Abbott’s suggestion of manufacturing a film as a substitute appears much more viable. Making a film as a substitute may mitigate lots of the obstacles the proposed sequence confronted, except for any potential solid issues concerning the story.
Our Take On The Proposed Reba Revival
From the skin trying in, the leisure trade can really be baffling at instances. Based mostly on Abbott’s feedback concerning the proposed Reba revival, the truth that it wasn’t produced is a superb instance of that. In spite of everything, whereas execution is every thing, the plans for the Reba revival sound just like the present would have been nice.
Some sitcom revivals have missed the mark by seemingly misunderstanding what the unique present’s followers cherished. Nonetheless, Abbott’s description of the Reba revival’s proposed plot looks as if it may have recreated the magic of the unique present. Contemplating that and the truth that Reba has a pre-existing fan following, it looks as if the revival actually ought to have been produced.