Reba (TV series)

Last updated

Reba
Reba (The WB Network sitcom) logo.svg
Genre Sitcom
Created byAllison M. Gibson
Starring Reba McEntire
Christopher Rich
Joanna García
Steve Howey
Scarlett Pomers
Mitch Holleman
Melissa Peterman
Theme music composerShelby Kennedy
Phillip White
Opening theme"I'm a Survivor", performed by Reba McEntire
ComposersSteve Dorff (season 1)
Jonathan Wolff (seasons 2–4)
Tree Adams (seasons 5–6)
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons6
No. of episodes127 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersMindy Schultheis
Michael Hanel (entire run)
Allison M. Gibson (2001–2002)
Kevin Abbott (2002–2007)
Matt Berry (2003–2007)
Donald Beck
Christopher Case
Pat Bullard
Reba McEntire (all from 2005–2007)
ProducerJason Shubb
CinematographyDonald A. Morgan (pilot)
Bryan Hays
EditorAndy Zall
Camera setup Videotape (filmized);
Multi-camera
Running time20–22 minutes
Production companiesAcme Productions
Bee Caves Road Productions
(2001–2002)
(season 1)
20th Century Fox Television
Original release
Network The WB
ReleaseOctober 5, 2001 (2001-10-05) 
May 5, 2006 (2006-05-05)
Network The CW
ReleaseNovember 19, 2006 (2006-11-19) 
February 18, 2007 (2007-02-18)

Reba is an American television sitcom starring Reba McEntire that aired from October 5, 2001, to February 18, 2007. The series premiered on The WB where it aired for 5 seasons, with the sixth season airing on The CW (The WB and UPN merged into The CW in 2006). Most episodes were recorded in front of a live studio audience.

Contents

Synopsis

Set in the city of Houston, Texas, middle-aged wisecracking Reba Hart (Reba McEntire) has her life thrown upside down when she learns her husband, Brock Hart (Christopher Rich), had an affair and is expecting a baby with his dental hygienist Barbra Jean (Melissa Peterman) - who is half Reba's age. Reba's teenage daughter, Cheyenne Hart-Montgomery (JoAnna Garcia Swisher), is also pregnant, prompting her to marry the father, high school classmate Van Montgomery (Steve Howey). With all of the new chaos and dysfunction, Reba attempts to get through with pre-teen daughter Kyra (Scarlett Pomers) and son Jake (Mitch Holleman).

Cast and characters

Main

Reba McEntire, Joanna García, and Steve Howey are the only cast members to appear in every episode.

Notable guest stars

Episodes

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast airedNetwork
1 22October 5, 2001 (2001-10-05)May 10, 2002 (2002-05-10) The WB
2 25September 20, 2002 (2002-09-20)May 9, 2003 (2003-05-09)
3 23September 12, 2003 (2003-09-12)May 14, 2004 (2004-05-14)
4 22September 17, 2004 (2004-09-17)May 20, 2005 (2005-05-20)
5 22September 16, 2005 (2005-09-16)May 5, 2006 (2006-05-05)
6 13November 19, 2006 (2006-11-19)February 18, 2007 (2007-02-18) The CW

Production

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 1, the opening credits were black-and-white photos of cast members interspersed with clips of each cast member from the show (mostly if not all from the pilot episode), along with color video shots of Reba on a soundstage (which were taken from The WB's promotional campaign from the 2001–02 season). The theme song, "I'm a Survivor", was slower and softer, very similar to the original album version. The first ten 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 11th episode of season 2 onwards, a full opening sequence was returned to the show. The fast-paced song played among the new shots of McEntire (which were also taken from The WB's promotional campaign from the 2002–03 season) plus clips of cast members from previous episodes as their names scroll past the screen horizontally. In seasons 5 and 6, the song was re-mixed again, with gentler guitars replacing a harder-edged sax solo.

The series finale of Reba ended with a family photo, similar to the first episode and the season five finale "Reba's Heart".

Music

In the series pilot, McEntire performed her single "Walk On." Two unreleased songs were performed by McEntire throughout the series: "Angel's Lullaby" (in the episode "It Ain't Over Till the Redhead Sings") and a cover of Carole King's "So Far Away" (in "Terry Holliway"). Finally, McEntire and Peterman performed Dolly Parton's "9 to 5" in the episode "Driving Miss Kyra."

Cancellation

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. The series finale was filmed in December 2006. [1]

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 expressed interest in a Van/Cheyenne spinoff series. [2] It was soon announced that Garcia and Howey had each been signed to new shows for CBS and FOX respectively. [3]

An interview with Reba McEntire, 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 had 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, ABC, or UPN. [4] The final season of Reba was originally scheduled to debut in the spring of 2007. However, following the cancellation of the drama Runaway , the series returned in November 2006.

American ratings

Reba set a new all-time viewership record for any program on the WB's Friday night (best-ever Friday in women 18–49). During its five seasons on the Friday night lineup, it often ranked 4th in its timeslot (ahead of both UPN and Fox), with a few episodes bringing in over 5 million viewers.

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.

Reba was averaging 3.63 million viewers since the beginning of its sixth season, making it the seventh most-watched show and the most-watched sitcom on The CW throughout the 2006–07 television season. 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.

Throughout The CW's inaugural season (2006–07), no other program had higher viewer turnout for repeat airings than Reba. As a result of the lackluster ratings for encores of the summer drama Hidden Palms , repeats of Reba returned to the CW's schedule in June 2007 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.

SeasonU.S. ratingsNetworkRank
12001–20024.2 million [5] The WB#129
22002–20034.5 million [6] #127
32003–20044.2 million [7] #155
42004–20054.3 million [8] #117
52005–20063.4 million [9] #133
62006–20073.6 million [10] The CW#131

Broadcast

History

The series was originally cancelled when The WB's rival network UPN merged with them to transform into The CW. 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. [11] [12] In November 2006, The CW announced that the show would be paired with 7th Heaven , Sundays at 7:00 p.m., beginning later that month. [13] 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 . [14] The final episode aired on February 18, 2007.

Syndication

Reba has aired in syndication on Lifetime, Ion Television, Peachtree TV, The CW Plus, and Hallmark Channel. In September 2006, Reba began airing on the new CW Daytime block, and remained there until September 2008. It began airing on CMT on Wednesday August 1, 2012, in high definition, and also began airing on ABC Family (now Freeform) on August 6, 2012. It began airing on TV Land in 2015. As of August 2019, however, the series was pulled from both TV Land and Freeform. The show made its network premiere on UPtv on August 2, 2019. [15] On April 5, 2021, the series began airing again on the Hallmark Channel. [16]

International

Reba was broadcast worldwide in over 30 countries. The series was successful in the Czech Republic (under the name "The Diary of a Seasoned Mother") where the season premiere on September 29, 2007 garnered over 1 million viewers. It was also successful in Canada, Mexico, and Croatia.

Streaming

Reba is currently available to stream on Hulu and Amazon Freevee. On May 6, 2024, the series became available for streaming on Netflix. [17]

Home media

20th Century Fox has released the entire series run, seasons 1–6, of Reba on DVD in Region 1. All discs are double-sided in an effort to reduce the economics of producing the sets. In 2010, seasons 1-4 were re-released in standard, more compact DVD cases to match the fifth and sixth season releases.

TitleSeason OneSeason TwoSeason ThreeSeason FourSeason FiveSeason SixComplete Series
Release dateDecember 14, 2004December 13, 2005April 25, 2006November 14, 2006January 13, 2009June 23, 2009October 2, 2018
Ep#22 Episodes24 Episodes22 Episodes22 Episodes22 Episodes13 Episodes125 episodes
Disc #33332118
FormatNTSCNTSCNTSCNTSCNTSCNTSCNTSC

Awards and nominations

YearAwardResultCategoryRecipient
2001 People's Choice Awards WonFavorite Female Performer in a New Television Series Reba McEntire
Young Artist Awards NominatedBest Performance in a TV Comedy Series – Supporting Young Actress Scarlett Pomers
NominatedBest Performance in a TV Comedy Series – Supporting Young Actor Mitch Holleman
NominatedBest Family TV Comedy SeriesReba McEntire
WonBest Performance in a TV Comedy Series – Guest Starring Young Actor Shawn Pyfrom
2002NominatedBest Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) – Supporting Young ActorMitch Holleman
NominatedBest Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) – Leading Young ActressScarlett Pomers
2003NominatedBest Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) – Leading Young Actress
Golden Globe Awards NominatedBest Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or ComedyReba McEntire
2004 Young Artist Awards NominatedBest Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) – Young Actor Age Ten or YoungerMitch Holleman
NominatedBest Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) – Leading Young ActressScarlett Pomers
WonBest Family Television Series (Comedy)
2006 Primetime Emmy Awards NominatedOutstanding Cinematography for a Multi-Camera SeriesBryan Hays (For episode: "Flowers For Van")
2007NominatedOutstanding Cinematography for a Multi-Camera SeriesBryan Hays (For episode: "The Goodbye Guy")
2008 Teen Choice Awards NominatedChoice TV Actress: Comedy Joanna García

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References

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