Reba Nell Hart (née McKinney) was born in 1958 to J.V. and Helen McKinney in McAllister, Texas. She attended high school where she met and dated Parker Reynolds, while Brock dated Reba's best friend Lorri Ann Gardner. She broke up with Parker after finding out they had no chemistry for each other. When she attended college, her and Brock got a job at a bar. She dated barkeep Terry Holliway. She was a waitress and Brock was also barkeep. Reba and Brock ended up falling for each other and Reba broke up with Terry because she didn't think their relationship was going anywhere not knowing that Terry was going to propose to Reba the night they broke up.
In 1981, Reba and Brock got married and they had three children together; Cheyenne Montgomery (née Hart), Kyra Hart, and Jake Hart. They were married for 20 years (1981-2001) before they decided to divorce after learning Brock had an affair with his dental hygienist Barbara Jean Hart (née Booker) and got her pregnant.
That same year, Brock and Reba's oldest daughter Cheyenne got pregnant when she was 17-years old and married her high school boyfriend Van Montgomery. They held a small wedding for the kids at Reba's house that Saturday with family and a few friends.
Also in 2001, shortly after Brock and Reba's divorce, Brock married Barbara Jean and together they have one son, Henry Hart.
In 2003, after not talking to Terry for 20+ years, Brock received a letter from Terry's brother Mike who currently owns the bar they worked in, and they got together for what they thought was a party, they found out that Terry died the week before.
Personality[]
Reba is known as a fiery redhead who has a sarcastic personality (especially towards her ex-husband Brock, & son-in-law Van). She tries to take control of every situation, which more often than not, makes problems worse before they get better.
She is initially hostile towards Brock and Barbara Jean, but grows to forgive them throughout the series and ends up becoming friends with Brock and best friends with Barbara Jean.
Trivia[]
She loves chocolate chip cookies.
Her poker screen name is Rambling Red Rose.
She is very fond of Mel Gibson, as in she wishes that his car would break down and for her to take him in and never let him go.
She ran a 5K in 23 minutes and 50 seconds which she has never done before, when getting ready for a 5K race.
Her mother's intuition found Joe's Burger Barn when her and the family were camping in Lubbock.
In She's Leaving Home, Bye Bye Part 1 she tries to be supportive of her daughter, Kyra, moving, shown when Kyra enters the kitchen and asks if they’re still talking and Reba tries to be nice, however Reba is really devastated about it.
The show is set in Houston, Texas, and stars Reba McEntire as a wisecracking single mother Reba Nell Hart, whose dentist ex-husband Brock has left her to marry young, ditzy Barbra Jean, his dental hygienist after an affair with her, when it is revealed in the pilot episode that Barbra Jean is pregnant. Ironically, although 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 as a friend. In the pilot episode it was revealed that Reba's oldest daughter, then high school senior Cheyenne, is pregnant as well by her then boyfriend, now husband Van Montgomery.
Cheyenne married her baby's father, fellow high-schooler Van Montgomery, 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 not leaving her or their baby behind. Van comes to view Reba as a surrogate parent (something Reba is very comfortable with). Reba's other two children are Kyra, an intelligent and rebellious teenager who shares Reba's sarcastic streak, and Jake, a young boy just trying to sort through the mess of his family.
Cast and Characters[]
Main article: List of Characters
Reba Cast
Reba McEntire as Reba Nell Hart (née McKinney) - 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. She worked as a secretary for her ex-husband's dental rival, Eugene. She becomes a real estate agent.
Christopher Rich as Brock Enroll Hart - 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."
Melissa Peterman as Barbra Jean Hart (née Booker) - "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.
Joanna García as Cheyenne Montgomery (née Hart) - 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.
Steve Howey as Van Montgomery - 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.
Scarlett Pomers as Kyra Eleanor Hart - 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.
Mitch Holleman as Jacob "Jake" Mitchell Hart - 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.
Alena & Gabrielle Leberger as Elizabeth Montgomery - 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.
Alexander & Jackson McClellan as Henry Charles Jesus Hart - 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.
By the end of it's six year run, Reba had aired a total of 125 episodes over six seasons.
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 final season of Reba was originally scheduled to debut in the spring of 2007, but returned in November 2006 following the cancellation of the CW drama Runaway.
Production[]
Season 6 Title Card
Opening Credits[]
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:
Seasons 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, Note: Season 2 was a shortened version.
My roots are planted in the past,
Though my life is changing fast,
Who I am is who I want to be:: I'm a survivor. (Season 2 version)
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. 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 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 more accompanying instruments.
The series finale of Reba ended with a family photo, similar to the first episode and the season five finale "Reba's Heart". This marks the only time that Reba ended back to back seasons using the family photo of season one.
Other Songs[]
Other songs in the Reba series include Reba's hit single, "Walk On" which is in the pilot episode, and three unreleased songs performed for the specific episode, the songs are:-
"Angel's Lullaby" which Reba performs in the season one finale, It Ain't Over Till the Redhead Sings.
"So Far Away" which Reba performs at the end of the episode entitled,Terry Holliway.
"9 to 5" which Reba and Melissa perform in the episode entitled Driving Miss Kyra.
International Broadcast[]
Reba is broadcast worldwide in over 30 different countries. Worldwide, the series finale garnered 8.2 million viewers. It was extremely 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. The show is extremely popular in the Caribbean giving McEntire an enormous fan base there.
Country / Region
Channel
Season Premiere
United Kingdom
Lifetime
September 7, 2005
Australia
Seven Network, Fox8
2003
Canada
CMT, Joytv
October 10, 2001
South Africa
M-Net
November 29, 2007
Barbados
CBC TV 8
November 22, 2008
Ireland
RTÉ ONE
June 13, 2005
Finland
MTV3, Sub
2004
Trinidad and Tobago
NCC 4
January 21, 2009
Trivia[]
Scarlett Pomers went into treatment for an eating disorder and therefore only appears in two episodes of Season 5. When she returned in Season 6, jokes were made about Kyra's absence; such as Reba asking "Where have you been?" to which Kyra replied, "I went to get something to eat."
The character of Reba was originally going to have the name "Sally" but Reba McEntire decided that because she had such a loyal fanbase from her singing career, naming the character Reba would help her fans connect to the show.
Reba McEntire, JoAnna Garcia, and Steve Howey are the only cast members who appeared in all 125 episodes.
Reba McEntire and Melissa Peterman are best friends in real life.
Season 6 was the shortest season with only 13 episodes (due to the series cancellation), while Season 2 had the most episodes with 24.
In the episode titled Have Your Cake Brock tells Barbra Jean that she needs to lose some weight well in real life Melissa Peterman gave birth to a baby boy in October 2005
Brian: peter met Brian at bowling peters/s friend Lori Ann one night in the episode Switch. but then told him the truth. In Ring-A-Ding, she invited him into her house when everyone else was away at Barbara Jean's family reunion in Fish-Eye Bottom, Texas. This was their first time alone while the children were away. On Valentine's Day she faked being sick to avoid seeing Brian because she hated the holiday. When Brian ends up showing up at her front door with chicken noodle soup to help nurse her back to health, he ends up telling her that he loves her. Caught up in the moment, peter said, "I love you too" and did not mean it. They end up breaking up.
Dr. Jack Morgan: Dr. Jack Morgan is Brock and Barbra Jean's marriage counselor when they were having issues in their marriage and was considering divorce. In the episode, Date of Mirth, peter to help Barbara Jean overcome her attraction to Dr. Morgan and ends up becoming attractive to him herself. At first, peter tells Dr. Morgan they can't because of him being Brock and Barbara Jean's marriage counselor, but when he recommends them to another marriage counselor, Dr. Morgan and Reba decide to date. But in a later episode called The Trouble with Dr. Hunky, she learns he is married and breaks up with him.
Terry Holliway - Terry and Reba were together for a short period of time before Reba left him to be with Brock. In the episode "Terry Holliway," Brock received a letter from Terry's brother Mike and decided to go to the bar where they all last saw each other. When Brock and Reba reached the bar, they go inside where they are taken back in time when Brock and Reba were younger (In their 20s). Terry was one of the bartenders. When Reba was up on stage, Brock and Terry were talking and Terry showed Brock the ring he bought and was going to propose to Reba with. During the conversation, Reba saw them talking and misunderstood what was going on when she saw Terry grabbing Brock by the shirt and she ran over and blurted out that she loved Brock and that she couldn't see Terry anymore. When they go back to the present, Reba finds out that Terry had passed away a week earlier and it wasn't an actual party they were attending. Reba ends the episode by singing a song "So Far Away" that she dedicated to her former boyfriend.
Lori Ann Gardner: Lori Ann is Reba's old friend from college, who moved back to Houston in Every Picture Tells a Story, she sees a picture in a box in Reba and Brock's garage when they were going through Brock's boxes and notices Barbara Jean sitting in front of Brock while they were in Hawaii during a Dental Convention. Barbara Jean later confessed after meeting up with Lori Ann and Reba at a bar and finally told Reba that she wasn't there with Brock, but in fact, she was there with another dentist who was also married. Lori Ann is also known for her quick-wit quirks towards Brock and Barbara Jean. She dated Brock in college while Reba dated a guy named Parker Reynolds. She had been married and divorced three different times and is also known to a big flirt with single men.
Barbara Jean - Barbara Jean Hart is Brock Hart's wife and mother to Brock's son Henry. She is the stepmother to Brock's son Jake, Kyra, and Cheyenne who Brock shares with his ex-wife Reba. She is also the step-grandmother to Cheyenne and her husband Van's child Elizabeth Montgomery. She is often found annoying and clueless at times according to Reba. She is a very tall, blonde and thick woman who ends up losing a lot weight near the end of the series and one time, she ended up coloring and cutting her hair just like Reba's. She first met Brock and Reba when she became Brock's Dental Hygienist in his office. She thinks highly of Reba and often refers Reba has her best friend. She is often insulted by Reba (and sometimes by her step-daughter Kyra) as it is the only way Reba can think of how to deal with the situation. Eventually Reba ends up growing fond of Barbara Jean and they end up becoming best friends by the end of the series. Barbara Jean is also known for her strength when it comes to Christianity.
Brock Hart is Reba's ex-husband. They share joint custody of their children Cheyenne, Kyra and jake He is married to Barbara Jean Hart and they have one son together named Henry. He is the paternal grandfather of Elizabeth. Brock and Reba were married for 20 years (1989 - 2001). Reba found out that Brock got Barbara Jean pregnant during their first court-mandated therapy session after having an all-out brawl during the custody hearing. After many years of being a dentist, he decided to sell his practice and become a professional golfer. Reba and Brock have had many arguments and fights throughout the series mainly because Reba was still angry with Brock for leaving her, their three children, and marrying Barbara Jean and getting her pregnant. In one episode, Reba was so angry about Brock having another child with his mistress (Barbara Jean) that she ended up whacking him in the stomach and a plastic baby doll during a childbirth class she attended with Van because Cheyenne said she had a paper due. She was very upset with him because he promised Barbara Jean that he would be there for Barbara Jean when she gave birth to their son. On the day of his son's birth, Reba tricked Brock into going camping with his pal Ralph so Brock wouldn't ruin the college recruiter's visit. When Barbara Jean goes into labor, (they were already there because they thought Cheyenne was delivering) Reba ends up going into the woods after Brock. He ended up missing his son's birth but was finally able to get to the hospital. Brock and Barbara Jean named their son Henry Charles Jesus Hart and ends up finally forgiving both Brock and Barbara Jean for the affair and they all end up being friends at the end of the series.
Van Montgomery is Reba's son-in-law and is married to Reba's oldest child Cheyenne. He is the father of Elizabeth Montgomery is expecting his 2nd child (unborn baby boy) at the end of the series. He is known for his goofiness and for not being very smart. By the 5th season of the series, him and Reba end up getting their real estate licenses and becoming realtors.
Cheyenne (Hart) Montgomery is Reba's oldest child and eldest daughter. She is married to Van Montgomery and is the mother of Elizabeth Montgomery and is expecting child number 2 in season 6. She is also known for her dimwittedness. Her and Van got married their senior year of high school (Westchester High School) after they found out she was pregnant during the court-mandated therapy session. She tried out for many "career" choices and ended up going to college for Dentistry.
Kyra Hart is Reba's middle child and youngest daughter. She is known for her meanness towards her siblings, and her brother-in-law. She has a strong heart for music as she grows up. She is usually put in the middle between her father, mother and Barbara Jean as well as her mother and Cheyenne. Her brother, sister and brother-in-law are known to fear Kyra. Although she is sometimes harsh towards her family, she is also known for sticking up for them as well. She and Barbara Jean had a rocky start at the beginning of their relationship, but she ends up becoming friends with her step-mother. During the series, Kyra is often feeling left out because of all the commotion going on in Reba's house, so she asks Reba if she could move in with her dad, Barbara Jean and Henry when they move into their new home.
Jake Hart is the youngest child of Reba and Brock Hart. He is always finding ways to spend more time with his dad especially when he was younger. He and Brock have a very close bond with each other since he was young. He called Barbara Jean, “Mommy", one time in an episode upsetting Reba because she thought he was trying to replace her with Barbara Jean. He also with his niece Elizabeth and secretly admires Kyra.
