By JUDY SLOANE

Front Row Features

HOLLYWOOD-You’d think doing “The Voice” would be enough work, but Reba McEntire is also starring in a new sitcom, “Happy’s Place,” which premieres on NBC Friday, October 18 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

She stars as Bobbie, who inherits her father’s tavern, Happy’s Place, and is stunned to discover that her new business partner, Isabella (Belissa Escobedo, is the half-sister she never knew she had.

From 2001 to 2007, the iconic country singer starred on the sitcom, “Reba,” on the CW network. In that series, Melissa Peterman portrayed Barbra Jean, Reba’s best friend who is married to her ex-husband, Brock (Christopher Rich.) In “Happy’s Place,” Melissa plays Gabby, who works at the tavern. The series is created by Kevin and Julie Abbott.

Reba and Melissa came to the TV Critics tour to talk about their ‘happy’ reunion on the new sitcom.

Q: Reba, what is it about doing a network sitcom that you find so appealing that you’d want to tackle it again?

Reba McEntire: Ever since we stopped doing the “Reba” TV show, we have been looking for another project to do together because we had fun, we had more stories to tell. When Kevin’s wife, Julie, came up with this idea, we all said, “Yes, let’s go for it!” I love the sitcom genre. This is my favorite thing to do because it’s camaraderie, you just get to go to work and play, and it’s creative. It’s very comforting to me.

Q: Can you talk a little about your character, Bobbie?

Reba McEntire: Bobbie’s pretty intense. She’s very devoted to the tavern and to her dad’s memory, and she wants everything to stay as it is. She works very hard. She’s got a wonderful team of people that she gets to work with at the tavern. She solely depends on [it] because her husband has died. Her daughter is deployed, and so she’s on her own except [for] her Happy’s Place tavern family. She’s very loyal and loves what she gets to do.

Q: You have such a great relationship with country music fans. You’re one of the few music artists that has been able to transition into a successful acting career.

Reba McEntire: My fans have always been very loyal, and they followed me. Momma always said I had the attention span of a 2-year-old, so they follow me wherever, whatever genre I want to attempt, and they’ve been great. They love that we’re doing another sitcom.

Q: What has changed since you did your last sitcom?

Reba McEntire: Everything has changed. When I first got on the set of “Reba,” I had just left New York doing “Annie Get your Gun.” That was the very first play I’d ever done. And then I get to L.A. and do the first sitcom that I’d ever gotten to do. I would pull Chris Rich, who had done quite a few, and I’d say, “What do they mean when they say this?” I went through acting 101 class. Thank God for Chris and other folks that were really nice to help me. What’s different for me now is I’m the old show dog, and I can help teach anybody who hasn’t done a four-camera sitcom before, what’s going on. The tables are turned a little bit.

Q: Reba and Melissa, obviously you have the “Reba” show in common. What do you remember about the first time you met Reba?

Reba McEntire: Go Melly.

Melissa Peterman: I didn’t meet her until the table read of the sitcom.  Clearly, I knew who she was, and she went around to everybody and introduced herself and said, “Hi, I’m Reba McEntire.”  We’re like, “Don’t need a last name.  We know.”  It’s a little intimidating, but she made it feel so comfortable from day one and made sure that we all knew we were here for the same reason, to have fun, make a good show, respect each other and be a little grateful for it.

Q: Reba, how has your relationship with Melissa evolved through the years?

Reba McEntire: We’ve been buddies. We’ve been co-workers. We’ve had so much fun. The thing that I can already see is going to happen on this show that happened on the “Reba” show, we’d all go on vacation together — the writers, producers, showrunners, everybody with their families, we had such a good time. I can see this happening with this group. The camaraderie and the way we gelled on the first week while we were shooting the pilot, they were saying, “Gosh, this is like a second season, first episode.”

Q: You’re both coming back and acting against the same person and yet as two different roles.  How do you build a whole new chemistry between two characters without sliding back into Reba and Barbra Jean?

Reba McEntire: We rely totally on the writing; that’s what we perform.  So, all the pressure is on Kevin and the staff of writers, and they step up to the plate every time and knock it out of the ballpark.

Melissa Peterman:  I feel like it could be a repertory theater. We’re coming back to do a different play as different characters. The chemistry is still there, and that’s a great foundation to have.  I’m excited to explore this new character and how we do react. I know that Kevin and the writers are committed to making it different but keeping that same chemistry. Timing is going to be the same. You can’t make that better, and I just feel so safe with her.

Q: Reba, what prompted you to do “The Voice?”

Reba McEntire: It was just something different. Another avenue I wanted to do. They asked me at the very beginning — years, years, years ago to do it. I said no. I’m a gypsy at heart. And here we are doing it, and Mr. Snoop Dogg and Michael Bublé both [say] they want to come on “Happy’s Place” as guests. They’re so excited about it.

Melissa Peterman: Mrs. Melissa Bublé. [Laughter] Sorry, my mic’s on.