JoAnna Garcia Swisher reunites with Reba on 'Happy's Place' – exclusive

Not everyone gets to spend a week of work getting paid to reunite with some of their best friends, but not everyone starred in "Reba."

The unconventional family we saw on-screen in the classic WB/CW sitcom about a single mom who loves her kids and never stops has had quite a few reunions courtesy of NBC and superstar Reba McEntire's new sitcom, "Happy's Place." In addition to original "Reba" comic relief Melissa Peterman as a regular "Happy's" cast member, Steve Howey and Christopher Rich have stopped by for a cameo and a standing ovation from the studio audience. And now JoAnna Garcia Swisher makes three.

"There was always talk of me coming and joining them for an episode," Garcia Swisher told USA TODAY in an exclusive interview about her upcoming "Happy's" episode, which airs on NBC on Friday, March 13 (8 ET/PT). "I was on a total high. It was just a great. ... Being able to spend that time with your family is just, it's really special."

The family she's referring to is McEntire and Peterman, who played her mother and stepmother, respectively, from 2001 to 2007 on "Reba." In the sitcom, Garcia Swisher was McEntire's bubbly teen daughter. On her episode of "Happy's," Garcia Swisher plays Kenzie, a local actress and social media influencer whom Isabella (Belissa Escobedo) taps to pretend to be Bobbie in a new social media campaign for the bar. And yes, there are cracks about how the two look as if they could be related.

Even just for a small part in a single episode, "I was really nervous," Garcia Swisher says.  "It's been a minute since I've done anything in front of a live audience. ... But it was exhilarating and it was so fun.

"We're all very close and super-connected personally, and that's never changed. I actually felt bad for (the other actors) at first because the three of us, me, Reba and Melissa, were just yakking it up the whole time."

Kenzie is a little overzealous in her "preparation" for starring in the Happy's Place TikTok account, following Bobbie around and imitating her accent and mannerisms, which (amusingly) annoys the heck out of Bobbie. Gabby follows Kenzie following Bobbie, for maximum high jinks, which USA TODAY can preview in an exclusive clip (above).

Even all these years after her "Reba" experience, Garcia Swisher, who has had a busy career since that era, including the Netflix hit "Sweet Magnolias," is still rapturous when she talks about her former costar and mentor.

"She's the best," Garcia Swisher says. "I'm doing a movie right now where I play a country artist, and I'm wearing [Reba's] boots. I was like, 'I just want a piece of you with me with this.' She's just such an important part of my life. And really for so many people, I know personally that she means that to them too.

"She's still killing it. She looks gorgeous. It's the happiest I've ever seen her in her life. She's got a hit sitcom. She's on 'The Voice.' She's on the Grammys. She's singing with The Weeknd. This woman is an icon. And it's so cool to see that part of her, but then also to know her in the way that I do. I feel very lucky. "