Spoilers ahead for the Happy’s Place Season 1 finale, “Alarm Bells.”
Reba McEntire’s Happy’s Place has just aired its Season 1 finale on the 2025 TV schedule, and it certainly made fans want more. Luckily, the show was renewed for a second season, meaning there will hopefully be more Reba reunions to come. Additionally, some storylines from the first season weren’t touched on enough, like Bobby and Emmett's relationship, and I desperately need Season 2 to address them. In the case of that specific relationship, I’m sad that it never fully blossomed by the time Season 1 ended, but the EP’s comments about why that was the case make a lot of sense.
McEntire’s Bobbie and Rex Linn’s Emmett seemingly got closer throughout the final episodes of Happy’s Place’s first season (which can be watched with a Peacock subscription), and it was clear that there was something between them. Of course, it helps that McEntire and Linn are together IRL, but that’s beside the point. The season finale, “Alarm Bells,” saw the two get somewhat closer as Emmett went over to Bobbie’s house, they went on a group date with everyone at the Tavern and played arcade games together. Nothing happened between them, though, and co-creator Kevin Abbott told TVLine the reason why:
That was the original intent — to actually have them a little bit further along than we did. That was an idea that I had from before we wrote the pilot, actually, but we didn’t go as far as that because of the scheduling. We only had 13 episodes originally ordered. We were putting some pieces in place just in case, but we didn’t know if we were going to get a back order or how many [episodes] it was going to be if we did. I don’t like to just jump into these things out of nowhere. I want to build to them so that, when they happen, it feels right.
There’s only so much that can be done in a first season. And since it was unclear at the time whether Happy’s Place would get picked up for additional episodes or another season, it’s understandable why Abbott didn’t want to do everything in Season 1.
It is definitely better to build up to the relationship rather than rush into it. However, even with the eventual back order, Abbott wasn’t confident with where Bobbie and Emmett’s relationship would end up in just a short time:
Ultimately, we got the pickup — a back five — after we’d wrapped the first 13. I just didn’t feel like I could successfully build the relationship to the point where I wanted it to be by the finale, so this is going to be something we’re going to get into next season. We can give the audience something to look forward to without taking it too quickly. When we get there, I want the audience to feel really satisfied.
If Bobbie and Emmett got together in Season 1, it probably would have felt a little too rushed. Plus, it's always fun to have a slow burn. Think about Gregory and Janine on Abbott Elementary or Jim and Pam on The Office. Sometimes, the fun is in the lead-up to the romance, and I'd love to see these two Happy's Place characters yearning a bit more before they actually get together.
At the very least, now that the seed has been planted for Bobbie and Emmett’s relationship, I would assume it's only a matter of time before they become official. So, now the countdown to Season 2 is really on.
It’s unknown when Season 2 of Happy’s Place will premiere, but it’s likely to be later this year. Especially if Bobbie and Emmett get together, the wait will surely be worth it. Plus, there will be a lot more to look forward to when Reba McEntire’s sitcom returns too, so get excited folks!
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