Throwback Thursday: A review of Reba, the heartwarming sitcom about a single mom who loves her kids and never stops

Reba is an American television series and sitcom about “a single mom that works too hard, who loves her kids and never stops.” This is part of the lyrics of the very memorable theme-song performed by country star Reba McEntire herself. This song accurately describes McEntire’s character, Reba Hart, who constantly faces crappy situations tossed at her by life, like her husband cheating on her and leaving her for his pregnant mistress, all the while being the matriarch of her family and keeping everyone afloat. She is bold and wise-cracking, trying not to let life keep her down. The show follows her family in a Houston suburb with lots of family drama, but also lots of love and perseverance.

Reba originally ran on the WB, starting in October 2001 through May 2006, was canceled when the WB merged with UPN to create the CW, and then was renewed by the CW where it ran until February 2007. The show became the highest rated sitcom on the CW network. Most episodes were filmed with a live studio audience.

The main characters of the family, other than the title character, include ex-husband Brock played by Christopher Rich, his mistress and then wife Barbra Jean played by Melissa Peterman (who was also later in many shows like Baby Daddy and Young Sheldon), oldest daughter Cheyenne played by JoAnna Garcia (who plays Ariel in Once Upon a Time), her husband Van Montgomery played by Steve Howey (Kevin Ball on Shameless), middle child Kyra played by Scarlett Pomers, and youngest son Jake played by Mitch Holleman.

Reba is a heartwarming show and it’s also funny as heck. I enjoyed watching it as a kid growing up, and I enjoy watching reruns of it now as an adult. The humor is sometimes basic and often witty, but always there. The show really encompasses all emotions though, sometimes making you sad or mad or happy and warm inside. It’s a good sitcom for the whole family to enjoy. In 2004, it won the award for Best Family Television Series (Comedy) as part of the Young Artist Award.

Like many popular shows from the 2000s, this show lacks much diversity, which I think may be its biggest weakness. It does, however, have strong female characters with various personalities and ambitions. The characters overall are complicated, flawed, and thus realistic and believable.

Overall, this show is a good time and easy to watch at any point in time. If you’re interested in binging it, all seasons are currently streaming on Hulu.