'Desperate Housewives' Star Is Officially Reba McEntire's New Love Interest in 'Happy's Place' Season 3

46 minutes ago 20

James Denton stretching his leg up on the counter in front of Reba McEntire in Happy's Place Season 3

Published Nov 12, 2026, 3:00 PM EST

Ryan O'Rourke is a Senior News Writer at Collider with a specific interest in all things adult animation, video game adaptations, and the work of Mike Flanagan. He is also an experienced baseball writer with over six years of articles between multiple outlets, most notably FanSided's CubbiesCrib. Whether it's taking in a baseball game, a new season of Futurama or Castlevania: Nocturne, or playing the latest From Software title, he is always finding ways to show his fandom. When it comes to gaming and anything that takes inspiration from it, he is deeply opinionated on what's going on. Outside of entertainment, he's a graduate of Eureka College with a Bachelor's in Communication where he honed his craft as a writer. Between The IV Leader at Illinois Valley Community College and The Pegasus at Eureka, he spent the majority of his college career publishing articles on everything from politics to campus happenings and, of course, entertainment for the student body. Those principles he learned covering the 2020 election, Palestine, and so much more are brought here to Collider, where he has gleefully written on everything from the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes to Nathan Lane baby-birding sewer boys.

Reba McEntire has seen her fair share of big names step through the doors of Happy's Place in the three years it's been part of the NBC family. JoAnna Garcia Swisher, Jane Lynch, Christopher Lloyd, Steve Howey, Justina Machado, and more have all visited the titular tavern, with both Lynch and Machado lined up for another round in Season 3. Alongside them, though, the hit sitcom will soon welcome a Desperate Housewives star and another familiar face from Reba as not just a new customer, but a new love interest for the lead. With Bobbie and Emmett (Rex Linn) giving each other space romantically, there's an open place in her life for a new beau to step in.

For Episode 4, James Denton will turn on the charm as the ruggedly handsome new suitor interested in Bobbie — JB. Most viewers will know him as Wisteria Lane's newest resident, Mike Delfino, who came to the neighborhood with a friendly face and a secret purpose and ended up marrying Teri Hatcher's Susan Mayer, but he also enjoyed a small recurring role as Dr. Jack Morgan in McEntire's previous hit sitcom. "Love Birds" will see him ask the tavern co-owner out on a date, something that Bobbie is conflicted about how to handle given how unfamiliar the situation is to her. However, neither Isabella (Belissa Escobedo) nor Gabby (Melissa Peterman) is particularly convinced that he doesn't have some nefarious ulterior motive at first.

Ahead of Friday's episode, Collider can exclusively share a new sneak peek that sees the two bartenders comedically interrogating JB over a special drink. As soon as he walks in, they're ready to pounce, getting him to have a seat and approaching him in a way that creates the impression he's about to get his kidneys stolen. Isabella gets straight to the point — she doesn't want anyone treating Bobbie as a fling or a "side piece." She and Gabby demand to know why he's so interested in her, though Gabby can't help but shoot her shot with the man herself.

He swears he's genuinely keen on courting Bobbie and that, despite what his good looks may suggest, he's only single because he's a widower. The only reason he hasn't formally asked her out is that he wants to properly get to know her, though Isabella gives him a firm reminder that neither of them exactly has time on their side. All she wants is to look out for her half-sister and, ultimately, gives JB the push he'll need to finally see if Bobbie will go on a date.

Collider Exclusive · 8 Questions · 2 Minutes Which Netflix Character Would Be Your Best Friend? Dustin · Emily · Wednesday · Gi-hun

Some friends drag you out of the house. Some sit with you on the worst night of your life. Netflix has written both, plus the one who tells you the truth you have been avoiding all week. Answer eight quick questions about how you actually do friendship, and find out which of them was always going to end up in your corner.

🧢Dustin(Stranger Things)

🗼Emily(Emily in Paris)

🕷️Wednesday(Wednesday)

🟢Gi-hun(Squid Game)

FIND YOUR BEST FRIEND →

How do you usually end up making a new friend? The origin story says a lot about the friendship that follows it.

AWe got loud about the same obsession and never stopped. BThey invited me somewhere before we had properly met. CWe bonded over disliking exactly the same thing. DThey noticed I was struggling and stayed with me.

NEXT QUESTION →

What is a perfect Saturday with your best friend? Friendship is mostly built out of very ordinary hours.

AA ridiculous plan neither of us should attempt. BSomewhere new, photographed heavily, ending very late. CSomewhere quiet, few people, zero small talk. DSomething simple, and a conversation that actually matters.

NEXT QUESTION →

You call them at two in the morning. What happens? This is the real test of a friendship, and everybody knows it.

AThey are already putting their shoes on. BThey answer instantly and turn it into a plan. CThey answer and say something unflattering and true. DThey listen for an hour and never check the time.

NEXT QUESTION →

What do you want from them when you are clearly wrong? The best friendships are the ones that survive being corrected.

ASupport first. We can review the mistake later. BA relentlessly positive reframe of the entire disaster. CThe blunt version. Do not soften it for me. DPatience, and no judgment about how I got here.

NEXT QUESTION →

What do your friends actually value about you? The friend you attract says something about the friend you are.

AI am all in, always, about everything. BI can turn almost any situation into a good time. CI say the thing nobody else in the room will. DI look after whoever is having the worst day.

NEXT QUESTION →

You have a falling out. How does it go? How a friendship repairs itself matters more than how it breaks.

ALoudly, briefly, then back to normal by Tuesday. BThey apologise first, enthusiastically, with a gift. CCold silence, then one dry joke that fixes everything. DWe talk until we both understand what actually happened.

NEXT QUESTION →

What do you actually need a best friend for? Everybody is missing something. The right friend fills that gap.

ATo make my life bigger than it would be alone. BTo push me out of the house and into my own life. CTo catch me when I start lying to myself. DTo be the person who never gave up on me.

NEXT QUESTION →

Ten years from now, what keeps the two of you close? Eight questions in, this is the one that decides who you get.

AWe would still drop everything for each other, instantly. BWe still make plans, and we still actually go. CWe still cut through each other's nonsense in one sentence. DThey stood by me once when it cost them something.

REVEAL MY BEST FRIEND →

The Group Chat Has Spoken Your Best Friend Is…

Four Netflix characters, four completely different ways of showing up for somebody. This is the one who fits how you actually do friendship, and what having them in your life would be like.

Dustin Henderson

You do not do friendship at half volume, and neither does he. What you want is somebody who says yes to the plan before you have finished describing the plan.

Dustin is the friend the entire show runs on: loyal past the point of sense, enthusiastic about everything, and incapable of leaving anybody behind.
You have the same instinct. Your friendships are loud, specific and slightly ridiculous, and they last for decades because of it.
He is also the one person who would take your strangest interest completely seriously, which is far rarer than it sounds.
You would have a group chat. It would never once be quiet.

Emily Cooper

You are the friend who makes things happen, and so is she. Together you would be mildly exhausting to everyone around you and completely delighted with yourselves.

Emily treats an ordinary Tuesday as something that could be turned into an occasion, which is either the best or the worst quality in a friend depending on your energy levels.
You share her refusal to sit still. Neither of you has ever accepted a night in when something was happening somewhere else.
She is far more loyal than people give her credit for. She defends her friends loudly, publicly, and occasionally before checking the facts.
She would post the photo without asking. You would forgive her, because it is a very good photo.

Wednesday Addams

You have no patience for pleasant lies, and she has no ability to tell them. What looks like coldness from the outside is the most reliable friendship on this list.

Wednesday never says a kind thing she does not mean, which makes the rare ones count for an enormous amount.
You would rather be told the truth than be made comfortable. She is constitutionally incapable of offering you anything else.
Underneath all of it she is ferociously protective. She simply refuses to make a performance out of caring.
Do not expect a birthday message. Do expect her to ruin anyone who wrongs you.

Seong Gi-hun

You look after whoever is having the worst day. So does he. It is the least strategic way to move through the world and the best possible quality in a friend.

Gi-hun is not the strongest player in Squid Game, or the cleverest. He is the one who keeps choosing to protect somebody else, over and over, at genuine cost to himself.
You have the same instinct. You notice who is struggling and you stay with them, long after anybody would blame you for leaving.
He is a flawed friend, and that is part of why it lands. He lets people down, then comes back and tries again, which is more than most manage.
He would give you his last chance and never once mention that he had done it.

↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ

'Happy's Place' Season 3 Revives Denton and McEntire's 'Reba' Chemistry

In a sense, Denton's visit to Happy's Place is a sort of spiritual successor to his role on Reba. Dr. Morgan appeared only a few times throughout the beloved sitcom's six-season run, yet he always shared some sparks with McEntire whenever the two were on-screen together. Though their characters may be different, they'll look to rekindle the magic this week and provide yet another connection back to the classic show in the process.

Series co-creator Kevin Abbott teased to TVLine how he'll serve as a romantic rival for Emmett and that Denton was the only actor he'd consider for that kind of storyline because of Reba. "If Jamie does this, then I will buy the chemistry, and we can play what we need to play with this," he said. "It really was the fact of Jamie's history — my history with Jamie, and his history with Reba."

Happy's Place Season 3, Episode 4, premieres tomorrow, November 13, on NBC. Check out our exclusive sneak peek in the player above.