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"Happy's Place" is paying tribute to the late Dolly Parton — and the timing of the heartfelt gesture couldn't have been more poignant.
In Season 3, Episode 2 (airing Friday, October 30, at 8/7c, on NBC), Bobbie (Reba McEntire) and Isabella (Belissa Escobedo) honor their late father, Happy, by placing his photograph on their ofrenda for Día de los Muertos. But Happy won't be the only familiar face featured on the altar: The episode will also include a photograph of Parton (see below), a longtime friend of McEntire's who previously guest-starred on the WB classic "Reba."
As McEntire reveals in a statement released by NBC, the tribute was a last-minute addition, prompted by Parton's death on the very day the cast was scheduled to tape the episode.
"We were filming this episode on the day she passed, and it just felt like the right thing to do as our way of honoring her," McEntire says. "The episode is all about remembering those we love who have passed on, and we will always love and remember Dolly."
Series co-creator Kevin Abbott, speaking with TVLine, recalls the extraordinary circumstances surrounding the taping of "Skeletons in the Closet," which was already centered on honoring loved ones who had passed away.
"It was eerie timing," the showrunner recalls. "How is that going to affect Reba, that a dear friend passed away just before we're going to shoot all this stuff? And the fact that the episode was dealing with the loved ones we've lost, and how do we talk to them still? How do we keep them in our lives? In retrospect, it was perfect, because Reba was in a headspace that played into what we were doing."
Abbott, who previously worked with McEntire and Parton on "Reba," remembers the late country music legend as someone whose warmth and generosity extended well beyond her public persona: "Dolly was exactly who she came off as. She's like Reba. Her public image is her private image, and her private image is even better than her public image, as is Reba's."
How Happy's Place Honored Dolly Parton Behind the Scenes
NBC
The tribute to Parton wasn't limited to what viewers will see on screen. Before taping began, the "Happy's Place" cast and crew observed a moment of silence with the studio audience.
"Sometimes that can be difficult because then you've got to go do comedy afterward," Abbott acknowledges. "But it really was kind of magical. The taping took on a feeling that was almost like she was there in spirit, and everything just kind of felt right."
For Abbott and the rest of the "Happy's Place" family, the tribute offered an opportunity to honor Parton while reinforcing the episode's central message about remembering those we've lost.
"I'm glad that tribute happened on that show, at that time, because it was a small gesture, but it meant something to all of us to acknowledge her and say that she's going to be one of our ancestors who has passed on, but we're going to remember and honor her going forward," he says. "It really was very moving. Sad, but moving. It meant a huge amount to Reba."
"Happy's Place" airs Fridays at 8 p.m. on NBC, and streams next on Peacock.
