NBC has commissioned three additional scripts each for its Friday night comedies Happy’s Place and Lopez vs. Lopez. According to Deadline, the move comes as the network evaluates both shows for potential back-end episodic orders. This strategy, common for broadcast networks, keeps writers’ rooms active while gauging a show’s performance before committing to full episode pickups.
Happy’s Place has been a breakout hit, delivering 4 million Live+Same Day viewers and expanding to 10 million across platforms within a week. It also achieved the best new comedy debut on Peacock. The series follows Bobbie, played by Reba McEntire (Reba, The Voice), who inherits her late father’s tavern, Happy’s Place, and discovers she has an unexpected business partner—her young half-sister Isabella, played by Belissa Escobedo (The Baker and the Beauty).
Created by Kevin Abbott (Roseanne) and Julie Abbott, Happy’s Place reunites several creative figures from McEntire’s previous sitcom, Reba. The cast includes Melissa Peterman (Reba, Baby Daddy), Pablo Castelblanco (Alaska Daily), Tokala Black Elk (Yellowstone, 1883) and Rex Linn (CSI: Miami).McEntire, also a coach on NBC’s The Voice this season, serves as an executive producer alongside Kevin Abbott, Michael Hanel (Why Women Kill), Mindy Schultheis (Rita Rocks), Matt Berry (Daddio) and Pamela Fryman (Santa Barbara).
Lopez vs. Lopez, co-created by and starring George Lopez (George Lopez) and his real-life daughter Mayan Lopez (Handsome: A Netflix Mystery Movie), continues to be a solid performer. The father-daughter comedy also features Selenis Leyva (Orange Is the New Black), Matt Shively (True Jackson, VP), Brice Gonzalez (Flamin’ Hot) and Al Madrigal (Night School). The series is executive produced by Debby Wolfe (One Day at a Time), Bruce Helford (The Conners), George Lopez, Michael Rotenberg (Beverly Hills Ninja) and Katie Newman (The Last Man on Earth). After a 22-episode first season and a strike-shortened 10-episode second season, the show has maintained steady momentum for NBC.
As NBC monitors the ratings of both shows in the coming weeks, these additional script orders could lead to more episodes being produced for the network’s lineup.