Cheri Oteri Reveals Melissa Peterman’s Sweet Happy’s Place Surprise: “She Is the Cutest”

“Walking onto that set is like you’re just walking into a big hug,” Oteri told NBC Insider. 

The laughs just got taken to the next level on Season 2 of Happy’s Place as Saturday Night Live icon Cheri Oteri joins the NBC sitcom’s dynamite lineup of guest stars.

Season 2’s “Mouse in the House” was a hysterical watch as Reba McEntire’s Bobbie scrambled to get her Knoxville tavern in pristine shape ahead of a visit from the health inspector. After a mouse was let loose in the bar, Bobbie was dismayed to learn her go-to health inspector — a man with a crush on Bobbie who might have cut her some slack — had been replaced with a no-nonsense, curmudgeon named Monica, played by the side-splitting SNL icon.

NBC Insider chatted with Oteri about her experience on Happy’s Place, and she revealed that she took home more than just cherished memories from her time on set.

Cheri Oteri’s Monica inspired some hysterical Happy’s Place props

Inspector Monica (Cheri Oteri), Takoda (Tokala Black Elk), andBobbie (Reba McEntire) appear in Happy’s Place Season 2 Episode 6.

Photo: Casey Durkin/NBC

To say that Oteri’s Happy’s Place character is iconic is an understatement — from the moment Monica introduces herself (“Monica Ulrich, Department of Health, badge number 168”), the audience could tell they were in for a treat as she (along with a M.I.A. mouse) kept Bobbie on her toes. One particularly hilarious moment came after Monica gave Bobbie a directive about keeping her bar mats clean.

“Aye, aye, captain!” Bobbie said, instantly irritating Monica.

“I’m not a captain,” Monica said, as stern as a heart attack. “I’m a health inspector! Badge number 168.”

Happy’s Place Season 2

Ready for another round? Happy’s Place Season 2 has been serving up heart and humor, with new episodes airing Fridays at 8/7c on NBC and the next day on Peacock.

Starring Reba McEntire, Rex Linn, Belissa Escobedo, Melissa Peterman, Tokala Black Elk, and Pablo Castelblanco, Season 2 of Happy’s Place features even more nostalgic reunions and sitcom hilarity.

The romance between Bobbie and Emmett has been full of “fireworks,” as the two shared their first kiss and even defined their relationship. But, while love is in the air, Emmett is carrying a long-buried secret on Happy’s Place Season 2.

Isabella (Belissa Escobedo), Steve (Pablo Castelblanco), Gabby (Melissa Peterman), Bobbie (Reba McEntire), Inspector Monica (Cheri Oteri), Emmett (Rex Linn), and Takoda (Tokala Black Elk) appear in Happy’s Place Season 2 Episode 6.

Photo: Casey Durkin/NBC

In Oteri’s interview with NBC Insider, she revealed that Monica’s monotone line became infectiously repeated behind the scenes of Happy’s Place, a quote that has since been made into a sticker that’s been stealthily hidden around the cluttered decor of Happy’s Place. But that’s not the only way the Happy’s Place crew commemorated her guest appearance.

“[Peterman] made t-shirts up. She made t-shirts up of me with a captain’s hat,” Oteri revealed with a laugh. Despite being definitely “not a captain,” Oteri explained that in Peterman’s creation, Monica wears a captain hat, as a cheeky nod to her jab at Bobbie.

“This girl, when she’s not acting, I just see her in a craft room building things and making things for people,” Oteri gushed while thinking back to Peterman’s present. “She is the cutest, most fun.”

The Happy’s Place swag didn’t end there, either. Oteri revealed that the show’s art department also gifted her with a specialty hot sauce with a customized label as a humorous nod to Monica’s cheeky nickname for her former crush, Emmett (Rex Linn): “Hot Sauce!”

“They made a hot sauce bottle with a white goatee on it with shading and all the things that I said on the show,” Oteri explained. “And they just start passing these stickers out.”

Oteri tells NBC Insider that she felt “lucky” to get the chance to soak up the feel-good vibes on the set of Happy’s Place, where she said everyone’s having a fun time.

“It’s like the whole place is having so much fun with everything, you just feel a part of this group, that you just feel lucky,” Oteri said. “Everybody’s having fun there. I’m telling you, walking onto that set is like you’re just walking into a big hug.”

Cheri Oteri reveals that Monica is set to return in Happy’s Place

Inspector Monica (Cheri Oteri) appears in Happy’s Place Season 2 Episode 6.

Photo: Casey Durkin/NBC

Fans who couldn’t get enough of Oteri’s scene-stealing Monica are in luck: Oteri tells NBC Insider that after a fun-filled first experience on set, she was asked to return for more Season 2 episodes. That’s right: Monica Ulrich, Department of Health, badge number 168, will be back.

“I did three episodes,” Oteri revealed, adding that the writers “started developing this storyline with my character.”

But what will Monica bring to the bar next time? Oteri says she found it thrilling to dive into Monica’s background more after her impressionable arrival.

“I was thrilled. I was just thrilled to see what her background is, what her deal is,” Oteri explained, revealing that when Monica and Bobbie cross paths again, Season 2 of Happy’s Place will take “a very surprising turn.”

Find out what happens next by watching Season 2 of Happy’s Place on Fridays at 8/7c on NBC and the next day on Peacock.

Reporting by Stephanie Gomulka