Eric Stonestreet Reveals How Running into Reba McEntire at the Super Bowl Led to His

Stonestreet plays a couples’ therapist in the season 2 finale of NBC’s hit sitcom

Belissa Escobedo, Reba McEntire and Eric Stonestreet on ‘Happy’s Place’. Credit :Casey Durkin/NBC

NEED TO KNOW

Eric Stonestreet reconnected with Reba McEntire and Rex Linn at Super Bowl LVIII, leading to his Happy’s Place role
Stonestreet praised McEntire’s acting skills and adaptability, calling her both the Queen of Country Music and a talented actress
The Modern Family alum said filming in front of a live studio audience was one of his most enjoyable career experiences

Eric Stonestreet’s Happy’s Place guest appearance has been a long time coming.

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Stonestreet, 54, revealed how running into Reba McEntire and her now fiancé Rex Linn at Super Bowl LVIII in 2024 — where the country star sang the national anthem — led to his role in the two-part season 2 finale.

In the finale’s second half, “Couples Counseling,” the Modern Family alum plays Dr. Russell Peabody III, a couples counselor who doles out some advice to sisters Bobbie (McEntire) and Isabella (Belissa Escobedo).

Stonestreet says he first met McEntire, 71, around 2011 when he sat behind her at Jersey Boys, while he and “journeyman actor” Linn’s paths often crossed at auditions. But he reconnected with the couple when he introduced his wife, who is a big fan of McEntire’s, to the Happy’s Place star at the Super Bowl.

Eric Stonestreet (left) with Reba McEntire and Belissa Escobedo on ‘Happy’s Place’.Casey Durkin/NBC

“We saw each other at the Super Bowl when Reba was singing the national anthem, and we all kind of connected there,” Stonestreet shares. “Lindsay, my wife, is a massive Reba fan. So on that day, she got to meet her childhood idol. She had a cat named Reba when she was growing up. So we just started a text thread then. And then the role came up on the show and Rex sent me, he’s like, ‘I’m texting you from the boss, Reba, to know if you want to come play in Happy’s Place.’ “

When he arrived to film his role, the actor says the cast and crew were so “warm” that he didn’t even “want to say a cuss word” on set.

Stonestreet praises McEntire, calling her “an incredible person,” and adding, “She’s just so kind and so generous and so nice with her time and she’s available. And just with the crew, she just creates such a warm place there.”

“I mean, it’s almost awkward how nice I have to talk about what that experience was. I was on my best behavior that week,” he laughs. “I felt like if I say anything naughty, I’m going to get booted off because it’s just such a warm, lovely place.”

Eric Stonestreet on ‘Happy’s Place’.Casey Durkin/NBC

For the veteran actor, the real surprise was watching McEntire work. Stonestreet shares, “Reba McEntire has been on my TV for a long time, but I consider Reba McEntire the Queen of Country Music. I think so many people do.”

He says that while he knew she was an incredible actress as well, playing off of her gave him a whole new appreciation for her on-screen talents. “What I learned that week is she’s an actress and the Queen of Country Music,” Stonestreet says.

“She is so gifted and talented about creating humor, literally knowing your lines and coming up with better options or different options in the scene,” he shares, noting that at one point he “pulled Rex aside and I said, ‘I don’t want this to come off as any kind of slight in any way like I’m some big actor, and I’m saying that she was great, but I’m blown away by Reba’s ability to adjust, adapt, and deliver her lines.’ “

Eric Stonestreet on ‘Happy’s Place’.Casey Durkin/NBC

As for whether he would like to see his quirky therapist character return, the answer to that question is an easy yes. In fact, being on Happy’s Place gave Stonestreet a real taste for filming in front of a studio audience.

“I’d never done a multi-cam comedy before,” he says. “I’d been on them, but I’d always pre-taped my part. So I never got the experience of being in front of a live studio audience, coming out, getting introduced like it’s a play … And so I left there and I put everybody on blast, my representatives and everyone else. It’s like, if anyone’s interested in having this guy come back to TV, that’s how I’d like to do it because it just is such a wonderful environment of creativity.”

The Dexter: Resurrection actor adds that he made sure the Happy’s Place bosses knew filming his episode “was one of the most fun weeks I’ve had in the business.”

“My answer’s yes, and hopefully they will come up with something,” Stonestreet shares. “It has to be natural for them. And I told Reba that day, it’s like, ‘I’m a guest at your party here. And if you invite me to keep coming back as a guest to your party, I’m going to keep RSVPing yes.’ “

Happy’s Place seasons 1 and 2 are streaming now on Peacock.