Doing Malibu Country
In 2011, Reba returned to television with her second television series, Malibu Country. Reba’s character on the show is Reba Gallagher, who has two kids and was recently divorced because her husband cheated on her (a familiar refrain for Reba it seems?). Her character, Reba, then moves to Malibu, California to restart her music career. The broadcast schedule of the sitcom was every Friday night on ABC.
The television series received a mixture of reactions and criticisms, but with 8.7 million views in its debut season, it was the most-watched comedy show on ABC at the time. After eighteen episodes, the show was canceled eventually in 2013. Another TV series that Reba supposedly would take a lead on in 2017 was Red Blooded, a Southern drama series. However, ABC turned down the show.
Reba on TV
In Reba’s own television series, Reba, the main character had a different name. The original name of the role was supposed to be Sally, as producers had wanted. However, Reba suggested using her own name for the character. She managed to convince the producers about this later on. She pointed out that if she were to use her own name on the show, it would likely attract more viewers, in particular her loyal fans.
Reba worked with Melissa Peterman in the show. Peterman played the role of the dental hygienist, who was the mistress of Reba's character's husband. This dental hygienist character was the reason for Reba’s character’s divorce. While the relationship between these characters was, as you might expect, strained, Reba and Melissa are actually best friends in real life.
A Big Comeback
After Reba’s two-year break from the music industry, she released her seventy-sixth chart single, "I'm Gonna Take That Mountain," in the middle of 2003. By the end of the same year, she released her twenty-third album, “Room to Breathe.” The album was a great comeback for Reba, as it peaked at number four on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, and ranked number twenty-five on the Billboard 200.
Reba has received a number of significant accolades from her music career. With seven Academy of Country Music's Top Female Vocalist awards, she is second in rank for the most wins. For the American Music Awards Favorite Country Female Artist, Reba holds the record of having twelve awards. She is also the first to win four consecutive times the Country Music Association's Female Vocalist of the Year award. Reba got the most award nominations of CMA for a female artist with an incredible fifty nominations throughout her musical history. The ACM Awards nearly matched this unbelievable number with forty-eight nominations for Reba. In 2008, she was back in the public eye again, announcing a tour with Kelly Clarkson.
Breaking Records
Reba collaborated again with Brooks & Dunn in 2008 for a re-recorded version of "Cowgirls Don't Cry," making it her fifty-sixth Top 10 country hit. And by doing this, Reba broke the record set by Dolly Parton for having the most Top Ten country hits for a solo female. Reba announced at the end of that year her departure from MCA, her record label of twenty-five years. She then signed a contract with Valory Music Group, which is distributed by MCA and Universal Music Group.
Over the twenty years she worked with MCA, Reba was very successful in her music career, sold sixty-seven million records worldwide in total and won two Grammy Awards. Reba was thrilled though to work with Valory, as she was going to be reunited with Scott Borchetta, the label's president. She had been working with Borchetta for some of her biggest hit singles during her entire music career when Borchetta was the senior vice president of promotion at MCA in the 90s.
Is Reba Dead?!
In 2012, everyone thought Reba was dead. The news was reported as a real story by the website, Global Associated News, but at the bottom of the page, it read: "THIS STORY IS 100% FAKE! This is an entertainment website, and this is a totally fake article based on zero truth and is a complete work of fiction for entertainment purposes!" Unfortunately, many people don’t bother reading to the bottom of such articles.
The false news of Reba’s tragic death (having apparently falling more than 100 ft) spread like wildfire throughout the internet. in a remote area of Austria at the time, Reba’s sister immediately called her in terror upon hearing the news. She was relieved when Reba answered the phone, very alive and well. Reba then posted on Twitter telling everyone that she was fine. However, she commented that making fake news and jokes about death is very cruel and is definitely not funny.