Reba McEntire, Melissa Peterman Will “Never Forget” Steve Howey’s ‘Shameless’ Nude Scene: “You Need To Warn Us”

After 23 years, Reba McEntire and Melissa Peterman have seen a little too much of Steve Howey.

As the trio enjoyed a mini Reba reunion for an upcoming episode of Happy’s Place, which premieres Friday at 8pm ET/PT on NBC, McEntire and Peterman recalled the shock of seeing their former onscreen son-in-law’s nude scene in the 2011 Shameless pilot episode.

“I’ll never forget us coming to work. ‘Did you see Steve last night?’ ‘Yes, yes I did. Oh! Oh my gosh!'” recalled McEntire from the set of their new sitcom on Entertainment Tonight.

Peterman added, “And I said, ‘You need to warn us if there’s gonna be some unclothing happening in Shameless because you’re like our brother. It was too much… But I then did watch it later, after I washed my eyes out. Because you’re so good on it.”

Howey joked “that’s why I started working out, ’cause I was naked all the time” on the Showtime series, which ran for 11 seasons from 2011 to 2021.

Peterman said they’ll “give America what it wants,” telling Howey of his guest spot on Happy’s Place, “You’re gonna take your shirt off at some point.”

In Happy’s Place, McEntire plays Bobbie, who inherits her father’s restaurant and is less than thrilled to discover that she has a new business partner in her half-sister Isabella (Belissa Escobedo), whom she never knew she had.

Peterman plays Gabby, a needy, dramatic bartender who has worked at the tavern for quite some time. The show also stars Rex Linn, Pablo Castelblanco and Tokala Black Elk.

McEntire previously played the titular “single mom who works too hard” in her eponymous sitcom Reba, which ran for six seasons from 2001 to 2007 on The WB and The CW. Peterman played Reba’s ex-husband’s new wife Barbra Jean, and Howey played her daughter’s high school boyfriend and eventual husband Van Montgomery.