‘Happy’s Place’ Star Melissa Peterman on Gabby’s Hero Moment at the Whiskey Auction

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Happy’s Place Season 1 Episode 16, “Whiskey Business.”]

Happy’s Place gives bartender Gabby (Melissa Peterman) the chance to explore a hero moment as she saves Bobbie (Reba McEntire) and Isabella (Belissa Escobedo) from a regretful decision at the auction house.

In the episode, “Whiskey Business,” Bobbie and Isabella uncover a hidden bottle of whiskey in the bar, and uncertain of its significance, they have the bottle appraised and discover it could make for a big payday that could fund a patio area for patrons. When Bobbie and Isabella entertain the idea of selling it at auction, Gabby offers some interesting personal backstory around her family’s auctions with cows.

Casey Durkin / NBC

“My character Gabby is not from Knoxville, Tennessee,” Peterman tells TV Insider. “I don’t think we’ve said it out loud, but we’ve established, at least with [showrunner] Kevin [Abbott] and I, that she’s from Wisconsin originally. So cattle auctions could happen there and she got to know what to do in cattle auctions,” Peterman adds regarding Gabby’s onscreen lore.

The bottom line is, “She knows how to auction,” Peterman says. And thank goodness for that because as Bobbie and Isabella finagle their way into getting the bottle added to an auction last-minute, regret strikes when they realize the bottle is from Isabella’s birthdate and seemingly intended for sharing between her and the dad she never met.

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When Gabby rolls into the auction just as Bobbie and Isabella have been outbid trying to hold onto it, she asks whether they signed an auction agreement, because if not, a sale can’t be binding. Ultimately, she gets their bottle back without any monetary penalties, allowing the sisters to share the whiskey with the rest of the Happy’s Place family. Surrounding her hero moment, Peterman says, “I loved it, I love those moments.”

“We can get away with any sort of broad comedy if there’s heart,” Peterman notes, acknowledging Abbott’s ability to balance the two. “You earn the crazy with those human moments,” she adds, revealing, “[Abbott] wanted this moment there cause he did a lot of Al Pacino impressions throughout the week.”

Stay tuned for more heartwarming moments to come as Happy’s Place continues on NBC.

Happy’s Place, Season 1, Fridays, 8/7c, NBC

From TV Guide Magazine

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