Reba Reunion: Reba McEntire and Melissa Peterman to Play Sisters in New Lifetime Movie The Hammer

The roots of Lifetime’s next made-for-TV movie are planted firmly in the past.

Fifteen years after the WB-turned-CW sitcom Reba ended its six-season run, series stars Reba McEntire and Melissa Peterman are set to reunite in The Hammer, a new film inspired by the life of traveling circuit judge Kim Wanker.

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McEntire, who is also an executive producer, will play Kim Wheeler, “an outspoken, firecracker lawyer who is appointed Judge of the 5th District of Nevada, and is one of the few traveling judges left in America,” according to the official synopsis. “After the reigning judge passes away under suspicious circumstances, Kim finds herself covering a circuit that stretches between Las Vegas and Reno — a rugged, often desolate area where anything and everything can happen. With gavel in hand, she lays down the law with a no-nonsense brand of justice, that quickly earns her the nickname ‘The Hammer.’

“As the investigation of the former judge’s death heats up, Kim’s sister Kris (Peterman), who runs the local brothel, suddenly becomes the prime suspect,” the synopsis continues. As a result, Kim is forced to “work even harder to make certain the appropriate justice is served.”

The cast also includes McEntire’s real-life boyfriend, CSI: Miami vet Rex Linn, and Totally Normal‘s Kay Shioma Metchie. A premiere date has not yet been announced.

Reba first premiered on The WB in 2001, running for six seasons (and 125 episodes) through 2007. The series told the story of Reba Hart, a single mom who worked too hard, who loved her kids and never stopped after longtime husband Brock left her for his ditzy dental hygienest, Peterman’s Barbra Jean. Over the course of the series, Reba warmed to Barbra Jean despite her best efforts to keep Brock’s second wife at an arm’s length — something that proved all the more difficult once Brock and Barbra Jean bought the house next door.

McEntire previously reunited with Peterman on CMT’s Working Class and Freeform’s Baby Daddy. Interestingly, while both McEntire and Peterman currently recur on CBS’ Young Sheldon, sometimes even appearing in the same episode, their characters — June Ballard and Brenda Sparks — have never crossed paths. (Linn, who also recurs on the Big Bang Theory prequel as Principal Petersen, only recently shared a scene with Peterman’s Brenda in the Jan. 27 episode, “A Lock-In, a Weather Girl and a Disgusting Habit.”)

Are you looking forward to McEntire and Petersen’s Lifetime reunion? Hit the comments with your reactions to the news.

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