In October 2020, it was announced that Reba would star in, and produce, a television adaptation of Fried Green Tomatoes.
According to Variety, the project was an hour-long drama that is set to be a modernization of the novel and movie that explores the lives of descendants from the original work. When present-day Idgie Threadgoode (McEntire) returns to Whistle Stop after a decade away, she must wrestle with a changed town, estranged daughter, faltering cafe, and life-changing secret.
(Norman Lear, NBC & Reba Team for Fried Green Tomatoes Series) Playhitmusic – https://t.co/NY31U4oEUG pic.twitter.com/KugVjOGTAg
— Playhitmusic (@Noovyis) October 14, 2020
Norman Lear, who was an executive producer on the Fried Green Tomatoes film, and his producing partner Brent Miller, were set to executive produce under their Act III Productions banner.
The original movie was adapted from the 1987 novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe written by Fannie Flagg and was released in 1991 and starred Kathy Bates, Jessica Tandy, Cicely Tyson Mary-Louise Parker, and Mary Stuart Masterson. Tandy received an Oscar nomination for best-supporting actress for her role in the film, while Flagg and co-writer Carol Sobieski were nominated for best-adapted screenplay. The classic film follows two sets of female friendships and the various hardships they endure together.
Now, just about a year after the initial announcement about the series was made, Reba gave a huge update while on Taste Of Country Nights.
She revealed that NBC, who had optioned the series, had pulled the plug.
“It was a great idea, it had a great script written for it. That’s showbiz,” she says. “It just kinda went away, unfortunately. We were right in there in the running and they passed on it.“
We aren’t sure if filming had even begun, but nonetheless, we are sad that yet another network has pulled the plug on a Reba McEntire-led show. In 2017, Reba filmed a pilot for ABC, but they didn’t order it to series.
While we are sad Reba won’t be on a new TV show, you can see her in the upcoming Lifetime Christmas movie Christmas in Tune alongside John Schneider.