Yahoo Lifestyle Emma Kenney Previews Happy’s Place Debut and Final Season of The Conners: ‘It’s Difficult to Wrap the Whole World Up in Six Episodes’
After wrapping production on the seventh and final season of ABC’s The Conners, on which she played Harris, daughter of Sara Gilbert’s equally acerbic Darlene, Emma Kenney was tapped to play yet another sitcom legend’s progeny. On Friday, she’ll guest-star as Grace, daughter of Reba McEntire’s Bobbie, on NBC’s Happy’s Place.
As TVLine was first to report, Kenney plays Gracie, who’s on leave from the military and returning home from overseas to visit her mother in Knoxville, Tenn. It’s the first time she’s been back since Bobbie found out she has a half-sister, Belissa Escobedo’s Isabella, who’s now co-owner of the titular tavern and occupant of Grace’s childhood bedroom.
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Below, Kenney previews Gracie’s arrival, ponders an expanded role in a hypothetical Season 2, and tees up The Conners’ six-episode farewell, due out in March.
TVLINE | How does Gracie compare to your roles as Debbie on Shameless or Harris on The Conners?
Gracie is strong-willed like her mother — no-nonsense, somewhat tough. But there are a lot of differences in them. I think she’s a little bit harsher than Bobbie. She’s in the military, she’s been deployed overseas….
TVLINE | How would you say the dynamic between Gracie and Bobbie compares to the dynamic between Harris and Darlene?
Gracie and Bobbie have a lot of respect for each other. Gracie definitely never wants to hurt her mother’s feelings, and she wants to say things as gently as possible.
TVLINE | Would you say it’s overall a healthier relationship? Or does the fact that Gracie doesn’t want to say anything that may hurt her mother’s feelings suggest a less open, less honest form of communication between mother and daughter?
I would say it’s a little bit healthier. Harris and Darlene’s dynamic is more volatile, and with Gracie and Bobbie, you can definitely see the love there [at all times]. It’s not as layered as maybe Harris and Darlene’s relationship is [yet].
TVLINE | Bobbie is worried that Gracie will not warm to her new aunt, Isabella — but why? Do you think there’s a part of Gracie that feels replaced, or is it just that these are two vastly different young women?
It’s a little bit of both, for sure. It’s probably tough for Gracie to see someone around her age living so closely with her mother, and while she’s away, but Gracie made that choice of being deployed — and going overseas — to fight for what she believes in. I also think Gracie and Isabella are such polar opposites, personality-wise, and it was a lot of fun to film those scenes with Belissa.
TVLINE | You only appear in one episode this year, and the show has not yet been renewed for Season 2. But in success, and depending on what producers decide to do in future seasons, the part of Bobbie’s daughter could easily blossom into a semi- or series-regular role. If that opportunity arose, would you want to jump into another multi-cam so soon after seven years on The Conners?
You know, I’ve been really lucky with the casts I’ve worked with for such a long time, and joining this cast more consistently would be nothing short of another good luck streak in my career, and I’d be really fortunate to be a part of it, so I would absolutely love that. Truly, it was such a great experience. Reba was so kind, so welcoming, and has such a warm energy. I’d heard that about her going into it, so I was expecting the best, but she exceeded that expectation for me, which was really, really great.
TVLINE | William H. Macy, Sara Gilbert, Reba McEntire… that, right there, is a murderer’s row of TV parents. Has there been one lesson that each of them has instilled in you as you’ve come up in this industry?
Absolutely. I still look up to Bill Macy, and see him as an uncle figure. He’s one of the best, best people, period. He really has such a warm energy, and he’s so talented. I started working with him when I was nine, and we finished [Shameless] when I was 21, so there were a lot of lessons on and off camera — and the same goes for Sara. I met her when I was 17, and she’s such a powerhouse. She’s one of the executive producers on The Conners, and she really spearheaded getting that show to be what it was, and played a crucial part in it going so many seasons. I’ve only worked with Reba for a short period of time, but she’s so confident in front of the camera, and has such queen energy. She’s so sweet, so generous, and makes everybody on set feel really welcomed and a part of something. It’s such an amazing lesson, to witness that from someone who is number one on the call sheet.
TVLINE | I’d be remiss if I didn’t ask about the final season of The Conners (premiering in March). Executive producers Bruce Helford and Dave Caplan deemed it a “six-episode event” long before ABC started promoting it as one — but how much of an “event” are these final six? Do they feel like part of a piece, like they’re all building towards something?
In previous seasons, we did 13-to-22 episodes, so it definitely is difficult to wrap the whole world up in just six episodes — three hours, ultimately. It does leave a few open-ended questions towards the end.
TVLINE | The original Roseanne finale was rather divisive, and part of the reason why everyone involved wanted to come back a few years ago. How do you think viewers will react to this series finale, which not only puts a cap on The Conners, but an entire sitcom franchise?
It’s definitely going to be emotional. A lot of people grew up with that set and those characters and storylines — especially the people I was working with. A lot of our crew were crew members on the original, and it was a very emotional last week. I’m really fortunate to have been a part of it, and make such special memories with those people.
Kenney’s Happy Place episode airs Friday, Jan. 10 at 8/7c on NBC (and streams next day on Peacock), while The Conners returns to ABC in March (premiere date TBA).
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