If You Grew Up Watching ‘Reba’, You Have To Watch Netflix’s ‘Leanne’

Did you also have a ‘90s country upbringing? Personally, in my house, the radio was always tuned to stations playing Alan Jackson and Mindy McCready, my sister’s SHeDAISY CD looped endlessly in the car, Tombstone was always on the TV, and naturally our favorite sitcom was Reba. When my mom and I lived with my grandparents for a bit in the 2010s, my grandpa would always put on sitcoms after dinner. Everybody Loves Raymond, King of Queens, and still, Reba was the real crowd pleaser. She and her blended family reflected so much about our family. And now I’m getting to feel that feeling again with Netflix’s Leanne.

In Leanne, we meet, well, Leanne — she’s a mom and grandmother whose life gets flipped upside down when her husband leaves her after 33 years of marriage… and he told her he was leaving in an email. The titular character is played by standup comedian Leanne Morgan, whose 2023 Netflix special I’m Every Woman was one of the most viewed standup acts on the platform.

Anyway, her character’s sister Carol (Kristen Johnston) is by her side through it all, going so far as to sleepover and wear the ex’s CPAP so Leanne can still fall asleep to its whoosh whoosh sounds. The accents and southern sensibility of the show — even the set design — will bring you right back to watching Reba on the couch while your mom eats SnackWells devil’s food cakes.

If you’re from the South or have southern family, you will recognize all the characters in this show from the nooks and crannies of your own upbringing. It feels like going home.

When Carol has a bunch of loose pills in her wallet she’s happy to offer anyone, I thought of a loved one of my own who always has a loose muscle relaxer rolling around the bottom of her purse. When Leanne’s father is sitting at the church luncheon and says, “In my day we’d walk a pervert deep into the woods and come back alone,” I lost my ever-loving mind laughing — it’s exactly how old southern men talk. This show wraps all the little phrases and sayings and euphemisms that are woven into Morgan’s own culture and makes the whole show feel so nostalgic if you share it too.

It’s also such a fun watch for anyone who has been through divorce or menopause, because Morgan writes the show with her signature comedic stylings, and she doesn’t hold back on the subject. As Morgan told Scary Mommy in a 2023 interview, talking about motherhood and everything her body has gone through is what catapulted her into the spotlight to begin with.

“You can’t make all that up about our bodies and what it goes through … Lord, trying to poop after birthing! When I was young and doing all that, that was the best material I ever had,” she says. “That really helped me get started.”

You can stream the first season of Leanne, which comprises 16 episodes, on Netflix now.