Happy's Place Showrunner Tees Up Jane Lynch's Return As Gabby's Mom — And How James Denton Will Complicate Bobbie's Love Life

Jane Lynch is headed back to NBC's "Happy's Place" — and TVLine has your exclusive sneak peek at the return of Gabby's persnickety mother, Val.

Lynch reprises her recurring role in the Friday, November 6 episode (airing at 8/7c, and streaming next day on Peacock), which finds Val and Gabby (Melissa Peterman) discussing home decor after agreeing to purchase Bobbie's childhood home and move in together late in Season 2. But as you can see in the clip above, agreeing to live under the same roof doesn't necessarily mean agreeing on what anything under that roof should look like.

Casey Durkin/NBC

According to the episode's official synopsis, Bobbie (Reba McEntire) notices Val shooting down all of Gabby's ideas, only for Val to turn the tables and point out that Bobbie has a habit of doing the exact same thing. But according to series co-creator Kevin Abbott, there's an unexpected development on the horizon for Val — one that could change how viewers see her.

"She is a narcissist, but there's also a wounded person underneath," Abbott tells TVLine. That vulnerability will come to the surface in an upcoming Christmas episode, when Val forms a surprising connection with an unlikely character.

"We get to see a little bit of the wounded person, which I think is fantastic," Abbott teases. "And it's with Emmett, and it creates this weird bond between her and Emmett going forward."

There's also the matter of James Denton, whose upcoming guest appearance promises to complicate Bobbie's love life while reuniting McEntire with one of her former TV flames.

The "Desperate Housewives" alum makes his "Happy's Place" debut the following Friday, November 13, playing JB, a handsome new patron who catches the attention of both Gabby and Bobbie. But while Gabby may be interested, JB only has eyes for Emmett's ex.

Of course, Denton previously played Dr. Jack Morgan, a potential suitor for McEntire's character on her first sitcom, "Reba." And that shared history, according to Abbott, was instrumental in bringing Denton aboard her current show. 

"I had not thought in terms of doing a potential love interest conflict at all," the EP tells TVLine. But when Denton came to mind, he realized he had an opportunity to introduce a believable romantic rival for Emmett. 

"If Jamie does this, then I will buy the chemistry," Abbott recalls thinking, "and we can play what we need to play with this." In fact, the showrunner says the storyline probably wouldn't exist without Denton's involvement: "It really was the fact of Jamie's history — my history with Jamie, and his history with Reba."