NEW YORK >> Reba McEntire finds herself behind the bar in her latest return to network TV, making a series that’s a nicely calibrated cocktail of drama and comedy.

“The things that are most important in my life is love, hope, faith, happiness, energy, light. And that’s all of the things that are happening with this show,” the country music legend says.

NBC’s “Happy’s Place” — which debuted Friday — finds McEntire’s character, Bobbie, inheriting a Tennessee tavern from her recently-deceased father and finding out in the first episode that he had a second family.

Even more alarming is the fact that her dad left ownership of the bar to both Bobbie and her newly-discovered sister, Isabella.

Add to the tension is that the two women are divided by ethnicity and a generation or two.

“I’m shocked. I mean, I didn’t think Daddy could ever do anything like this, ’cause he always said family was the most important thing,” Bobbie says. To which, Isabella replies: “Maybe that’s why he started two of them.”

Belissa Escobedo, who plays Isabella, says the new series can be seen as both sweet and sour, as these two women learn to make peace and move forward.

“I think Bobbie reacts to this news very differently than Isabella does, and the audience is able to see it and understand both sides. I love that Isabella kind of just inches her way into Bobbie’s heart,” says Escobedo.

In the series, Bobbie finally looks at Isabella and realizes what she’s done: “I’ve been looking at you like a person that has been forced upon me. Instead, I should be looking at you like a sister that’s been given to me.”

Escobedo, whose film credits include “Blue Beetle,” “Hocus Pocus 2” and who has been a series regular in TV shows like “The Baker and the Beauty,” says working with McEntire is a joy.

The new series comes from TV veteran Kevin Abbott with a lengthy list of credits, including producing “Reba,” “Last Man Standing,” “Roseanne” and “Golden Girls.”