Television series

Malibu Country

Name: Malibu Country
Genre: Comedy
Released: 2012
Cast: Reba McEntire, Juliette Angelo, Jai Rodriguez, Lily Tomlin, Sara Rue

Comedy
Light-hearted

Reba McEntire plays a country star discovering her cheating husband's Malibu mansion after a very public split. Determined to revive her music career and start fresh, she moves west with her sharp-tongued mother and kids, clashing hilariously with California's laid-back culture. It's comfort comedy about reinvention, family loyalty, and a fish-out-of-water premise that lets Reba's natural charm do most of the heavy lifting.

TVMaze rating

3.9

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like sitcoms where a messy family crowded into a sun-soaked house does the bickering, and warm, sharp-tongued mothers and daughters trade barbs that still land with affection.

Skip it if you want edgy, fast-cut comedy; this is a gentle, old-fashioned multi-camera style with broad jokes and a mild, family-friendly tone that can feel safe.

What it asks of you: Half an hour an episode, nothing demanding, so it works as easy company on a lazy evening rather than something that needs your full attention week to week.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Hart of Dixie2011

A woman inherits a bar in small-town Louisiana and has to rebuild her life among colorful characters who become family. Shares the same warm, character-driven humor and fish-out-of-water charm, with genuine heart underneath the laughs.

But Runs five seasons, so it's a bigger commitment. The show occasionally leans into soap opera plot twists that can feel forced.

Schitt's Creek2015

A wealthy family loses everything and moves to a small town, learning humility and discovering what actually matters. The comedy comes from character and growth rather than mean-spiritedness, and it genuinely earns its emotional moments.

But The first season is rough while the show finds its footing. Takes a few episodes to click if the premise doesn't immediately grab you.

Ginny & Georgia2021

A single mother and her teenage daughter move to a small town for a fresh start, balancing comedy with real family struggles. Fast-paced, funny, and genuinely invested in both the humor and the emotional stakes of starting over.

But Tonal shifts between comedy and drama can feel jarring. Some plot threads resolve messily or get dropped entirely.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Malibu Country

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Ugly Betty2006

Both center on a woman entering a world that's fundamentally foreign to her values, discovering that authenticity matters more than assimilation, and learning where she actually belongs.

A Mexican-American woman from Queens gets a job at a high-fashion magazine in Manhattan and refuses to change herself to fit in. Same DNA as Malibu Country—working-class heroine navigating a glamorous world that doesn't want her there—but in a fast-paced dramedy that's visually stunning and genuinely surprising.

But Shifts from comedy to drama unpredictably, and some of the fashion-world satire feels dated. Runs four seasons with an ending that divides fans.

Designing Women1986

Four women run an interior design business in Atlanta, mixing sharp comedy with surprisingly substantive takes on social issues. A template for ensemble workplace comedy done right, with characters who evolve and genuinely surprise you.

But Aired in the '80s and '90s, so the pacing is slower and some cultural references have aged. Early seasons feel more sitcom-broad than later ones.

The Brady Bunch1969

A blended family navigates chaos and minor crises together with genuine warmth. The ultimate comfort watch about making a family from people who started as strangers, played completely earnest.

But The comedy feels quaint now, and it relies heavily on that earnestness. If you can't access that tone, it'll feel dated and slow.

Justified2010

Timothy Olyphant plays a U.S. marshal returning to his Kentucky hometown, balancing dark humor with real stakes. Explores Southern culture and identity with intelligence, and proves that regional comedy doesn't have to be gentle.

But Much darker and more violent than Malibu Country. Shifts from comedy into genuine crime drama as it goes on.

Alice1976

A wealthy woman's life implodes and she has to rebuild from nothing, learning that status doesn't equal worth. Character-focused comedy about reinvention and the people who matter when everything else falls away.

But Only two seasons before cancellation. Unresolved plot threads and an ending that feels abrupt.

Reba2001

Reba McEntire's own sitcom, where she played a recently divorced mother raising three kids. If you love her comedic timing and warmth in Malibu Country, here's where she perfected it over six seasons.

But It's a '90s sitcom, so the production values and comedy style feel genuinely dated now. The laugh track is constant.

Mom2013

Allison Janney and Anna Faris play a mother and daughter rebuilding their lives together after addiction, balancing humor with real emotional weight. Proves that comedy and genuine struggle can coexist without undermining each other.

But Gets heavier as it goes on, abandoning much of the comedy by later seasons. Not what you signed up for if you wanted lighter fare.

Severance2022

Both explore what happens when you try to completely separate yourself from your past life. Reba drives west; these characters drive into dissociation. Different choices, same thematic engine.

A psychological thriller where employees have their work and personal memories surgically separated. Completely different genre and tone from Malibu Country, but obsessively watchable and visually unlike anything else on television right now.

But Extremely dark and deliberately unsettling. Requires total attention and rewards obsessive analysis, which is the opposite of comfort viewing. Only one season so far.

Lady Bird2017

Both stories are about women discovering that the place you need to be and the person you need to become might be closer to home than you thought. One's a sitcom, one's a heartbreaker, but they're asking the same question about belonging.

A Sacramento teenager chafes against her working-class life and her complicated mother, desperate to escape to the coasts and a different version of herself. Greta Gerwig's film is comedy and heartbreak intertwined, and it understands both sides of that particular mother-daughter war.

But It's a Greta Gerwig indie drama, so it's quiet and moves at its own pace. No plot twists, no big laughs—just real life with occasional humor baked in.