The rumored revival of the classic sitcom Frasier is a rumor no more as the show’s return was officially announced today during streaming service Paramount+’s presentation at the Television Critics Association press tour in Los Angeles.
The revival will see star Kelsey Grammer reunite on screen with most of the the other core cast of the original series – David Hyde Pierce’s Niles, Peri Gilpin’s Roz and Jane Leeves’ Daphne. John Mahoney, who played Frasier and Nile’s father, Martin, died in 2018.
The announcement confirms reports from the beginning of the month that suggested that the studio was close to greenlighting a new run of the show.
In a statement, Grammer said –
Having spent over 20 years of my creative life on the Paramount lot, both producing shows and performing in several, I’d like to congratulate Paramount+ on its entry into the streaming world. I gleefully anticipate sharing the next chapter in the continuing journey of Dr. Frasier Crane.
Chris Harris (How I Met Your Mother) and Joe Cristalli (Life in Pieces) are set to write the series. Cristalli has been warming up for the gig for several years as the author of the @FrasierContempo twitter account where he would tweet out jokes and dialogue for the characters that could have fit into the original run of the show.
Paramount Plus is the new name of Paramount’s CBS All Access streaming service, with the rebranding going into effect next month.
Grammer originated the role of Dr. Frasier Crane on the venerable sitcom Cheers in 1984, joining the cast as first psychiatrist and then paramour to Shelly Long’s Diane Chambers in the show’s third season. Although the character was original supposed to appear in just a small number of episodes, the producer’s liked Grammer’s work with the character so much that he quickly became a regular cast member and stayed with the series through to its 1993 finale.
But the summer between the Cheers finale and the fall debut of the Frasier spinoff saw the character transplant cross country from Boston to Seattle to help take care of his aging father while working as the host of a call-in psychology radio talk show. The series would run an impressive eleven seasons, rack up an impressive 37 Emmy wins, including a five year streak winning the Outstanding Comedy Series award starting in 1994. When the series ended, it saw the character heading towards Chicago to be with his girlfriend who had just relocated there.
Credit has to be given to Grammer for playing the character for twenty years and keeping him fresh the entire time. When first introduced on Cheers, he was the stuffed shirt, somewhat more mature member of the bar’s gang of regulars, a contrast to the more brash, Bostonian patrons. He would eventually relax somewhat to fit in better with the rest of the characters. But once he moved back to his home in Seattle, his erudite side reemerged and developed in a different direction over the course of the spin-off.
