He’s still listening. It’s been 18 years since Frasier last wished Seattle good mental health but TV’s most dysfunctional therapist is heading back to screens soon. Kelsey Grammer first played Frasier Crane on 1980s classic Cheers, joining the ensemble cast from the hit sitcom’s third season onward before the character’s popularity ensured he got to lead his own spinoff, debuting after Cheers‘ conclusion in 1993.
Often called the most successful spinoff in TV history, Frasier stands as one of the most acclaimed comedies of the 1990s, earning 107 Emmy nominations, winning 37 Emmy awards and running for 11 must-see seasons until it came to a close in 2004. In this age of revivals and reboots, however, Grammer has decided that it’s high time he returned to his most beloved role and has been busy attempting to get a new show off the ground for the past couple of years.
So when (and where) can we expect the Frasier revival to premiere? And who else, apart from Grammer, could appear in it? Let’s see if we can sort out these tossed salads and scrambled eggs.
When can we expect the Frasier reboot to premiere?
A Frasier revival was first mooted way back in 2016, but it wasn’t officially confirmed as happening until last year, with Grammer revealing that the project is a go at Paramount Plus, meaning the series will air as a streaming exclusive whenever it finally gets here.
And when will that be? Unfortunately, the revival has been delayed, although it’s not clear why or for how long. Last summer, Grammer appeared on The Talk to hype up the project, which he described as “the next chapter in the continuing journey of Dr. Frasier Crane.” He revealed that the pilot script was “in the final stages” and it’s so good that he “cried” while reading it.
In the same interview, Grammer teased that the plan was to begin shooting in the fall of 2021 with a provisional release date of early 2022. Well, obviously that never happened. While the star (who’s also producing the new series) has yet to make an updated announcement, we can speculate that production was pushed back by a full year and could belatedly go before cameras this fall instead.
If that is the case — and, again, we’ve had no official word on this — then perhaps the new Frasier could premiere on Paramount Plus in the first quarter of 2023.
Which cast members could return for it?
If you’ve read this far into this article, you probably already know what Frasier‘s about. But, just in case you don’t, here’s a brief primer: The show follows the misadventures of radio psychiatrist Frasier Crane as he lives with his retired cop father Martin (John Mahoney) and his eccentric English physical therapist Daphne (Jane Leeves), spars with sassy producer Roz (Peri Gilpin), and trades barbs with neurotic brother Niles (David Hyde Pierce).
So could any of the OG Frasier gang feature in the reboot? Well, sadly, the revival will have to write out Martin as Mahoney passed away in 2018. Otherwise, Grammer had a lot of hope that he’d be able to coax his other cast-members back into the fold when speaking to Collider in July 2018.
“We think we’re going to get most of the actors back, I’m certainly hopeful that we will, and I’m fairly confident that they’ll come back,” Grammer told Collider, before teasing that the old cast wouldn’t be at the center of the new show, but he still wants them involved. He continued:
“We have a story to tell — that can actually be told with or without them, honestly — but I want them back because that’s what I always dreamed of. I thought we should explore all their lives in their third act, and so that is my hope.”
Since then, however, both Pierce and Leeves have poured cold water on talk of their comebacks as Niles and Daphne, who had tied the knot and had a son by Frasier season 11. Leeves admitted to Entertainment Weekly that she wouldn’t leave her current series, medical drama The Resident, to hop over to the revival. Meanwhile, Pierce has stressed that, while he’s not ruling it out, he’s apprehensive about revisiting something so special to him. He told Vulture:
“Yeah. That whole time of my life, the writing on those shows, the actors I got to work with — all of that is deeply important to me. And I would never disrespect that in such a way as to say just offhandedly, ‘Oh, no, thanks. I’m not going to do that again.’ It’s too valuable to me. But by the same token, because it’s so valuable to me, I also wouldn’t do it just do it.”
As for Gilpin, recently seen in a guest spot on Kevin Can F**k Himself, she’s yet to comment on the project, so take that how you will.
In the meantime, all 264 episodes of Frasier are available to stream on Paramount Plus.