''Frasier'' () is an American television

sitcom A sitcom, a Portmanteau, portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troup ...

that premiered on October 12, 2023, on

Paramount+ Paramount+ is an American subscription video on-demand service owned by Paramount Global. The service's content is drawn primarily from the libraries of CBS Media Ventures (including CBS Studios), Paramount Media Networks (formerly Viacom Med ...

. It is a continuation of the 1993—2004 sitcom ''

Frasier ''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons. It premiered on September 16, 1993, and ended on May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee (as Grub ...

'' featuring the character

Frasier Crane Dr. Frasier Winslow Crane (born ) is a fictional character who is both a supporting character on the American television sitcom ''Cheers'' and the titular protagonist of its spin-off '' Frasier'', portrayed by Kelsey Grammer. The character deb ...

, played by

Kelsey Grammer Allen Kelsey Grammer (born February 21, 1955) is an American actor and producer. He gained notoriety and acclaim for his role as psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1984-1993) and its spin-off '' Frasier'' (1993-2004) ...

Premise

Shortly after the death of his father Martin and the end of his nearly 20-year relationship with Charlotte, Dr. Frasier Crane has returned to Boston. Hoping for a better relationship with his son, Frederick, now a Boston firefighter, Frasier takes a professorship at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

and moves into Freddy's apartment building. With the help of his family and his new colleagues, Frasier is about to embark on his "third act".

Cast

Main

, who moves back to Boston to reconnect with his son. Following the last episode of the previous series, Frasier is now wealthy following a long and successful stint as a talk show host in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

and recently single. He is also a retired psychiatrist, published author, and gains employment as a lecturer of psychology at Harvard. *

Jack Cutmore-Scott Jack Cutmore-Scott (born 16 April 1987) is an English actor. He is known for his roles in the ABC drama series ''Deception''. Early life Born in London to two accountants, he spent a gap year at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, an ...

as Frederick "Freddy" Crane, Frasier's son and a Boston firefighter. Although he briefly went to Harvard, he chose to drop out which strained his relationship with Frasier. He was played by

Trevor Einhorn Trevor Elias Einhorn (born November 3, 1988) is an American actor. In television, he is known for playing Josh on Syfy's fantasy series '' The Magicians'' and Frederick Crane on the American sitcom '' Frasier''. Career Einhorn was a child ac ...

in the original series. *

Toks Olagundoye Olatokunbo Susan Olasobunmi Abeke "Toks" Olagundoye (born 16 September 1975) is a Nigerian actress. *

Jess Salgueiro Jess Salgueiro is a Canadian actress, known for her roles in '' The Boys'', ''Workin' Moms'', ''The Expanse'', ''Letterkenny'' and ''Orphan Black''. Salgueiro is set to appear in a starring role in the Netflix show ''Tiny Pretty Things'', based o ...

as Eve, Freddy's friend, a single mother and the girlfriend of one of Freddy's fellow firefighters, who died in the line of duty. * Anders Keith as David Crane, Frasier's nephew and Freddy's cousin who was born in the ''Frasier''

series finale A series finale is the final installment of an episodic entertainment series, most often a television series. It may also refer to a final theatrical sequel, the last part of a television miniseries, the last installment of a literary series, or ...

and is the son of Niles and

Daphne Daphne (; ; el, Δάφνη, , ), a minor figure in Greek mythology, is a naiad, a variety of female nymph associated with fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of freshwater. There are several versions of the myth in wh ...

. He is attending Harvard University. *

Nicholas Lyndhurst Nicholas Simon Lyndhurst (born 20 April 1961) is an English actor. He began his career as a child actor and became best known for his role as Rodney Trotter in the sitcom '' Only Fools and Horses'' (1981–2003). He also had major roles in oth ...

as Professor Alan Cornwall, Frasier's friend from college who is now a Harvard psychology professor. He does not appear to have any affection for his students. He has a cavalier attitude towards his work and has alcoholic traits. It is established in one episode he has 4 children.

Recurring

Bebe Neuwirth Beatrice "Bebe" Jane Neuwirth ( ; born December 31, 1958) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. On television, she played Dr. Lilith Sternin, Frasier Crane's wife, on both the TV sitcom ''Cheers'' (in a starring role) and its spin-off ''F ...

Lilith Sternin Lilith Sternin (formerly Sternin-Crane) is a fictional character on the American television sitcoms ''Cheers'' and ''Frasier'', portrayed by Bebe Neuwirth. The character first appears as a date for Frasier Crane, though mutual hostility and dis ...

, Frasier's ex-wife and Freddy's mother. *

Peri Gilpin Peri Gilpin (born Peri Kay Oldham; May 27, 1961) is an American actress. She portrayed Roz Doyle in the television series ''Frasier'' and Kim Keeler in the ABC Family television drama '' Make It or Break It''. She is due to reprise the role of Ro ...

Roz Doyle Rosalinda Doyle (born May 5 1963 or 1964) is a fictional character on the American television sitcom '' Frasier''. Roz is the producer of Frasier Crane's ''Dr. Frasier Crane Show'' on KACL 780 AM. The role initially went to Lisa Kudrow, but ...

, Frasier's close friend and former co-worker. * Jimmy Dunn as Moose, one of Freddy's Firefighter buddies and co-worker. *Renee Pezzotta as Smokey, one of Freddy's Firefighter buddies and co-worker. *

Kevin Daniels Kevin Dwight Daniels Jr. (born December 9, 1976 in San Diego, California), is an American actor who started his career with a supporting role in the 1998 film ''Twelfth Night, or What You Will'' by director Nicholas Hytner. He has appeared i ...

as Tiny, one of Freddy's Firefighter buddies and co-worker.

Guest

June Diane Raphael June Diane Raphael ( ; born January 4, 1980) is an American actress, comedian, and screenwriter. She has starred in TV comedy programs ''Burning Love'', Adult Swim's '' NTSF:SD:SUV::'', and ''Grace and Frankie''. Notable film work includes support ...

as June, a single friend of Eve's who has been set up with one of the Crane men, although it is unclear which one.

Episodes

Production

Background

Talks of a revival began in 2016 but were initially denied by Grammer, though they resurfaced in mid-to-late 2018, with Grammer confirming it was being looked into. In February and March 2019, he said in several interviews that a reboot was likely. He indicated a new series would pay tribute to

John Mahoney Charles John Mahoney (June 20, 1940 – February 4, 2018) was an English-born American actor. He was known for playing Martin Crane on the NBC sitcom ''Frasier'' (1993–2004), and won a Screen Actors Guild Award for the role in 2000. Mahoney ...

, who portrayed Martin, Frasier's father in the original ''Frasier'' and passed away in 2018. In late 2019, Grammer said "we've hatched the plan" for a ''Frasier'' reboot and it was originally reported that it would air in 2020. In February 2021, it was reported that the revival was being discussed at

, possibly for a 10-episode season order for 2022.

Announcement

On February 24, 2021, the revival was greenlit for an exclusive debut on Paramount+. Grammer said he "gleefully" anticipated "sharing the next chapter in the continuing journey of Dr. Frasier Crane" as he had "spent over 20 years" of his "creative life on the Paramount lot". Paramount+ officially gave the revival a 10-episode season order in October 2022.

Casting

Casting director Jeff Greenberg returned.

David Hyde Pierce David Hyde Pierce (born April 3, 1959) is an American actor and director of stage, film and television. He starred as psychiatrist Dr. Niles Crane on the NBC sitcom '' Frasier'' from 1993 to 2004, and won four Primetime Emmy Awards and a Scree ...

had multiple conversations with the

showrunner A showrunner (or colloquially a helmer) is the top-level executive producer of a television series production who has creative and management authority through combining the responsibilities of employer and, in comedy or dramas, typically also the ...

s about reprising his role as Frasier's brother, Niles, but it was later reported that he had declined and that the other actors from the original series were also either not returning or unlikely to return.

Jane Leeves Jane Elizabeth Leeves (born 18 April 1961) is an English actress. Leeves played Daphne Moon on the NBC television sitcom ''Frasier'' from 1993 until 2004, for which she was nominated for an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award. She also played J ...

, who played Martin's physical therapist and Niles’ love interest (later wife),

Daphne Moon Daphne Crane (née Moon; born September 1961) is a fictional character on the American television sitcom '' Frasier'', played by Jane Leeves. An English immigrant from Manchester, Daphne is employed by Frasier as a live-in housekeeper and phy ...

, and

, who played Frasier's producer and close friend

, had previously discussed the possibility of a revival. In January 2023,

joined the cast as Freddy Crane. It was also reported that English actor

would be joining the cast. Later that month, Anders Keith was cast as Niles and Daphne's son, David, while

was cast as Freddy's roommate, Eve. In February,

Toks Olagundoye Olatokunbo Susan Olasobunmi Abeke "Toks" Olagundoye (born 16 September 1975) is a Nigerian actress. In March 2023, it was announced that

would be reprising her role as Frasier's ex-wife

in the revival. In April 2023, it was announced that Gilpin would also reprise her role as Roz. Both would reportedly feature in guest or recurring roles, not main cast.

Filming

On January 30, 2023, Greenberg shared a picture of a script page from a

table read The read-through, table-read, or table work is a stage of film, television, radio, and theatre production when an organized reading around a table of the screenplay or script by the actors with speaking parts is conducted. In addition to the c ...

which gave some more information about the show. The first episode would be called "The Good Father" in a reference to the pilot episode of the original series being called " The Good Son". It was written by Joe Cristalli and Chris Harris and directed by veteran sitcom director

James Burrows James Edward Burrows (born December 30, 1940), sometimes known as Jim "Jimmy" Burrows, is an American television director who has been working in television since the 1970s.Stated in interview on '' Inside the Actors Studio'' Burrows has dire ...

, who directed episodes of the original run and will also direct the episode following "The Good Father". The first episode of the revival was filmed in February 2023. Lead actor

directed the seventh episode, "Freddy's Birthday", which was filmed on April 4, 2023. Filming for the series wrapped on May 2, 2023; one day after the 2023

Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America is the joint efforts of two different US labor unions representing TV and film writers: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), headquartered in New York City and affiliated with the AFL–CIO * The Writers G ...

strike commenced, which meant the writers could not be on set for filming night.

Release

''Frasier'' premiered on October 12, 2023, on

and

Pluto TV Pluto TV is a free, ad-supported video streaming service owned and operated by the Paramount Streaming division of Paramount Global. Co-founded by Tom Ryan, Ilya Pozin and Nick Grouf in 2013 and based in Los Angeles, California, in the United S ...

. The first two episodes of ''Frasier'' aired on October 17, 2023, on CBS.

Reception

References

External links

* {{Authority control

2020s American college television series 2020s American sitcoms 2023 American television series debuts American sequel television series American television spin-offs Cheers English-language television shows Harvard University in fiction Paramount+ original programming Television series about educators Television series about higher education Television series by CBS Studios Television shows set in Boston Television shows filmed in Los Angeles