Get ready to have your salad tossed, and eggs scrambled as after years of talks it looks like Dr Frasier Crane is finally returning to TV.
According to Variety, 17 years after its final episode, streaming service Paramount+ plans to revive the beloved comedy.
The show that began as a spin-off of the popular sitcom Cheers could now be argued has become even bigger thanks to the fantastic cast lead by Kelsey Grammer.
The US trade states that discussions on the show’s new iteration are in the very early stages at the ViacomCBS streaming service. However, this is a top-rated show, Grammer has been talking about a return for years, and ultimately streaming services need content to attract customers.
Meanwhile, Deadline states that Grammer is involved in the talks to reprise both his role and executive produce the series, which is eying a 10 episode series, with David Hyde Pierce (who played Frasier’s brother Niles) also being approached.
Unless things go truly south, this show will happen and all the main cast will return beside sadly John Mahoney, who played Frasier and Niles’ dad Martin, who passed away in 2018.
This is an interesting question when they move forward because Mahoney, and Martin’s arc throughout the show, was one of the show’s golden elements and not easy to replace.
Not to say Mahoney won’t have an impact on the new show because I’m sure Wendie Malick will appear in an episode or two as their step-mother Ronee. Plus, they’ll talk about him a lot, and we’ll see the boys visit his and their mums grave.
It would be nice if Frasier had his happy ending with his one true love Charlotte (Laura Linney) and had a couple of kids with a son named Martin or John while Niles and Daphne (Jane Leeves) had another son with one of these names.
Staying with the kids, it would stand Frasier would be a grandfather with Freddie having a family of his own. They should bring back Trevor Einhorn, who played him as a child.
Elsewhere, it’ll be interesting what has happened with Roz (Peri Gilpin) since she was made station manager of KACL. It could talk about the ways radio has changed and the rise of podcasts.
I’m sure this will be one of the topics discussed because Frasier could be a mid-level popular podcaster. The big issue in the series will likely be about mental health as his catchphrase at the end of his radio show was “good mental health”.
Now we’re in a world where the stigma is dropping, and in maybe it could help someone through their issues and we all want good mental health.
That’s why I hope in one of these episodes where it takes place in one room and Frasier, with the help of Niles, tries and stop someone from committing suicide. Because this was one of the great things about the show, it was like a theatre production and episodes could always be full of comedy or dramatic acting, sometimes in the same 22-minute episode.
I believe this show could be a success once again, not because of the nostalgia because, especially in the UK, it’s aired every morning and repeated it gets someone new every time to sit and get hooked. If Channel 4 (which airs the show) timed it right, the final episode could happen simultaneously as the new series aired.
But also because of the topics they can cover and be the form of escapism that people need once again.
The Bear Cave 