The past few years have seen a flood of legendary multi-camera sitcoms return to the airwaves, with everything from “Will and Grace” to “Night Court” reboots. So it was only a matter of time before Kelsey Grammer realized his old dream of playing Frasier Crane again. A “Frasier” revival is currently in development for Paramount+, with legendary sitcom director James Burrows directing the first two episodes.
But instead of Frasier returning to his old location of Seattle or Chicago, where he ended up in the series finale, the new episodes will be set in Boston. That means beloved characters like Niles and Daphne won’t be making an appearance — but Grammer is confident Frasier Crane can live on without them.
Appear “Live With Kelly and Ryan” Grammer gave an update on the reboot and explained why he thinks the new season could serve as a fitting conclusion to Frasier’s four-decade story arc that began with “Cheers.”
“We first floated it five years ago and eventually got through the development process,” Grammer said. “He’s gone through multiple incarnations — we originally wanted everyone to come back, and we moved Frasier because he left Seattle in his previous incarnation. And this is another act he needs. Jane (Leeves) and David (Hyde Pierce) and Peri (Gilpin) were on the fence and we couldn’t make it all work. It ended up being a great thing. Frasier goes back to Boston to tie up some loose ends in his life.
Seeing Frasier Crane without Niles will certainly take some getting used to for many fans of the original series, but Grammer and Burrows may be uniquely suited for success. After all, they are the ones who successfully took the character away from his “Cheers” friends. Grammer previously spoke about the character’s flexibility and explained why he thinks the new series will be able to split the difference between nostalgia and originality.
“He’s our brave little soldier who goes on with life, finds new challenges, new love, new people, new town and stuff,” Grammer said in a recent interview. “I am very excited and we will certainly always respect the past. We have to respect the fact that John Mahoney is dead and that (Niles and Frasier’s father, Martin Crane) is no longer with us. We will certainly deal with it.”
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