Everything to Remember About ‘Frasier’

It’s Frasier Week at IndieWire. Grab some tossed salad and scrambled eggs, settle into your coziest easy chair, and join us. We’re listening.

Twenty years have passed since Dr. Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) has graced the small screen, but according to the Paramount+ series revival, the beloved sarcastic psychiatrist hasn’t changed a bit…just his surroundings, profession, close friends, and the actor playing his son have.

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Where to begin with what fans need to remember about “Frasier” before the revival, premiering October 12? Well, first of all, Frasier is back in Boston, returning to his “Cheers” roots before he made the move to Seattle for a radio show and to be closer to his ailing father, Martin, portrayed by late actor John Mahoney.

Grammer announced the revival series in 2021, saying at the time, “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.”

“Frasier” won 37 Emmys before concluding in 2004 with a two-part series finale titled “Goodbye, Seattle.” While Frasier is now settled closer with son Freddy (Jack Cutmore-Scott) in Boston, let’s recall what exactly happened last time we saw the Crane family.

Frasier Meets Niles’ Son, David

In the 2004 series finale, Frasier saw his brother Niles (David Hyde Pierce) and wife Daphne (Jane Leeves) welcome a son together the same day that father Martin weds new love Ronee (Wendie Malick). While Frasier’s nephew David will appear in the revival show, both Niles and Daphne are not expected to return. Frasier’s nephew David will be played by Anders Keith in the updated series.

“David [Hyde Pierce] basically decided he wasn’t really interested in repeating the performance of Niles,” Grammer told People magazine in 2022. “In a very funny way, it just took us to a new place, which was what we originally wanted to do anyway, which was a ‘Frasier’ third act. It’s an entirely new life for him.”

Patriarch Martin will also not be back in the “Frasier” revival as actor Mahoney died in 2018. “We’ll be dealing with that for sure,” Grammer noted.

The Women of Frasier’s Life Are Back

That entirely new life for Frasier, though, does have a few familiar faces. Frasier’s former radio host producer Roz Doyle (Peri Gilpin), the snarky, sex-positive, scene-stealing supporting character, will appear in one episode of the revival.

Frasier’s ex-wife (and Freddy’s mother) Lilith is also showing up for the “Frasier” return, with Bebe Neuwirth back slinging one-liners in a guest role.

What About Charlotte?

The “Frasier” series finale saw Frasier dealing with his family moving on, seemingly without him. Martin moves out of their shared apartment, taking Jack Russell Eddie and the horrid striped recliner chair. Niles is a father, and Frasier is still single, alone, and a workaholic. He recently said goodbye to his latest flame, a matchmaker named Charlotte (Laura Linney) whom he hired as a last resort, only to fall for her. Charlotte moved to Chicago for work, and Frasier is left once again contemplating his next step.

Frasier opts to accept a TV therapist gig in San Francisco, and leave his beloved Seattle behind. “The only reason I’m leaving is because I want what all of you have now,” Frasier tells his brother, sister-in-law, and father.

Frasier’s final broadcast radio episode concludes with him reading Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem “Ulysses” on air. Frasier later boards a plane presumably for San Francisco, but the final twist is that he’s actually moving to Chicago to find Charlotte and take a chance on their love.

Actress Laura Linney is not mentioned in the cast list for the “Frasier” revival, and while it’s been 20 years since Frasier’s grand gesture, we have no idea how it played out.

What’s Next?

The revival of a spin-off (“Cheers” to “Frasier” to “Frasier” 2.0) ran for 11 seasons after premiering in 1993. The current reboot has a 10-episode series order to start, with “How I Met Your Mother” scribe Chris Harris writing and executive producing the series along with “Life in Pieces” screenwriter Joe Cristalli. “Cheers” co-creator and “Frasier” executive producer James Burrows is back directing the first two episodes of the revival, with the pilot taped in front of a live studio audience.

“He’s our brave little soldier that continues on in life, finding new challenges, and a new love and new people and a new city and stuff like that,” Grammer told People of what to expect. “I’m really very excited about it, and we’ll certainly always honor the past.”

“Frasier” premieres October 12 on Paramount+.

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