Although Frasier is being revived for Paramount+ subscribers this fall, there’s a lot about this entry on the 2023 TV schedule that’s different from its same-named predecessor, which ran from 1993 to 2004. For one thing, Kelsey Grammer is joined by entirely new faces within the show’s main cast, and furthermore, he’s now back to living in Boston, Massachusetts rather than still in Seattle, Washington. Weirdly though, Frasier will not be spending time at the Cheers bar in the revival, though it turns out there will be a reference to his old watering hole. However, it’s the tribute to the late John Mahoney that’s won me over.
Let’s start off with Cheers, the bar where TV viewers met Frasier Crane back in the same-named show that ran from 1982 to 1993. James Burrows, who co-created Cheers and directed most of its episodes, as well as helmed dozens of Frasier episodes, returned to direct the first two episodes of the new Frasier. While speaking with EW, Burrows mentioned that Frasier Crane will mention the old bar in the show’s first episode, and this isn’t directly by name, the director insisted to creators Joe Cristalli and Chris Harris that the reference be kept in. In his words:
It’s the one line in the pilot that I begged [Cristalli and Harris] not to lose. It’s tender to my heart, but also, it’s a way of acknowledging the birth of the character — and they were sweet enough to leave that line in.
If the new Frasier ends up running longer than one season, I’m hoping that the title character makes his way back to Cheers at some point, but it’s nonetheless good to hear that Burrows’ reference to the iconic TV bar stayed in the episode. While the original Frasier was arguably just as popular as Cheers, if not more so, we wouldn’t have this character if he hadn’t been introduced in the latter show’s Season 3 premiere. Just because we’re not seeing him back in that familiar environment doesn’t mean the bar itself should go unacknowledged.
Now let’s shift our attention to John Mahoney, who played Frasier Crane’s father, Martin Crane, for the entirety of the original Frasier and passed away in 2018. Kelsey Grammer talked before about how the Frasier revival will pay tribute to his deceased co-star, and it’s now been revealed that the neighborhood bar Frasier is hanging out at is called Mahoney’s. Additionally, James Burrows mentioned that Martin has also died within the Frasier universe, and he’ll be acknowledged in a scene at the end of the first episode:
It’s a wonderful scene at the end of the show. It’s about two-and-a-half, three minutes without any laughs. You’ve got to be brave to do that.
If I had to guess, this scene Burrows is referencing will likely occur between Frasier and his son Freddy, who’s being played by Jack Cutmore-Scott and, much like Fraiser and Martin were at the start of the original show, isn’t on the best terms with his dad when this revival begins. Perhaps reminiscing about the patriarch will help them reach common ground, but it’s the bar being call Mahoney’s that really speaks to me. Even though John Mahoney is no longer with us, it’s nice to know his influence will be felt every time Frasier stops to grab a drink and chat with friendly faces at this establishment.
Kelsey Grammer and Jack Cutmore-Scott will be joined in Frasier’s main cast by Anders Keith as David Crane (Fraiser Crane’s nephew), Nicholas Lyndhurst as Alan Cornwall, Jess Salgueiro as Eve and Toks Olagundoye as Olivia. Bebe Neuwirth and Peri Gilpin are also confirmed to be respectively reprising Lilith Sternin and Roy Doyle in recurring capacities. Grammer has said that David Hyde Pierce will not reprise Niles Crane, leaving Jane Leeves’ Daphne Moon as the only main character from the original Frasier whose status in the revival remains unclear.
The first two episodes of the Frasier revival premiere Thursday, October 12 on Paramount+, followed by a weekly rollout until the season finale on December 7. While we wait for its arrival, look through the best Paramount+ shows available to watch now.