Frasier (2023 TV series)

Frasier
The title card depicts the Boston skyline, including the Custom House Tower, Prudential Tower, 111 Huntington Avenue and the Zakim Bridge.
Genre	Sitcom
Based on	Frasier by David Angell & Peter Casey & David Lee Frasier Crane by Glen Charles & Les Charles
Developed by	Chris Harris Joe Cristalli
Starring	Kelsey Grammer Jack Cutmore-Scott Toks Olagundoye Jess Salgueiro Anders Keith Nicholas Lyndhurst
Ending theme	"Tossed Salads and Scrambled Eggs" by Kelsey Grammer
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	10
Production
Executive producers	Kelsey Grammer Tom Russo Jordan McMahon
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	24-31 minutes
Production companies	Shiny Brass Lamp Productions Floral & Flannel Inc. Grammnet Productions CBS Studios
Original release
Network	Paramount+
Release	October 12, 2023 (2023-10-12) – present
Related
Cheers (1982–1993) Frasier (1993–2004)

Frasier (/ˈfreɪʒər/) is an American television sitcom that premiered on October 12, 2023, on Paramount+.^[1][2] It is a revival and a sequel to the 1993–2004 sitcom Frasier featuring the character Frasier Crane, played by Kelsey Grammer. On February 22, 2024, the series was renewed for a second season.^[3]

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 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

• Kelsey Grammer as Frasier Crane, 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 and recently single. He is also a retired psychiatrist, published author, and gains employment as a lecturer of psychology at Harvard.^[4]
• Jack Cutmore-Scott 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.^[5] He was played by Trevor Einhorn in the original series.
• Toks Olagundoye as Professor Olivia Finch, the chair of Harvard University's psychology department. In the first episode, she was desperate to have Frasier join the Harvard faculty due to the attention his fame would bring. She also appears to be infatuated with Freddy.^[6]
• Jess Salgueiro 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.^[7]
• Anders Keith as David Crane, Frasier's nephew and Freddy's cousin who was born in the Frasier series finale and is the son of Niles and Daphne. He is attending Harvard University.^[7][8]
• Nicholas Lyndhurst as Professor Alan Cornwall, Frasier's friend from Oxford University 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.^[9]

Recurring

• Bebe Neuwirth as Lilith Sternin, Frasier's ex-wife and Freddy's mother^[10]
• Peri Gilpin as Roz Doyle, Frasier's close friend and former co-worker^[11]
• Jimmy Dunn as Bernard "Moose", one of Freddy's firefighter buddies and co-worker^[12][13]
• Renee Pezzotta as Smokey, one of Freddy's firefighter buddies and co-worker^[12][13]
• Kevin Daniels as Tiny, one of Freddy's firefighter buddies and co-worker^[12][13]

Guest

• June Diane Raphael 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^[14]

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, who portrayed Martin, Frasier's father in the original Frasier and passed away in 2018.^{[17][4][18][19][20]}

In late 2019, Grammer said "we've hatched the plan" for a Frasier revival and it was originally reported that it would air in 2020.^[21][22] In February 2021, it was reported that the revival was being discussed at Paramount+,^[23] possibly for a 10-episode season order for 2022.^[24]

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".^[25] Paramount+ officially gave the revival a 10-episode season order in October 2022.^[26]

Casting

Casting director Jeff Greenberg returned.^[27] David Hyde Pierce had multiple conversations with the showrunners about reprising his role as Frasier's brother, Niles,^[28] but it was later reported that he had declined (as Pierce did not think there was much for Niles to do in the revival) and that the other actors from the original series were also either not returning or unlikely to return.^[29][30] Jane Leeves, who played Martin's physical therapist and Niles' love interest (later wife), Daphne Moon, and Peri Gilpin, who played Frasier's producer and close friend Roz Doyle, had previously discussed the possibility of a revival.^[31][32]

In January 2023, Jack Cutmore-Scott joined the cast as Freddy Crane.^[5] It was also reported that English actor Nicholas Lyndhurst would be joining the cast.^[9] Later that month, Anders Keith was cast as Niles and Daphne's son, David, while Jess Salgueiro was cast as Freddy's roommate, Eve.^[33] In February, Toks Olagundoye was cast as Olivia.^[6]

In March 2023, it was announced that Bebe Neuwirth would be reprising her role as Frasier's ex-wife Lilith Sternin in the revival.^[10] In April 2023, it was announced that Gilpin would also reprise her role as Roz.^[11] Both would reportedly feature in guest or recurring roles, not main cast.^[10][11]

Filming

On January 30, 2023, Greenberg shared a picture of a script page from a table read 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,^[34][27] who directed episodes of the original run and will also direct the episode following "The Good Father".^[35] The first episode of the revival was filmed in February 2023.^[34] Lead actor Kelsey Grammer directed the seventh episode, "Freddy's Birthday", which was filmed on April 4, 2023.^{[citation needed]} Filming for the series wrapped on May 2, 2023; one day after the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike commenced, which meant the writers could not be on set for filming night.^[36]

Release

Frasier premiered on October 12, 2023, on Paramount+ and Pluto TV. The first two episodes of Frasier aired on October 17, 2023, on CBS.^[1][37]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 60% of 73 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.1/10. The website's consensus reads: "With Kelsey Grammer safely back in the role he was born to play, Frasier scores as comfort viewing even if it can't quite compare to the classic original series."^[38]

References

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to Frasier (2023 TV series).

• Frasier at IMDb

This page was last edited on 11 April 2024, at 17:05