Two decades after his beloved character signed off the airwaves, Kelsey Grammer is finally serving up second helpings of tossed salad and scrambled eggs. The Frasier revival is now in production, after nearly a decade in development – despite some crucial absences. David Hyde Pierce has declined to return as Frasier’s neurotic brother Niles, while John Mahoney, who played their irascible but charming ex-cop father Martin, died in 2018. Factor in Grammer’s outspoken Trumpism, which complicates the legacy of his defining role, and fans may be forgiven for feeling trepidatious. But early reports suggest there may be reasons for optimism over the return of TV’s favourite Freudian.
After 11 seasons set in Seattle, in an apartment overlooking the city’s Space Needle no less, Frasier is returning to Boston, to reconquer his old Cheers-era stomping ground. “He left with his tail between his legs a little bit,” Grammer said in a recent interview. The 80s bar-room sitcom’s co-creator James Burrows, who also directed the original Frasier pilot, is confirmed to direct the first two episodes of the revival – but the rest finds the good doctor on pastures new.
