Several months before actors start being announced announced to join Kelsey Grammer in the Frasier revival’s cast, the man who’s brought Dr. Frasier Crane to life since 1984 shared with the world that David Hyde Pierce would not reprise Niles Crane in the new show. At the time, Grammer said this was because his former co-star “wasn’t really interested in repeating the performance.” Now shortly after the new Frasier wrapped up its first season to Paramount+ subscribers, Pierce has elaborated on why he declined to revisit Niles, which started off with him saying he “never really wanted to go back.”
Like Grammer, the late John Mahoney, Peri Gilpin and Jane Leeves, Pierce was part of the original Frasier for the entirety of its 11-year run, with Niles serving as an amusing foil to his older brother, yet also sharing many of the same personality traits and interests. 2024 will mark 20 years since Pierce last played Niles, and while chatting with The Los Angeles Times about his new play Here We Are, the actor discussed the various factors that resulted in him not taking part in the revival, saying:
I never really wanted to go back. It’s not like I said, ‘Oh, I don’t ever want to do that again.’ I loved every moment. It was that I wanted to do other things. And when we got into real talks about the reboot, I had just started on the ‘Julia’ TV show and was working on a musical and going to do another musical, not this one. And I just thought, ‘I don’t want to be committed to a show and not be able to do stuff like this.’ And I also thought, ‘They don’t actually need me.’ Frasier has moved on to a new world. They have new characters. And I think I’m right. It’s doing great. And the new people they have are great.
So this wasn’t solely rooted in David Hyde Pierce’s disinterest in returning to Niles Crane, the role that netted him four Emmy wins and seven nominations (in other words, he was recognized by the awards ceremony the entire time Frasier aired). As he laid out, he was also already attached to the TV series Julia (which can be streamed with a Max subscription) once the Frasier revival started making significant progress. Now scheduling issues would be in play even if Pierce had been interested in playing Niles again.
Additionally, the actor acknowledged that the Frasier revival now has its own collection of “great” characters to join Frasier Crane now that he’s back in Boston, the same city he lived in during the Cheers years. So there was more than enough for Pierce to justify not appearing in the new show. It is worth noting that early on in the Frasier revival’s development, the plan was to follow Frasier and Niles running a black box theater. So had Pierce agreed to return, this show would have looked quite different than the final product we received.
It also sounds like David Hyde Pierce isn’t interested in reprising Niles in a guest starring capacity, but who knows, maybe he’ll change his mind about that down the line, assuming Paramount+’s Frasier is renewed for Season 2. As far as familiar faces go, Peri Gilpin and Bebe Neuwirth were the only actors from the original Frasier who popped up in the Paramount+ revival alongside Kelsey Grammer. However, if this new show returns, executive producer Chris Harris has said the “door is open” for more Frasier and Cheers characters to return.
Once again, all of Paramount+’s Frasier Season 1 can be streamed its entirety on Paramount+, and we’ll let you know if the show comes back for a second season. Don’t forget to also browse through the 2024 TV schedule to plan which shows you’ll watch next year.
