Kelsey Grammer has claimed that the Frasier reboot “may be funnier than the original”.
The 68-year-old actor is reprising the role of snobby psychiatrist Frasier Crane in the forthcoming Paramount-produced sitcom. He previously played the character in Cheers and its spin-off Frasier from 1984 to 2004.
Speaking to The Independent in a new interview, Grammer reflected on the revival, which is expected to premiere towards the end of the year.
“I did a spin-off years ago that was considered a very successful spin-off,” he said. “We were aware of those traditional pitfalls that people want to be careful about.
“This isn’t really a spin-off,” he said. “It’s more of a third act, or fourth act. A spin-off of a spin-off. Frasier goes back to a world that we know him in, but on different terms. And that sets the stage.”
The series will feature guest appearances from Frasier regular Peri Gilpin, who played Roz, and Bebe Neuwirth, who played Frasier’s ex-wife Lilith in Cheers and occasionally in Frasier.
However, most of the original cast members are not returning, including David Hyde Pierce, who played Frasier’s brother Niles, and the late John Mahoney, who played his father Martin.
Instead, Grammer will be joined by several new castmates, including Only Fools and Horses star Nicholas Lyndhurst, and Jack Cutmore-Scott, who plays Frasier’s now-adult son, Frederick.
“Frasier’s going to explore a true friendship, which we never had him do before,” Grammer explained. “David Hyde Pierce as Niles was his go-to – that is not available now. So the idea of a great friend became really appealing and new to Frasier. That’s a brand new world for him.
“This friend is played by Nicholas Lyndhurst, who is arguably one of the great actors of the UK. He’s become a great, great friend of mine personally.”
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In 2019, Grammer and Lyndurst starred together in a production of Man of La Mancha at the London Coliseum.
“An entire [US] audience is gonna suddenly know who this guy is, who hasn’t known before,” Grammer said. “So there’s a lot of positive energy around the casting of it.”
Of Cutmore-Scott, he recalled: “At first, you cast these people, you’ve never seen them before. And boy, by about the middle of the second show, I thought, ‘Son of a gun. He’s actually doing it. He’s like Frasier’s kid. Wow.’ So I think it’s gonna be a great discovery for people. There’s some new people on the show to really fall in love with and arguably, it may even be funnier.”
The Frasier reboot is expected to debut on Paramount+ later this year. Grammer can next be seen in the film Jesus Revolution, out on 23 June.
