‘Frasier’ creators reveal original pitch for show’s revival
The creators behind the Frasier revival have revealed their original idea for the show’s return, which involved David Hyde Pierce as Niles.
Kelsey Grammer is the only core cast member who reprises his role in the Paramount+ sequel series, which follows Frasier as he teaches at a university in Boston – the setting where the character was originally introduced in 1980s sitcom Cheers.
Showrunners Chris Harris and Joe Cristalli originally approached Pierce “a couple of times” about returning to play Frasier’s brother Niles before he declined, which changed their approach to the revival.
“He was in a tough position,” Cristalli told Vulture. “Everybody wants to see him as Niles, but he doesn’t want to step back into those shoes. He felt like he didn’t have anything new to bring to the character. He read versions and gave us notes and thoughts, and he acknowledged it was funny and we found the tone the original did so well. It just wasn’t for him.”
Cristalli explained that Pierce’s decision gave them freedom to take the revival in a new direction, adding: “Yes, we have to live up to the incredibly high standards of Frasier, but with a little more leniency. This can live in the same universe as Frasier and Cheers without being Frasier or Cheers.”
The duo explored “many incarnations” for the reboot before landing on the university location, but the original idea was to have Frasier and Niles run a theatre.
“The university was in some versions and not in other versions, and there was a theatre in one of them,” Harris said. “It felt like, what’s giving meaning in this next stage of life?”
Cristalli added: “For a long time, the idea was that Frasier and Niles were going to run a black-box theatre, like how they bought that restaurant and brought it back to life. But it’s hard for Frasier and Niles to run the theatre when you don’t have Niles, so we had to step back from that.”
Alongside Grammer, the revival stars Nicholas Lyndhurst as university professor Alan, Jack Cutmore-Scott as Frasier’s son Freddy, Anders Keith as Frasier’s nephew David, Jess Salgueiro as Eve and Toks Olagundoya as Olivia.
In a four-star review, NME wrote: “Yes, the genius that is David Hyde Pierce’s Niles is sorely missed, but Frasier is still as tasty as a tossed salad and scrambled eggs.”
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Adam Starkey
NME
