Star Kelsey Grammer reveals why the upcoming Frasier reboot may not return to the iconic Cheers bar, despite taking place in Boston. After first being introduced in Cheers, Grammer's titular psychiatrist returns to his hometown of Seattle for NBC's long-running Frasier. Grammer is now set to return as the character once more in an upcoming reboot show from Paramount+, which doesn't yet have an official synopsis or episode count.
In a recent interview on Jake's Takes, Grammer offers a potentially disappointing update regarding whether the Frasier reboot will see his character return to the Cheers bar. Check out the interview below:
While not offering a concrete answer one way or another regarding whether the bar will feature in the upcoming reboot, Grammer suggests that rights issues might prevent Frasier from visiting the iconic Boston location. Check out the actor's full comment below:
“There is an element of stepping back into the world of Cheers for Frasier because that’s why we went back to Boston. He feels like he has unfinished business there, like part of that life did not fulfil him enough to get to the place he had dreamed. He may not go back into that bar. There are a lot of things we would have to do in order to secure rights and blah, blah, blah, and business. That is an overlay that sometimes stops us from a certain path creatively, but that path is in this show, of coming to terms with Boston for him, of coming to terms with a life he didn’t live in Boston and the one he wanted to live.”
Can The Frasier Reboot Survive Without The Cheers Bar?
The end of Frasier sees Grammer's character heading off to Chicago to pursue a relationship with Charlotte (Laura Linney). With the upcoming reboot moving the story to Boston with an all-new cast, it's probably safe to assume that things didn't go as planned. Since the Frasier reboot won't feature any other original cast members, including Niles (David Hyde Pierce), Daphne (Jane Leeves), and Roz (Peri Gilpin), the show might be wishing to explore the future rather than dwell on too much of the past.
The titular bar in Cheers was an iconic location across all 11 seasons of the show and even a brief return on the Frasier reboot would be a welcome one. However, the new cast and new locations can help to differentiate the reboot from what came before it, setting Frasier on a new path where he comes to terms with what didn't happen and focuses instead on what's happening in his life now. Frasier's son, Freddy (Jack Cutmore-Scott), will also play a role in the reboot, another sign that the show is looking more to the future.
With only Grammer confirmed to return, it's unclear how successful the Frasier reboot will be. It's likely that the reboot will be Grammer's last time playing the character, and it's possible that the new show could serve to pass the baton to a new generation of characters. It's still unclear whether the Cheers bar will actually return, but the Frasier reboot is already shaping up to be an interesting departure from what's come before it.
Source: Jake's Takes