Boston Bound: Everything You Need To Know About the Upcoming Frasier Reboot

Kelsey Grammer has confirmed that we can expect to see Frasier back on our screens in the not too distant future. NBC sitcom Frasier was one of the most successful series in television, running between 1993 to 2004 and taking home a total of 37 Emmys. The final episode of season 11, titled “Good night, Seattle,” pulled in a whopping 33.7 million people.

The new series is currently in the middle of filming, and as the months have passed, more and more specifics have been revealed to the public. We’re breaking down everything there is to know about the upcoming sitcom reboot, including cast details, dates, locations, and script leaks.

Frasier aired on NBC for all 11 seasons, but the reboot won’t stick with the same broadcasting company. The reboot will be shown on Paramount+, showing Grammer reprising his most-loved role as Dr. Frasier Crane. Aside from playing the title character, however, Grammer will also serve as the upcoming show’s executive producer.

Of course, this reboot will be showing us the third phase of Frasier’s life, having intitally been introduced to the public on the NBC sitcom Cheers. Grammer had been teasing fans with news of a reboot early in 2021, revealing to the public that a sequel was underway. In July 2022, Grammer stated that they were “in the final stages of the final script for the first episode… I’ve had a couple of runs through it, and I cried, so I’m happy.”

So who out of the original cast will be returning for the reboot? Not a lot of the fan favorites, it seems. Actor David Hyde Pierce, who plays Niles on the show, has confirmed that he will not be making a return on the reboot despite the huge part he played on the original show. Likewise, Frasier’s father Martin Crane, played by John Mahoney, will not be able to join the cast since he passed away in 2018.

However, Grammer did confirm that the new show will address what happened to Martin since. But not only will the new reboot be missing the other Crane men, but we also won’t see a return of beloved actresses Jane Leeves and Peri Gilpin as Daphne Moon and Roz Doyle, respectively. That means all the main cast, bar Grammer, will be missing from the reboot, leaving fans with mixed feelings.

The reboot won’t be taking place in Seattle, Washington, like it did for the whole of Frasier. Instead, Frasier will return to his roots by returning to Boston, where he started when he appeared on the show Cheers. But it is yet to be confirmed whether we will see a return of the famous Cheers bar.

However, we do have a few clues about who we can expect to see in the reboot. Grammer confirmed that British actor Nicholas Lyndhurst, best known for playing Rodney Trotter in the long running BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses, is set to play a part on the show.

We also know that an adult Freddy Crane, Frasier’s son, is set to appear on out screens, but not with previous actor Trevor Einhorn. This is leading some fans to wonder whether we’ll see the return of Bebe Neuwirth as Lilith. Similarly, we are set to see a somewhat grown up version Niles and Daphne’s son David, who we last saw in season 11 as an infant.

Grammer and Paramount+ are yet to tell fans when the new show will air. But at the moment, it’s expected to be released sometime in late 2023. Since Grammer has already said that shooting started months ago, it certainly is likely that we could be watching the reboot before the end of the year.

And while we don’t have a date set a stone, we do have the title of the first episode. Casting director Jeff Greenberg shared with fans a now-deleted photo showing the script for the show’s first episode. The first episode is titled “The Good Father,” which many will recognize as a hark back to the first episode of Frasier, titled “The Good Son.” It appears as though Martin’s absence will be addressed at the very start.

Of course, all this news about a reboot is all very good and well, but it begs the question: why is Grammer going to the trouble of reviving the iconic show? Firstly, Frasier was allegedly cancelled due to the show’s high production, not because the main cast wanted it to end. But aside from that, it seems as though Roseanne Barr had a large part to play in convincing Grammer of a successful reboot, albeit without intending to.

Grammer appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where he explained that seeing comedian and actress Roseanne Barr return to her character in Roseanne made him want to explore more of Frasier’s life after Seattle. He claims to have believed in the potential after witnessing the reboot’s success on the little screen. That being said, it was eventually replaced with The Conners.