Big Cheers for the return of our favourite TV psychiatrist
“I’ve always been amused by the people who used to say, ‘how do you play a character for that long?’” Kelsey Grammer chuckles. “I would jokingly say, ‘how do you live for that long?’ You see, every day in this life is a surprise. Every day is a new experience that you can actually hone if you keep your eyes open and allow yourself to see the world around you through fresh eyes.
“And that’s who Frasier is. He’s a remarkable sort of innocent in a lot of ways. The world always surprises him. And even though he’s wiser now, he’s probably more engaged in living than he was before. He makes fewer presumptions and allows life to wash over him and surprise him. And that’s a wonderful character and truly wonderful thing to live with.”
Grammer in true Frasier style: part-psychotherapist, part-philosopher – warm and wise.
The rumour mill has been spinning for the past few years but Frasier, the legendary sitcom, is officially back for a 10-episode run on Paramount+. One of our most beloved comedies, Frasier graced television screens for over a decade, accumulating a cult following along the way and catapulting Grammer, as radio psychiatrist Dr Frasier Crane, to luminary status.
The character originated in the 80s sitcom Cheers but his self-titled spin-off was on air from 1993 to 2004, spanning 11 seasons and making the good doctor one of television’s longest-running characters, landing Grammer multiple Emmys and Golden Globes along the way.
The new series hails from How I Met Your Mother writer Chris Harris and Life in Pieces’ Joe Cristalli. James Burrows, the co-creator of Cheers, returns to direct the first two episodes. As well as starring, Grammer produces and directs.
Paramount+’s Frasier reboot has retained some of its core ingredients. Frasier, for one, is the same lovable, pompous toff. His frosty ex-wife Lilith, again played by Bebe Neuwirth, and his zingy radio producer Roz, played by Peri Gilpin, are set to return. The live studio audience is still around too, a marked contrast to most television shows today.
On acting and directing with a live audience, 68-year-old Grammer says: “I have a couple of ideas about how to make it interesting to watch when I’m directing. I typically have a sense of where a laugh is coming… and conversely, where a laugh won’t be coming from the audience. I can usually point somebody toward where I think a laugh may be in their dialogue but I keep it to myself most of the time, unless I am directing the episode.”
But for all the continuity, much has changed. Frasier has left Seattle and is back in Boston (where his character first appeared in Cheers). His son is all grown up and they have a fractious dynamic. Freddy, played by the English actor Jack Cutmore-Scott, is a firefighter with a very different outlook on life to his father.
New characters have sprung into existence. There’s Frasier’s goofy nephew, David, played by newcomer Anders Keith; Workin’ Moms’ Jess Salgueiro, Freddy’s roommate; and Fatal Attraction’s Toks Olagundoye as Olivia, the head of Harvard University’s psychology department.
Much of the plot spins around Frasier’s relationship with Freddy and other people in his life. Playing a central role in the revival is Only Fools and Horses’ Nicholas Lyndhurst, as Alan, Frasier’s old college buddy, now a Harvard University lecturer.
Grammer says that some of the new ensemble were individuals he already knew and loved, Lyndhurst among them. “I did a play with him in London three years ago and we just fell in love instantly,” he recalls. “And then of course, I found out he was one of the most famous people in England. This man has already had a remarkable career and he’s been really kind to share his genius in this incarnation of Frasier.”
“And he is really remarkable,” he continues. “I’ve jokingly warned other people: ‘You’ve got to watch out for Lyndhurst because he’ll sneak up on you just when you think the scene is yours. He’s got it and then he’s running away with it… He’s one of the best actors in the world and he’s one of the funniest people alive. I think America, the UK and the rest of the world are just going to fall in love with him, either all over again or for the first time.”
The pair first worked together in a 2019 theatre production of Man Of La Mancha. And the admiration is evidently mutual.
One word to describe Lyndhurst’s feelings toward Grammer? “Charmed,” the 62-year-old responds.
“He is the most genuinely charming man I’ve ever worked with. And he’s an exquisite director and he’s very fast. He knows exactly what he wants… Because he’s done it for so long, I think he probably knows everyone’s job as well. So he knows the pitfalls that they’re going through.
“He’s just a delight. He composes the most beautiful music: just tinkling there on the piano and it made me cry. I was just an avid fan, like most of the planet, really.”
“I think the quickest way of telling you something about Professor Alan Cornwell is the brief on page one of the script: Alan is British and boozy,” adds Lyndhurst. “And I thought, ‘yeah, I can do that.’”
“He’s very non-PC. He comes out with whatever he wants to say. He drinks too much. He doesn’t think enough. He’s very lazy. He’s a college lecturer but he doesn’t really like any of his students at all. And there’s one episode where my character says, ‘There are two things I care deeply about. My cat and Frasier Crane.’ And that’s it.”
“His saving feature, I suppose, if he has one at all, is his love for Frasier Crane,” Lyndhurst continues. “They were at school together. They were at college together. They were at Oxford together. And there’s a deep love between them.”
Lyndhurst believes fans will love the new show. He likens it to “putting on a lovely warm jumper”.
“You just go, ‘ah, that’s better.’”
The first two episodes of Frasier air on Paramount+ on Thursday October 12.
