... but what about Niles?
October 4, 2022 8:55 PM   Subscribe

Sequel to Frasier series has been green lit. Streaming service going ahead with 10 episodes, with Kelsey Grammer reprising his role as Frasier Crane, but other original cast members remain unconfirmed.

From the article:

The rest of the cast will reportedly feature mostly new characters. Members of the original cast – David Hyde Pierce’s Niles, Jane Leeves’ Daphne and Peri Gilpin’s Roz – aren’t expected to be regulars, though they could make guest appearances.

Hyde Pierce, who played Frasier’s brother Niles, told the Guardian he had not yet heard many details about the sequel. “It’s happening, but I don’t know in what form, and I don’t know when, so I don’t know where I’ll be and what I’ll be doing. I’m certainly interested to see what they come up with,” he said.
posted by Zumbador (62 comments total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
No good can come of this.
posted by y2karl at 9:01 PM on October 4, 2022 [38 favorites]


Will there be tossed salad and scrambled eggs?
posted by sageleaf at 9:10 PM on October 4, 2022 [2 favorites]


in her final days, my mom's body may have been failing her but she still had her wits about her, and she always had time for Frasier reruns. Would she approve of this? Probably. Particularly with Chris Cuomo gone from CNN
posted by philip-random at 9:13 PM on October 4, 2022 [7 favorites]


Mercy.
posted by hijinx at 9:27 PM on October 4, 2022 [5 favorites]


Sigh. I suppose we'll never get Lilith, starring Bebe Neuwirth.
posted by bartleby at 9:29 PM on October 4, 2022 [40 favorites]


There hasn't been a successful sitcom with live studio audience from any streaming services yet, I think. Will this new incarnation have live studio audience, or will they not even try?

(I miss hearing Sam and Diane and the rest of the gang announcing "filmed before a live studio audience.")
posted by applesurf at 9:55 PM on October 4, 2022 [4 favorites]


who in their right mind is going to watch a spin-off series centered on Frasier Crane
posted by DoctorFedora at 10:04 PM on October 4, 2022 [31 favorites]


A riposte to Descartes’ Fifth Meditation arguing for the necessary existence of God.
posted by Capt. Renault at 10:15 PM on October 4, 2022 [6 favorites]


Did they hire the Frasierverse guy? (I will only watch this if Niles and Roz feature prominently, although considering I’ve watched the original show something like six times all through if you count reruns I am probably kidding myself.)
posted by Mizu at 10:18 PM on October 4, 2022 [3 favorites]


suppose we'll never get Lilith

Or: Maris

Think of the possibilities!
posted by Jon Mitchell at 10:34 PM on October 4, 2022 [7 favorites]


Uuugh who even wanted this other than Kelsey Grammer
posted by potrzebie at 10:53 PM on October 4, 2022 [5 favorites]


But what about NILES?! What about Eddie!!! Moose must be SO OLD BY NOW.

By the way I never watched this show and hated Fraser Crane from day one he appeared on Cheers. Kelsey Grammer's greatest character was Sideshow Bob, and in second place nothing they all sucked.

I.M.H.O.
posted by not_on_display at 10:58 PM on October 4, 2022 [8 favorites]


KrangTNelson has it right
posted by supercres at 11:02 PM on October 4, 2022 [3 favorites]


(Better link to KTN’s notes for a proper Frasier reboot.)

Whatever kind of reboot Kelsey Grammer would willingly sign up for, and his cast mates wouldn’t jump at, is probably not the reboot I want, sadly.
posted by supercres at 11:11 PM on October 4, 2022 [4 favorites]


Moose must be SO OLD BY NOW.

Alas, by the time John Mahoney crossed over in 2018, both Moose and his son/standin Enzo were already waiting, presumably with his slippers and a newspaper.

Fun fact: they smeared liver pâté behind the human cast’s ears to make them irresistible to “Eddie” back when.

If this new series can guarantee a series of other slimy foods applied to Kelsey Grammer, and a rotating cast of animal guest stars reacting to such, I’ll give it a chance. But only if.
posted by armeowda at 11:28 PM on October 4, 2022 [5 favorites]


open

Kelsey Grammar in association With.

Based on an ABC after school special

An Amazon Prime production.

Young Frasier.

Frasier Crane is sitting in the duct tape chair, he turns his head towards geraniums, mutters ,"Sam". The flood of memory, young Frasier, tackling ground penetrating monsters and a broken heart. Remembers almost everything, runs, salad days, scramble ways, the dreams wont manifest and diction no longer the moniker of brevity.
play it again.

the door bell rings.
posted by clavdivs at 11:35 PM on October 4, 2022 [8 favorites]


Is it too much to hope for that this is a "Best Friends Gang" intersection spin-off ?
posted by NoThisIsPatrick at 11:51 PM on October 4, 2022 [4 favorites]


suppose we'll never get Lilith

Or: Maris

I'm on team Bebe
posted by fairmettle at 12:24 AM on October 5, 2022 [5 favorites]


I harbor a love for Frasier partly because my high school chemistry teacher, whom I admired, thought it a cut above the rest of the sitcoms airing at the time. Still appreciating your wit and what you taught me, Mr. ---!
posted by brainwane at 12:58 AM on October 5, 2022 [2 favorites]


Another title for Grammer to add to his impressive list of shows starring him that get cancelled after a season or two.
posted by Optamystic at 1:26 AM on October 5, 2022 [3 favorites]


Am I the only one willing to watch this if Bebe Glazer makes an appearance? Easily the most underrated recurring character.
posted by Gumshoe Grimshaw at 3:01 AM on October 5, 2022 [4 favorites]


> Whatever kind of reboot Kelsey Grammer would willingly sign up for

He didn’t sign up for anything so much as single-handedly will it into existence. He’s been shopping this since 2018. The fact it took almost five years to get it made probably says a lot about the resulting quality (which is to say, don’t hold your breath but since he’s got a straight to series order on a streamer, he’ll get his one full season).
posted by tubedogg at 3:38 AM on October 5, 2022 [1 favorite]


Ugh. I predict that everyone involved will get egg on their faces.
posted by merlynkline at 4:15 AM on October 5, 2022


I watched "Frasier" for the supporting cast, not for him. I don't even really like him. I won't be watching his new thing.
posted by james33 at 4:17 AM on October 5, 2022 [1 favorite]


FRASIER was an ensemble show almost from the word “go,” despite its putative Frasier-centricity, and it was great television. I would be willing to gamble a few hours on the possibility of something new and somewhat different… but not enough to support another streaming service.

I am curious about the story, if there is one. FRASIER: THE IMPERVIOUS NARCISSIST RETURNS could go a bunch of different ways.
posted by cupcakeninja at 4:31 AM on October 5, 2022 [5 favorites]


Call me a pessimist, but I'm guessing this show will neither put Paramount+ on the map nor make it 1997 again through science or magic.
posted by box at 4:39 AM on October 5, 2022 [5 favorites]


Nothing they can do will ever match Niles and Fraser performing their number from the spring musicale in prep school. I will check myself out now.
posted by Ber at 6:04 AM on October 5, 2022 [3 favorites]


Money Plane.
posted by SoberHighland at 6:09 AM on October 5, 2022


But what about NILES?! What about Eddie!!! Moose must be SO OLD BY NOW.

Eddie's dead, that's what I said.
posted by tommasz at 6:20 AM on October 5, 2022 [3 favorites]


I know this will be a trainwreck but I also know I will watch it avidly if Niles is in it. Frasier + Niles is magic. I'll just keep watching episode after episode hoping for a spark of that old dynamic.
posted by MiraK at 7:04 AM on October 5, 2022 [2 favorites]


It might not be much, but for those of you pining for Niles and Lilith, I would humbly recommend watching Julia
David Hyde Pierce plays the title character's husband and Bebe Neuwirth plays her best friend. Both are excellent.
posted by OHenryPacey at 7:20 AM on October 5, 2022 [11 favorites]


I want to see a comedy in which David Hyde Pierce and Robert Picardo play a bitter old married couple who are constantly sniping at each other.
posted by Faint of Butt at 7:26 AM on October 5, 2022 [19 favorites]


Let’s give this a chance. What if Paramount follows the Star Trek model and this Frasier sequel is grimdark?

Frasier has no radio show. His wife left him. He is no longer in Chicago. He just wants to settle down and close the chapter on his long, professional career of diagnosing salads and eggs.

Then, Kenny shows up. He’s harboring a very deep secret. But, it won’t be even hinted at until episode 4. We’ll get a guest appearance when Frasier hops a flight to Boston to see Diane, of course. And Frederick is a total douche, forcing Frasier to reflect on his parenting choices.

But all through this, he’s examining his own actions, the strings are heavy in the background, and he only speaks in hushed tones. Mercy, indeed.

And then for next season, he travels through time because the showrunner left and there aren’t any more good ideas. Season 3 is when the band gets back together, and Frasier finds himself in an encounter with Jean-Luc Picard after being stuck in a causality loop.

The stage is set.
posted by hijinx at 7:30 AM on October 5, 2022 [4 favorites]


He is no longer in Chicago.

That is definitely an alternate timeline, then, because Frasier was set in Seattle.
posted by cooker girl at 7:50 AM on October 5, 2022 [2 favorites]


Can we get someone who can do a northern English accent this time.
posted by GallonOfAlan at 8:09 AM on October 5, 2022


I liked Frasier when it was on; I thought the scripting was overall great, though I had to keep telling British acting students not to use it as an American accent reference.

But Kelsey Grammer, since then, has outed himself as a right-wing grotesque, and since the original cast definitely aren't back for this and there's no word on whether any of the original writers are, I hear the aerial whistling of something about to bomb.

I will bet you dollars to doughnuts that the premise is:

Frasier was "cancelled" from his show in Seattle for speaking the truth and offending people. In the pilot, he hunts for a new gig amid namby-pamby liberal media types, and to their horror, lands the job through a combination of scheming and smarm. Join us as he picks a new (lazily stereotypical) group of people to offend each week and get "cancelled" by! Oooh, they're angry on Twitter, yay, free publicity! Script consultant: Jordan Peterson.
posted by Pallas Athena at 8:14 AM on October 5, 2022 [15 favorites]


That is definitely an alternate timeline, then, because Frasier was set in Seattle.

In the series finale, Frasier left his radio show and was moving to Chicago to chase after a woman.
posted by Servo5678 at 8:22 AM on October 5, 2022 [8 favorites]


Okay if I can’t be pedantic on Mefi where can I? Frasier’s finale episode ends with him boarding a plane to Chicago, ostensibly to move there and start a new phase of his life, echoing the series setup premise. Therefor it is reasonable to assume a sequel would start with him having had an off-screen life in the Windy City, and maybe he moves somewhere new yet again, or maybe he revisits old haunts only to remember he can’t go home again. Maybe he will end up in a temporal anomaly with a starfleet captain.
posted by Mizu at 8:24 AM on October 5, 2022 [5 favorites]


The stage is set.

Wonderful premise.
posted by BlunderingArtist at 8:38 AM on October 5, 2022


"...filmed before a live studio audience..."

That phrase has always bothered me - there is something bone-headedly redundant about it. Is it just the word "live?' Or does "studio" need to be included? For that matter, why does it have to be said AT ALL.

Anyway, as for the new series - I'm already in on Paramount+ because of ST:SNW, so I'll prolly at least give this a shot.
posted by davidmsc at 9:01 AM on October 5, 2022 [1 favorite]


I may be mistaken, but I think the whole "...filmed before a live studio audience..." thing comes as a reaction to shows that used laugh tracks. It was a way to say that any laughter you heard was the audience, not a machine. I know a lot of people thought that The Big Bang Theory used a laugh track because they didn't explicitly say that they had a live audience.
posted by indexy at 9:09 AM on October 5, 2022 [3 favorites]


Maybe he will end up in a temporal anomaly with a starfleet captain.

And that captain is Morgan Bateson of the USS Bozeman!
posted by Faint of Butt at 9:13 AM on October 5, 2022 [4 favorites]


I want to see a comedy in which David Hyde Pierce and Robert Picardo play a bitter old married couple who are constantly sniping at each other.

An American version of Vicious.

Frasier didn't work because of Frasier. It worked because of the writing staff and the ensemble cast. Can he get that lucky again starting from scratch?
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:14 AM on October 5, 2022 [3 favorites]


Frasier was "cancelled" from his show in Seattle for speaking the truth and offending people.

I tried to pitch a show where Frasier had a psychologist call-in radio show in Chicago, where he became increasingly disillusioned by the large number of callers, from all over the political spectrum, who seemed to have lost not just the ability to distinguish fact from fiction or feel empathy for people different than them, but the capability of even living in the same shared reality.

I had Dick Durbin lined up to do a cameo in the pilot.

Not only was Kelsey Grammer not also interested, he had his goons rough me up in the parking garage.
posted by box at 9:42 AM on October 5, 2022 [2 favorites]


Is it too much to hope for that this is a "Best Friends Gang" intersection spin-off ?

It is, and is much more likely to be a spin off of Darius T. Grouch III AKA The Rumble, the Grammer character I suspect best showcases the attributes of the man himself.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 9:51 AM on October 5, 2022 [1 favorite]


and maybe he moves somewhere new yet again, or maybe he revisits old haunts only to remember he can’t go home again

We haven’t had a good “person wandering the earth solving problems” show for a while, and I would genuinely watch a show which was Frasier, travelling from town to town, psychoanalyzing folk, trying to put right what once went wrong
posted by Jon Mitchell at 9:55 AM on October 5, 2022 [3 favorites]


Considering Kelsey’s Tea Party political views, I don’t find the phrase “trying to put right what once went wrong” at all comforting.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 10:22 AM on October 5, 2022 [3 favorites]


David Hyde Pierce and Bebe Neuwirth were among the better parts of Julia, so if you have any energy to spare in a Frasier-adjacent direction, put it there.
posted by mykescipark at 10:57 AM on October 5, 2022 [5 favorites]


Finally, the time for Grunge Frasier is at hand.
posted by mhum at 11:29 AM on October 5, 2022 [5 favorites]


MollyRealized: Oh, that's delightful--thank you for sharing!
posted by indexy at 12:34 PM on October 5, 2022


Considering Kelsey’s Tea Party political views, I don’t find the phrase “trying to put right what once went wrong” at all comforting.

I did a quick Internet check and there's nothing about him softening or backing away from supporting the Tangerine Tyrant. I loved the first five seasons or so of the original series but I would not even hate-watch this.
posted by Ber at 12:37 PM on October 5, 2022 [2 favorites]


MetaFilter: Not only was Kelsey Grammer not also interested, he had his goons rough me up in the parking garage.
posted by y2karl at 2:24 PM on October 5, 2022


MollyRealized, that was exactly what I was thinking! Thank you. (And it was hilarious.)

Rebooting 90s sitcoms as dark modern TV series - it prints money!
posted by hijinx at 2:35 PM on October 5, 2022


mhum, Grunge Frasier made my day. Thank you.
posted by armeowda at 2:44 PM on October 5, 2022


MAGA Kels is giving me Seb Gorka vibes, with a side of Mehmet Oz.

He’s a rich man, so he can get a show made, but he’s not rich enough to make people watch it, and he’s not a good enough actor to ever convince the faithful he’s one of them. Sad!
posted by box at 5:23 PM on October 5, 2022


What we need is a Frasier series that opens with Frasier's funeral and proceeds with all the characters that are actually worth watching.
posted by WyrdByWord at 7:29 PM on October 5, 2022 [6 favorites]




I would genuinely watch a show which was Frasier, travelling from town to town, psychoanalyzing folk, trying to put right what once went wrong

That was an episode of Wings. It did not go well for him.
posted by Servo5678 at 5:25 AM on October 6, 2022 [1 favorite]


Ugh. I predict that everyone involved will get egg on their faces.

And their salads tossed.
posted by Furnace of Doubt at 10:10 AM on October 6, 2022


10 episodes....other original cast members remain unconfirmed.

Frasier in Lockdown
, in which he gets cancelled on Twitter in 2020 and has to try to mount a comeback. Guest-starrring ten people who were and are.
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:33 AM on October 6, 2022


Young Frasier.

Surely, Frederick?
posted by rhizome at 1:34 PM on October 7, 2022 [1 favorite]


It just occurred to me that Frederick is old enough to be a psychiatrist now. Maybe the new show will be a generation-gap comedy about them going into practice together. And Frasier has to get used to the idea that he's Martin now.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 2:25 PM on October 7, 2022


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