Kelsey Grammer may have a convenient workaround to get key Cheers cast members for cameos in the Frasier revival.
Frasier Crane might hear those blues a-callin’ but will he ever share suds with Cliff, Norm and the rest of the Cheers gang again? With the revival of Frasier proving to be a hit with audiences – and now that the doc is back in Boston – there is certainly buzz that we might get some of our beloved Cheers characters back. And while Kelsey Grammer has an idea for a way to work in Cheers, it may not be what viewers hope for.
Speaking with Deadline, Kelsey Grammer suggested he may run into some legal issues if Frasier Crane ever returned to the bar where everybody knows your name. “I’m not sure the guys who wrote Cheers would want us to go back to Cheers. It’s like, let’s let that be where it is. It’s a monument in the minds of television history.” This is similar to thoughts shared by showrunner Joe Cristalli soon after the show premiered.
Still, he does have a potential workaround for everybody’s favorite barflies on Cheers to turn up on Frasier. “But is it possible we might see someone from the old days at the bar? Maybe. I was just spitballing a little while ago about how it might be kind of fun to do a Christmas show next year, the Christmas of Cheers Past. Frasier could revisit scenes that he lived out before like when he had made a mistake. What could he do to fix it? [Laughs] I don’t know, it just seems like a good idea and it would be really funny. And [the original cast] wouldn’t even have to appear; it would just be old clips. But we’ll see. You know, I love Ted [Danson] and working with him, so I’d love to do something with him. We just haven’t broken that idea yet.”
Danson (as Sam) actually appeared in a season two episode of Frasier‘s original run…as did Shelley Long (Diane) and Woody Harrelson (Woody) in separate season three episodes, as well as John Ratzenberger (Cliff), George Wendt (Norm) and Rhea Perlman (Carla) in season nine’s aptly titled “Cheerful Goodbyes”. And of course there is Bebe Neuwirth’s Lilith, who has so far even turned up on the Frasier revival after having first appeared in season four of Cheers.
How would you like a Cheers crossover with the Frasier revival? Could it be pulled off or would it feel forced? Give us your thoughts below!