The creators behind the Frasier revival have revealed their unique concept for the present’s return, which concerned David Hyde Pierce as Niles.
Kelsey Grammer is the one core solid member who reprises his function within the Paramount+ sequel collection, which follows Frasier as he teaches at a college in Boston – the setting the place the character was initially launched in Eighties sitcom Cheers.
Showrunners Chris Harris and Joe Cristalli initially approached Pierce “a few instances” about returning to play Frasier’s brother Niles earlier than he declined, which modified their method to the revival.
“He was in a troublesome place,” Cristalli informed Vulture. “All people desires to see him as Niles, however he doesn’t wish to step again into these sneakers. He felt like he didn’t have something new to carry to the character. He learn variations and gave us notes and ideas, and he acknowledged it was humorous and we discovered the tone the unique did so effectively. It simply wasn’t for him.”
Cristalli defined that Pierce’s resolution gave them freedom to take the revival in a brand new course, including: “Sure, we have now to stay as much as the extremely excessive requirements of Frasier, however with a little bit extra leniency. This may stay in the identical universe as Frasier and Cheers with out being Frasier or Cheers.”
The duo explored “many incarnations” for the reboot earlier than touchdown on the college location, however the unique concept was to have Frasier and Niles run a theatre.
“The college was in some variations and never in different variations, and there was a theatre in one in every of them,” Harris mentioned. “It felt like, what’s giving that means on this subsequent stage of life?”
Cristalli added: “For a very long time, the concept was that Frasier and Niles had been going to run a black-box theatre, like how they purchased that restaurant and introduced it again to life. However it’s laborious for Frasier and Niles to run the theatre while you don’t have Niles, so we needed to step again from that.”
Alongside Grammer, the revival stars Nicholas Lyndhurst as college professor Alan, Jack Cutmore-Scott as Frasier’s son Freddy, Anders Keith as Frasier’s nephew David, Jess Salgueiro as Eve and Toks Olagundoya as Olivia.
In a four-star assessment, NME wrote: “Sure, the genius that’s David Hyde Pierce’s Niles is sorely missed, however Frasier remains to be as tasty as a tossed salad and scrambled eggs.”
